Jim Yahn : Manager, North Sterling Irrigation District

When it comes to diminishing water supplies, Jim Yahn knows what he is talking about, especially related to working
with an over-appropriated system, well curtailment, and the impact on a community when wells are shut off. The similarity to circumstances in the San Luis Valley makes what Yahn has to say highly relevant.

Jim Yahn is the manager of the North Sterling and Prewitt Reservoirs, a position that he has held for over 29 years. He is responsible for overseeing the diversion and distribution of water to over 350 farmers. Together the reservoirs are a source of irrigation water for approximately 70,000 acres.

Yahn was appointed by the Governor to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to serve as the South Platte Director in 2016 where he served for five years, including one year as chairperson. Jim has also been a member of the South Platte Basin Roundtable since its inception in 2005, serving as chair from 2009 – 2012. He currently serves as the roundtable’s representative to the Interbasin Compact Committee

Jim is a registered professional engineer, receiving his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Colorado State University. Prior to his employment with the North Sterling and Prewitt he worked as a private consulting engineer in Fort Collins for 5 years. He is a native of Colorado growing up on a family ranch, which used water from the North Sterling Reservoir System.

Jim Yahn is our Keynote Speaker, presenting on Wednesday at 1:30pm

Chef Jason K. Morse, CEC : Owner of 5280 Culinary, National Spokesperson / BBQ Expert – Ace Hardware Corporation

Chef Jason has spent a lifetime behind the grills and smokers and is now able to interact with consumers daily to help them cook better with some of the best grilling and smoking tools on the market. As the Ace Hardware National Spokesperson and BBQ Expert, Chef Jason is proud to call Ace his culinary home.  Chef Jason helps make grilling fun, tasty and makes it easy to create bbq magic in your own backyard.

Jason is a Certified Executive Chef and member of the American Culinary Federation. Jason has been featured on the Food Network, National and Local Media segments, was a morning show chef for a Denver Radio station and currently produces the Colorado Department of Agriculture monthly recipes for local Colorado media.

Jason has been published in the Colorado Classique Junior League of Denver Cookbook, and various local publications. Chef works with many Colorado Agricultural groups like, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Beef Council, Colorado Pork Producers, Colorado Potatoes, Colorado Wool Growers Association and the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Jason works with and supports groups like the Ace Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and The Colorado FFA Foundation.

Chef Jason attended Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, SC and graduated Summa cum laude and was honored with the Apprenti Cuisinier award for Classic French pastry, among other prestigious culinary honors.

Chef Jason Morse is presenting a potato cooking demonstration on Tuesday for Social Hour at 5pm

Tanner Ehmke : CoBank Lead Economist, Dairy and Specialty Crops