Bio

It's great to meet you! My name is Nate Birt. I am the founder of Silver Maple Strategies. I help purpose-driven communication leaders in agriculture, conservation, construction, energy, finance, food, forestry, logistics, media, and transportation. I position them to accelerate massive social impact goals. I coach them in building resilience to keep going in a community of supportive peers. I support them in unlocking the power of persuasive storytelling to capture imaginations, secure investment, and empower bold decisions that benefit all of us. 

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Based in Mexico, Mo., I proudly serve clients across the U.S. I help them make a lasting impact in harmony with their personal values.
 

I am a senior adviser to, and former vice president of, Farm Journal’s Trust In Food, where I spearheaded the strategy, coalition-building and authorship of a Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant proposal selected in fall 2022 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a $40 million award. I help to lead America’s Conservation Ag Movement. This national public-private partnership has delivered more than $5 million in value to the American farmer and rancher to support their adoption of climate-smart practices, products and technologies.

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I also served as managing editor of Top Producer, Farm Journal’s CEO brand serving 120,000 farm executives. I spent nearly a decade at Farm Journal, beginning in 2012 as assistant machinery editor and social media editor. 

Before joining Farm Journal, I worked as a journalist in consumer media. My portfolio includes work for AOL/Patch.com, the Boonville (Mo.) Daily News, the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera, the Columbia Missourian, the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune, Credit Sesame, DealFlow, the Detroit Free Press, Entrepreneur, ScribbleLive, Social5, Speechify, The Washington Post and Visual.ly. 

I am the author of the nationally published “Frozen, But Not Forgotten: An Adoptive Dad’s Step-by-Step Guide to Embryo Adoption." I have appeared as a guest on TV and radio programs such as The Eric Metaxas Show, AgriTalk Radio, Kingdom Pursuits with Robby Dilmore, Millennial Ag Podcast and Truce Podcast. 

I hold a master’s degree in journalism and bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Missouri. My wife, Julie, and I are parents to four children and many chickens, two dogs and a cat. We farm eight acres in rural northeastern Missouri.