Our Team

Lance Gunderson is a founding member and the President of Regen Ag Lab. As a well-known promoter of soil health testing, Lance carries his passion for soil health testing into Regen Ag Lab. Lance is excited to continue to establish and promote newly developed agronomic tests designed to aid producers managing their operations under the regenerative ag model.

Lance’s agricultural testing career began at Ward Laboratories in 2002 while attending the University of Nebraska at Kearney for a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry. At Ward, Lance began in the sample prep department and assisted in feed and soil testing. Following graduation, he was quickly offered a full-time lab tech position analyzing soils and waters for phosphate, ammonium, and chloride. While continuing his career with Ward, Lance began a Master’s degree program in Biology at UNK in 2011. During this time, he began the Soil Health Testing Department that focused on offering testing in biological measurements found in soil. For the next eight years, Lance served as the Director of Soil Health and New Test Development at Ward Laboratories where he and his team implemented and performed the Haney, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), soil enzymes, aggregate stability and water holding capacity tests. During this time, Lance has reviewed over 75,000 samples analyzed for Haney and PLFA. Because of his continued interest in soil health, Lance is currently to seek a Doctoral degree in Agronomy with an emphasis in Soil Microbial Ecology and Soil Health from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

In his spare time, Lance enjoys hunting, fishing, BBQ, and spending time with his two young children, Ashlyn and Owen. Lance can be found anywhere that combines good friends and better bourbon.

lance.gunderson@regenaglab.com
308-627-0065

Jeremy Dalland is a founding member and the Vice-President of Regen Ag Labs. With his extensive background in the inner workings of a laboratory, Jeremy is excited to bring his combined 17 years of laboratory experience to ensure the highest quality test results for all our customers.

Jeremy received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2002. After graduation, Jeremy joined Ward Laboratories, Inc in Kearney, Nebraska as a lab tech in the Soil and Water Departments. In 2007, Jeremy was promoted to Feed Supervisor where he was responsible for a team of lab technicians and became efficient in a variety of processes and instruments. His commitment to detail and quality earned him a promotion in 2013 to Laboratory Manager. Within this role, Jeremy gained a wide expertise in the maintenance and monitoring of a wide variety of laboratory equipment and all the aspects of running a laboratory. He became familiar with various methods of soil, water and plant testing, reviewed countless results, established quality assurance and quality control measurements, created a chemical inventory and tracking system, and ensured the laboratory maintained all proper accreditations.

When he’s not at the laboratory, Jeremy can be found on the golf course or competing nationally in bowling tournaments.

jeremy.dalland@regenaglab.com
308-440-7560

Dr. Rick Haney joins Regen Ag Lab as our Chief Scientific Officer. Rick’s dedication to helping producers and experience, as both a leading research scientist and on-farm manager, will help Regen Ag Lab bridge the gap between data founded in sound science and practical knowledge needed to help our clients on their personal soil health journey.

Dr. Haney is a former Soil Chemist/Microbiologist and Research Farmer at the USDA-ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple, TX, and is the creator of the Haney Soil Health Test. Rick grew up farming in Custer County, OK, before he earned his PhD in soil microbial ecology and chemistry from Texas A&M University. Rick has researched soil ecology and soil testing for more than 30 years. In 2017, he was awarded the USDA’s Plains Area and National Technology Transfer Awards. Rick was also awarded the 2018 USDA REE Under Secretary’s award for the Haney Test and the 2018 Secretary of Agriculture Honor Award for the USDA’s strategic goal of strengthening the stewardship of private lands through technology and research. Dr. Haney will be working to improve our understanding and interpretation of soil test results as it relates to production, profitability, and restoration under regeneratively managed systems.

Rick enjoys spending time with his wife, Liz, and his 2 daughters. He has a passion for good friends, great music, and better bourbon. When he’s not developing new innovations for measuring soil or diving into datasets, he enjoys wood working and building furniture.

rick.haney@regenaglab.com
254-394-6890

Taylor Yonkers joins Regen Ag Laboratory as the Business Manager. After eight combined years in multiple customer service roles, Taylor is eager to ensure company efficiency and provide superior customer service.

