Master Agriculturist - 2014 Nic Koontz & Katie Slota

They “farm year round using innovative and sustainable growing practices with a focus on passive season extension techniques, innovation, cover cropping, energy efficiency, and water conservation.” Katie and Nic met at a Town Hall meeting on local-grown food, and came to farming as second careers — he was working at an engineering firm; she had her master's in environmental health, with a focus on animal epidemiology. Both found themselves wanting to make more of a difference, and “are committed to preserving and encouraging the rich agrarian heritage of this high desert place we call home.”