THE COLLECTIVE
Our Team
Tuisland Collective is built on one principle: the people advising your land should already be doing the work themselves. Every advisor in our network is an active practitioner — currently farming, managing, or consulting on real operations. That's why we're selective about the projects we take on. Our capacity is limited by design, because staying in the field is how we stay relevant.
FOUNDER & LEAD ADVISOR
Riani Lourens
United States / Global
Riani leads Tuisland Collective as founder and principal advisor, working directly with clients to design and deliver land and agricultural projects across regions. She serves as the central point of accountability—leading project direction and assembling the right expertise from across the collective to ensure each engagement is executed effectively. With over a decade of hands-on experience across South Africa, Canada, and the United States, her work spans regenerative agriculture, grazing systems, and large-scale operational development. Her background is rooted in practical implementation, having built and managed agricultural operations from the ground up—overseeing infrastructure development, team training, grazing systems, and full operational execution. She has worked across a wide range of environments, supporting producers, consultancy groups, and large corporate initiatives—including multi-region agriculture projects—bridging the gap between strategic design and on-the-ground delivery. Her experience includes working with farmers, landowners, corporate stakeholders, and investors to develop systems that are both practical and scalable. Through Tuisland Collective, she leads a network of experienced professionals—directing both advisory and on-the-ground execution to deliver outcomes that are grounded, coordinated, and built to perform in real-world conditions.
Soil Balance & Crop Systems Advisor
Jannie Baard
Australia
Jannie works with Tuisland Collective as a systems advisor and project lead, specializing in soil balancing, agronomy, and crop system performance. He is typically engaged on projects requiring practical correction of soil constraints, improved crop resilience, and system-level productivity gains. His approach is influenced by the work of Garry Zimmer and Neal Kinsey, with a strong foundation in the Albrecht method of soil balancing and the use of foliar nutrition. Central to his work is a focus on the three pillars of biological farming—chemistry, physics, and biology—ensuring that soil systems are properly balanced and functioning. With a background in farming in the Western Cape of South Africa and extensive consulting experience across Western Australia, he has worked across a wide range of cropping and pasture systems, including wheat, barley, oats, canola, rye, lupins, lucerne, clovers, medics, and vetch. His primary focus lies in grain production and large-scale row crop systems. Having managed operations up to 4,400 hectares and supported approximately 80 farming operations, his experience spans diverse soil types—from coastal sands to heavy clays—addressing challenges such as mineral imbalances, non-wetting soils, herbicide-resistant weeds, and environmental pressures like frost. His work is grounded in a practical philosophy: correct the soil, and system performance follows. This includes improving water infiltration, nutrient availability, and overall crop response through targeted, cost-effective interventions. He is currently involved in the development of a model farm focused on improving crop density, animal performance, and overall system productivity. Within Tuisland Collective, he contributes both as a hands-on project lead and as a technical advisor, depending on the needs of each engagement—bringing deep agronomic expertise and practical solutions to complex field challenges.
Integrated Cropping & Biological Systems Advisors
Keith & Emily
Canada
The Buckinghams support Tuisland Collective with a focus on integrated livestock systems, biological fertility, and regenerative crop and pasture management across low-rainfall environments. Their work centers on improving soil function, grazing efficiency, water retention, and long-term productivity through practical, biologically driven farming systems. In 2016, they established their farming operation near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, with a focus on regenerative agriculture and biologically driven production systems. Livestock management—particularly cattle and sheep—forms the foundation of their approach, utilizing short-duration grazing and extended recovery periods to improve perennial pasture performance and regenerate soil health. Their experience includes intercropping, cover crops, perennial and grain land rotations, biological fertility programs, and long-rest grazing systems designed to improve drought resilience and overall system function. Their crop management approach integrates compost extracts, biological inputs, natural soil amendments, and grazing livestock to support productive systems while reducing reliance on conventional inputs. Between 2016 and 2026, they expanded the operation to approximately 6,500 acres of intensively managed crop and pasture land while maintaining above-average production for their region. Raised on farming operations in Southwest Saskatchewan and now having built their own, they value the time and space this lifestyle affords within God’s creation to raise their three children and to teach both them and others a different way to grow healthy food. Within Tuisland Collective, Keith and Emily contribute both operational and advisory experience in grazing systems, biological farming, and regenerative land management—bringing practical insight and field-tested systems to projects focused on long-term productivity, resilience, and ecological function.
Agricultural Operations & Enterprise Development Advisor
John Lourens
Mexico
Specializing in agricultural enterprise development, John focuses on building, restructuring, and scaling farming operations across both traditional and regenerative systems. With over 25 years of experience across diverse agricultural regions, his background spans cash crop farming, livestock systems, commercial pig production, and other diversified enterprises. He has a consistent track record of developing and adapting farming businesses by integrating livestock, cropping systems, and value-added production to strengthen overall operational performance. He has led and managed large-scale, multi-enterprise agricultural operations, overseeing integrated systems that combine livestock, crop production, and infrastructure development within full business frameworks. He brings experience developing agricultural systems across varied climates having built operations in multiple countries. His approach prioritizes financial sustainability, resource efficiency, and long-term system stability. Currently, he is involved in the development of new agricultural ventures, focusing on operational design, infrastructure development, and building scalable, productive farming systems. Within Tuisland Collective, he contributes as an operational lead and enterprise advisor—primarily on agricultural business development, system restructuring, livestock integration, and multi-enterprise farm development.
Regenerative Ranch & Multi-Enterprise Operations Advisor
Christiaan Steenkamp
United States
Christiaan supports Tuisland Collective as a ranch manager and operational advisor, bringing hands-on experience across a wide range of agricultural enterprises in both the United States and South Africa. His work focuses on building scalable, multi-enterprise farming systems that balance ecological health with operational efficiency and long-term profitability — particularly within varied rainfall environments. His operational background spans both continents and a broad range of production systems. In South Africa, he has managed integrated enterprises including sheep, dairy goats, broilers, wholesale vegetable production, and mixed livestock operations. In the United States, his experience includes a large cow/calf herd, ewe/lambing operation, pastured pork, a 1,500-bird pastured layer enterprise, and the management of 5,000+ acres under organic and regenerative land systems — with a consistent focus on market demand adaptation and enterprise transitioning. A central focus of his work has been translating the use of regenerative and organic principles into systems that are practical, financially sustainable, and manageable at the operational level. With experience across wet and dry climates, he understands the adaptive management practices require highly responsive decision-making. His experience also extends into direct-to-consumer agricultural business models, agro-tourism, and helping producers understand the real-world application of soil health and regenerative management principles. Having grown up in a multi-generational farming environment, his approach is grounded in practical implementation rather than theory — prioritizing simplicity, adaptability, and execution above all. Within Tuisland Collective, Christiaan contributes as both an operational lead and advisor on projects involving regenerative ranch development, grazing systems, multi-enterprise operations, and the practical implementation of biological and regenerative agriculture — bringing field-tested systems that directly support the collective's mission of rebuilding resilient land and agricultural ecosystems across diverse environments.
Beyond the Core Team
Each project draws on a wider network of specialists assembled around its specific needs. This includes agronomists and soil scientists across additional regions, AI and data collection specialists for project-specific monitoring, academic and research partners for formal trial documentation, enterprise and finance advisors for investment-facing projects, and local operators and implementation crews within specific regions.
We don't list everyone because the team is built around the project. What doesn't change is the standard they're held to.