Taylor received her Bachelor of Science with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2012. She joined Ward Laboratories, Inc in Kearney, Nebraska in 2010 and began as a Shipping and Supply Clerk and was responsible for shipping and handling customer requests and supplies. She was then promoted to Soil Data Entry and Log In in 2012 and was responsible for receiving and handling customer samples. With her eye for detail and in-depth understanding of the customer service side of the laboratory, Taylor was promoted to Business Manager in 2015. During her time as the Business Manager, she led and supervised employees in customer service, day-to-day business operations, accounting, insurance and human resources.

In her free time, Taylor enjoys planning and visiting new places. She looks forward to traveling to all 50 states.

taylor.yonkers@regenaglab.com
308-440-7089

Laura Dalland joins Regen Ag Laboratory as the Sample Receiving Manager. Her multiple years in customer service roles has prepared her for all types of situations and she looks forward getting to know our customers and continuing providing superior customer service.

Laura attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and studied Organization Communication. After serving in a variety of customer service roles throughout Kearney, Laura joined Ward Laboratories, Inc. in 2014 as a Feed Data Entry and Log-In Tech where she was responsible for interacting with customers on a daily basis, ensuring sample integrity and handling customer relations. Her commitment to customer service, organization skills and forward thinking earned her a promotion to Log-In Supervisor in 2017. As the Log-In Supervisor, she continued to handle customer concerns and the day-to-day operation of all samples received by the laboratory. Leading a team of full time and part time employees, she improved the organization, efficiency and capacity of the receiving area, enabling the laboratory to process and run more samples than ever before.

In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time outside with her family, baking a wide variety of desserts, and diving into the latest thriller novel.

laura.dalland@regenaglab.com
308-293-1605

Emily Shafto joins Regen Ag Lab as the Research and Development Manager. With her enthusiasm for research and learning, Emily is dedicated to keeping Regen Ag Lab at the forefront of agricultural testing.

Emily graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and two minors in Environmental Restoration and Water Science. While in school, Emily became a Water Science Technician at the UNL Water Sciences Laboratory. There, she learned the basics of laboratory procedures and pesticides, illicit drugs, vet pharmaceuticals, and SVOC analysis in runoff, groundwater, soil, and POSIC samples. Her dedication for precision in the lab and passion for learning in the classroom earned her an assistantship with the USDA – Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL). At KSSL, she developed and implemented a soil enzyme assay using a microplate and trained technicians on processing and interpreting enzymes. In the summer of 2014, Emily joined an exploratory research group in Kazakhstan establishing pollution baselines in water. Emily graduated with a Master of Science in Natural Resources with a focus in Soil Enzymology in 2016. After receiving her degree, Emily accepted a position with Ward Laboratories, Inc in Kearney, Nebraska as a Research and Development Scientist. In this role, Emily developed, implemented and created interpretations for a wide variety of new tests, including soil enzymes, permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), water holding capacity, aggregate stability and ICP-MS testing. She also reformatted and revised the interpretation guide provided to customers, attended numerous conferences and participated in speaking engagements.

In her free time, Emily enjoys playing volleyball, gardening, spending time on the water and chasing her daughter around. When the weather is right, she helps her husband, Trey, raise cattle and pigs.

emily.shafto@regenaglab.com
308-627-6539

Logan Albright joins Regen Ag Labs as the General Lab Manager. With over 14 years of agricultural testing experience, Logan looks forward to advancing the quality of the lab’s testing results.

Logan was born and raised in Kearney, Nebraska and studied Biology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He began his laboratory career at Ward Laboratories, Inc. in Kearney, Nebraska in 2005 where he played a variety of roles in almost every department. He began in the Feed and Soil prep and grinding department before transitioning to the Feed Department as a technician. In 2016, Logan was promoted to Feed supervisor and gained a wide knowledge on many analytical instruments including ICAP and LECO training and several wet chemistry feed, plant, soil, fertilizer, water and manure procedures and instruments.

In his down time, Logan enjoys golfing, bowing, supporting Husker athletics, and spending all the time he can with his wife, Annie, and two sons, Mason and Kayden.

J.R. Simon joins Regen Ag Lab as the Soil Health Laboratory Manager. With over a quarter century of laboratory experience, J.R. is eager to continue providing high quality soil health results.

