Luke Petersen
Farmer Advisor Strategy Manager, North America Agriculture
Ann Arbor, MI
Luke Petersen Luke Petersen is The Nature Conservancy's Farmer Advisor Strategy Manager, North America Agriculture © Courtesy/Luke Petersen
Areas of Expertise
Regenerative Ag Systems, Integrated Livestock Systems, Ecology, Agribusiness
Biography
Luke Petersen serves as the Farmer Advisor Strategy Manager for The Nature Conservancy’s North America Agriculture Program. In this role, he works closely with trusted advisors, agribusinesses, and partners across the country to advance regenerative agriculture and strengthen the resiliency and productivity of working lands. He leads programs designed to enable business innovation within the ag retail sector and build knowledge and capacity within the agronomy workforce.
Luke brings more than a decade of experience in conservation agriculture, including his prior role as TNC’s Regenerative Agriculture Specialist, where he supported the Farmer Advisor Strategy and served as the standards and incentives lead for the U.S. Dairy Program. In that capacity, he worked with colleagues and partners to implement regenerative practices and deliver environmental and economic benefits to dairy operations across multiple states.
Prior to joining TNC, Luke led a national conservation outreach support program at the National Wildlife Federation, which used behavior change principles and social science to drive broader practice adoption. He also worked as a partner biologist in California through a joint position with Point Blue Conservation Science and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, providing on‑the‑ground technical assistance to producers and conducting long‑term ecological monitoring as a certified conservation planner.
Luke holds a Master of Science in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Kalamazoo College. He also manages his family’s regenerative farm in southwest Michigan, where they primarily direct market grass‑fed beef.