Board of Directors

Tim Kalkowski is a Vice President and Agricultural Loan Officer of the First State Bank of Hickman. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking-Finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after attending Rock County High School in Bassett, his childhood home. He helps manage the family ranch in Boyd County, Nebraska.

He is a member of Nebraska Cattlemen and has served as co-president of the Seward / Lancaster Affiliate of the Nebraska Cattleman's Association. He has also served on the Nebraska Real Property Appraiser Board. He is involved in church youth programs and as a youth baseball coach. He is married and has a 14-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter.

Vern and his wife, Marjean are involved in a diversified farm/ranch operation with his brother, Terry, and their sons, Brock and Seth and their wives. Vern is a Nebraska LEAD graduate and has attended the Nebraska Ranch Practicum, which he feels is an important learning experience for any grass and cattle manager. He is a member of Nebraska Cattlemen, Sandhills Cattlemen and Nebraska Farm Bureau as well having served on numerous boards.

Vern stated that "Whether it is our own pasture or our rented pasture, we feel it is our responsibility to improve the stand and quality. NGLC has programs to help educate us to meet these goals. We use different grazing methods on each place depending on water, number of pastures and condition of the grasses."

Ben Bailey was born in south central Idaho and moved to Nebraska with his wife Shelly in 1993.  They began working for Rex Ranch learning Holistic Management and sound grazing principles under Burke Teichert’s guidance.  He has attended several Holistic Management schools along with Ranching For Profit and Bud Williams Livestock Handling classes.

Ben is currently a foreman on the Pawlet unit and in charge of outside grazing and bred cow marketing.   He has been involved with the Nebraska Cattleman as well as the Sandhills Task Force for several years. 

Ben firmly believes that proper stock handling and grazing go hand in hand to enhance and improve the quality of both, cattle and soil.

Ben and his wife have three children Brandi, Shanna, Monte.

Paul serves as a board member of the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition and has been involved with the organization since the late 1990s. He is an organic farmer and works to utilize grazing for soil improvement. Paul also serves as a board of director for the Center for Rural Affairs and is a member of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society, Holistic Management International and Practical Farmers of Iowa. He is married with two adult children.

Paul says, "Proper grazing management offers our greatest opportunity to regenerate worn out soils and improve better soils."

Vaugh Hinrichs and his wife Vicki and have been involved in farming and ranching in Thayer county, NE all of their lives except while Vaugh served in the US Army.  They have four children who have grown up having midwestern values.  They also have 5 grandchildren.

Vaugh and Vicki are also members of the Thayer County Livestock Feeders which happens to be the largest feeders group in Nebraska and also a member of the National Cattlemen Beef Association.  Vaugh has always practiced low stress cattle handling and has been instrumental in bringing Curt Pate to numerous grazing educational events across Nebraska.  Vaugh believes that a close connection exists between how cattle are handled and how grasslands and water resources are managed. One of Vaughn’s greatest joys is riding horseback through effectively managed grasslands checking cattle.

Vaughn’s goal is to leave the grazing lands in better condition for future generations through common sense management of the grass and water resources.

Sheila Luoma and her Husband Kris operate a cow calf operation in Greeley and Wheeler counties. Their operations main focus is on raising high quality replacement cattle that are adapted to their environment. Sheila worked for the Natural Resource Conservation Service as a range and resource conservationist for 32 years. Sheila is a member of the Society for Range Management. Sheila believes in range management and the importance in public awareness of livestock in protecting this natural resource.

Jessica grew up on a family-owned cattle ranch in the Sandhills, just north of Mullen, NE. She attended Chadron State College where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in General Business and went on to obtain a Master of Science in Organizational Management. 

Jessica began working for Turner Ranches as a Ranch Technician for the Spikebox Ranch in Mullen, NE. She later went on to work for the McGinley Ranch in Gordon, NE that was donated to the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture in 2021. Jessica was promoted to Ranch Manager of the McGinley Ranch in December of 2023. 

Since joining the McGinley Ranch and the Institute, Jessica has used her skills set to help achieve ranch goals in conservation and animal production through regenerative ranching practices, as well as to promote research.