Ryan grew up on a grain, dairy, and hog farm in the Neudorf area. In 1984, he began farming alongside his parents and brothers.
In 1986, Ryan purchased his first land within a C&D area and soon came to appreciate the benefits of water management and efficient land use. Today, Ryan and his wife Lauren and family operate Land and Sky Grains at Grenfell SK.
Ryan currently sits on 2 C&D boards as well as RM council. Ryan is past president of the local SK Wildlife Federation and past board member of the policy think tank, George Morris Center, based out of Guelph.
Ryan has participated in many continuous learning events over the years either as a participant or guest speaker. Continuous learning is not only practiced in a classroom but on their farm as well. ‘Best when Managed’ is definitely Ryan’s approach to responsibly managing an excess or shortage of soil moisture: using tile pipe, culvert sizing, control gates and temporary holding ponds to control excess moisture, while using crop and input precision practices, cover crop areas and no-till practices to manage moisture shortages and reclaim soil health.