Tony Richards, Utah Soil Health Partnership

Tony Richards is the Soil Health Manager at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. He is a founding member of the Utah Soil Health Partnership and lead on planning annual soil health workshops for Utah.

Tony is a native of Northern Utah and the fifth generation on the family’s centennial farm. He has a bachelors and master degree from Utah State University in degrees in Crop Science / Agronomy and Plant Science.

He works with the local conservation districts in Northern Utah as the Resource Coordinator for Zone 1, assisting the district and farmers in planning conservation projects to protect the natural resources in the area. His work includes irrigation system improvements, soil health systems, weed and pest management, and water quality protection.

He has been involved in agriculture development, conservation planning, and regenerative agriculture research for over 10 years working in Utah, Arizona, Illinois, Ethiopia, and Uganda. He has worked previously for the Howard G Buffett Foundation,Sequoia Farm Foundation, Morrell Agro Industries, and is currently board member of A.R.I.S.E. International.

Photo via Utah Soil Health Partnership