J.R. graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and an emphasis in Molecular Biology. He began his career as a Lab Tech for IBP (Later bought out by Tyson Fresh Meats) in Lexington as a lab technician and performed meat and rendered product analysis and wastewater analysis. In 2004, J.R. was promoted to Regional Laboratory Supervisor and was responsible for quality systems management, purchasing and receiving, report generation, data verification and served as a Chemical Hygiene Officer. In 2011, J.R. joined Ward Laboratories, Inc in Kearney, Nebraska as Soil tech and was responsible for nitrate testing. He assisted Lance in building and expanding the Soil Health department. He became the Soil Health Supervisor in 2016. In this role, he managed and oversaw the daily analysis of the Haney Soil Heath Test, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and enzyme testing.

In his free time, J.R. enjoys golf and is a BBQ enthusiast.

Zach Reisen joins Regen Ag Lab as an Analyst III / Lead Engineer. With a diverse background in multiple fields, Zach is excited to continue providing superior soil health results.

Zach received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Wayne State College in 2016. While at WSC, he conducted research on the use of liquid CO₂ as a solvent for organic chemistry. Zach started his career path as an Associate Bioanalyst at Celerion in Lincoln, where he extracted analytes from plasma and urine samples. From there, he moved into pharmaceutical testing at GlaxoSmithKline Quality Control Lab in Lincoln conducting water sampling and analysis for water used in the manufacturing process. In need of a change of scenery, Zach started working as a Receiving Chemist at Clean Harbors in Kimball, Nebraska at the beginning of 2018. There, he sampled, analyzed and categorized drums of incoming hazardous waste for safe disposal. In the fall of 2018, Zach joined Ward Laboratories, Inc in Kearney, Nebraska as a Soil Health Technician. There he ran the Haney Test on soil samples received from customers.

Since moving to Kearney, Zach he has married his wife, Emilie, and has bought a house. He enjoys hunting, being outdoors, custom airbrush painting and flying his drone.

Wendy Trumbull joins Regen Ag Lab as an Analyst III. Wendy is responsible for a wide variety of specialty testing including Water Holding Capacity, POXC, Enzymes, and Aggregate Stability.

Wendy attended Mid-Plains Community College and the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She began her biology career as a biological field researcher for the University of Minnesota for a study involving the collecting and controlling of invasive, nonnative phragmites rhizomes along the Platte River. She has worked for the USGS on a multi-year study relating lidar data directly to wildlife species occurrences and abundances in riparian systems along the Central Platte River. In 2011, she worked for the United States Forest Service conducting Forest Inventory Analysis throughout the state of Nebraska gathering quantitative and qualitative measurements that described general land use and stand characteristics. In 2015 she joined Ward Laboratories, Inc. as a Soil Technician.

In her free time, Wendy enjoys traveling, being outdoors and being a pet mom.

Eric Mouchka joins Regen Ag Lab as an Analyst III. Eric is responsible for the daily analysis of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA).

Eric graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He is originally from Norfolk but moved to Kearney in 2013. He joined Ward Laboratories, Inc. in 2016 as a Soil Technician and was promoted to Supervisor of the Soil Department while also working in the Feed and Carbon Departments.

Outside of work, Eric enjoys golf and being with his dog and cat. He is also a whiskey enthusiast. In June of 2023, Eric will be getting married to his fiancé, Abby.

Amanda Sanchez joins Regen Ag Lab as a Sample Receiving Tech. Amanda is responsible for processing all samples that enter the laboratory; this is where her love for organization and attention to detail comes in handy.

Amanda received her Associates in Applied Science from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska in 2015. After college she worked as a Veterinary Technician in Kearney and later Lincoln, Nebraska. She also worked at Ward Laboratories, Inc. in the sample receiving department and in the lab as a technician.

In her free time, Amanda enjoys camping, kayaking, hiking, and spending time with her two dogs, Paisley and Mya.

Our Team

Lance Gunderson, M.S., PhD Candidate

Jeremy Dalland

Rick Haney, M.S., PhD

Taylor Yonkers

Laura Dalland

Emily Shafto, M.S.

Logan Albright

J.R. Simon

Zach Reisen

Wendy Trumbull

Eric Mouchka

Amanda Sanchez

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