Consulting Professionals

Brenda Tjaden
Brenda Tjaden is not just a seasoned market analyst; she's a force of nature in the world of agriculture and food economics. Starting her career as a grain trader in 1997, Brenda quickly realized she could make a bigger impact by going solo. She founded a groundbreaking grain marketing advisory, brokerage, and technology firm in 2004, based on her Master’s thesis model for maximizing farm profits through optimized selling decisions.
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Passionate about agricultural policy, Brenda has been a tireless advocate for effective farm leadership and innovative approaches like monetizing regenerative agriculture. Her latest venture, Prairie Routes, is a consultancy that dives deep into farmland management, supply chains, market development, and the economics of modern agribusiness, including hot topics like climate finance and ESG reporting.
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Over her 25-year career, Brenda has not only led businesses but also educated the industry. She's delivered hundreds of courses, keynotes, and panel discussions and has been the driving force behind numerous conferences, workshops, and focus groups.
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Whether you're interested in commodities, market development, carbon pricing, or the intricacies of food supply chains, Brenda has the curiosity and research savvy to make sense of the future.
She publishes twice-weekly, 100% independent and purpose-driven economic analysis on Substack: https://brendatjaden.substack.com/

Kimberly Gatin
Kimberly is a dedicated human resource professional with 20 years’ experience working with two leading North American food manufacturers before founding her HR consultancy. Prior to entering human resources, she excelled in operational management as a plant manager in the flour milling industry. Kimberly's work ethic, corporate vision, and devotion to people has made her a key asset for her customers and company partners. She solves complicated problems, plans for the future, and keeps things running smoothly. Kimberly's commitment to learning and professional development has included earning a certification in mediation skills and an MBA program from Colorado State University where she also holds a Bachelor of Science degree. Kimberly grew up in Minnesota and Colorado and is a committed Vikings and Avalanche fan. Kimberly currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband and two daughters.

Erin Crampton
Erin is a farm kid from Manitoba who has spent her life supporting ecologically minded farmers in the work that they do. She has become a regenerative food systems subject matter expert in the process.
In Manitoba, she worked within the challenges of farming, food processing, transportation and logistics, provincial and federal food processing regulations, supply management and the realities of retail grocery. She has built, optimized and expanded consumer demand, supply chains and value chains for sustainable food systems. She has also run food processing businesses, worked in agricultural policy, and catalyzed regenerative pasture management training and monitoring in Canada.
Internationally Erin built alternative finance products for regenerative farmers and has worked on ecosystem benefit projects and marketplaces.
She has a deep understanding of both the complexities and the potential of regenerating working landscapes and the communities who steward them. She dreams of regionalized, regenerative food systems that bring ecological and economic vitality back to communities and landscapes.