Our Team

Tim Bratland
President

Tim Bratland is the President of YieldMaster Solutions in De Smet, South Dakota. Tim attended Dakota State University where he studied business management. In 1989, Tim and his father built a seed processing plant and started Bratland Seed, a seed cleaning business. Since then, Tim has amassed over 30 years of experience in the seed industry, including leadership roles in several areas such as product selection, production, and sales in the United States and Canada. Today, agriculture is still an integral part of his life as he leads the YMS team. Tim focuses on building customer relationships and identifying key technologies on the cutting edge of ag, targeted to meet the demands of an evolving industry, enhance crop performance, and ultimately boost grower ROI.

Josh O’Brien
National Sales Manager

Upon graduating from the University of Central Missouri in 2009, Josh became an account executive for a biological marketing company based in Iowa.  He spent the next 10 years traveling the country developing a dealer network for their microbial-based products designed for use in the agronomy, livestock, and horticulture industries.  In October of 2019, Josh joined YieldMaster Solutions as an account executive. Since then, he has transitioned to National Sales Manager, responsible for sales across North America, industry partnerships, and the YMS distributor account network. When not on the road educating farmers about the YMS product line, Josh works from his office in Minneapolis, MN.  

Jamie Jones
Business Development Manager

Jamie grew up in southern Minnesota where her involvement on the farm drew her to pursue an agronomy degree from South Dakota State University. Upon graduation, she has gained valuable industry experience in retail sales, serving as a retail sales manager as well as an account manager. In her role now, Jamie serves as YieldMaster Solution’s Business Development Manager. When asked what makes YMS unique, Jamie stated, “We strategically select products. YieldMaster Solutions eliminates the guess work for the growers by only representing validated, top-quality products”.

Amber Kauk
Marketing Manager

Growing up on a farm in southern Minnesota, Amber developed a passion for agriculture and the people who dedicate their lives to the industry at a young age. She attended the University of Minnesota where she attained her Bachelor of Science degree and then went on to attend South Dakota State University where she obtained her Master of Science. After 7 years with SDSU Extension, Amber transitioned into her role as Marketing Manager for YieldMaster Solutions. Committing her career to innovation and assisting others, Amber works to elevate the great work our partners, distributors, dealers, and growers conduct in order to advance agriculture.

Geno Brueggen
Account Manager

Geno Brueggen serves as a YMS Account Manager for Wisconsin where he assists growers and ag retailers interested in biologicals. Growing up in ag industry he understands the many challenges and hurdles growers face. Geno walks alongside his clients in order to help educate and place products strategically to meet the goals of the operation. When asked what makes YMS unique, Geno responded, “YMS is an independently owned company that does research on products before introducing them to the commercial market.  This ensures they are providing proven, successful products that have a great ROI for the end user.” 

Luke Orth
Account Manager

Luke Orth is a graduate of Michigan State University and has been involved in the seed industry for several years. Based out of Ludington, Michigan, Luke serves as an Account Manager for Michigan, focusing on cultivating a retail network and steward dealer relationships in order to further support and promote the high quality YMS product line.

Mark Christensen
Account Manager

From a young age, Mark has actively been involved in the agriculture industry. He grew up on a crop and livestock farm near Laurel, NE and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mark continued farming and then worked in the financial planning sector. Mark and his wife currently reside near Elkhorn, NE. Since joining the Yield Master Solutions team in July of 2022 as an account manager, Mark services Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and Iowa. His passion for the agriculture industry combined with his financial planning background allows him to operate with our dealers and growers’ success in mind.

Brock Lidy
Account Manager

Brock grew up in south central Illinois on a corn and soybean operation. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Blackburn College, he moved to St. Louis to work with a global vegetable seed company. He spent two years within global supply chain and five years in commercial seed sales throughout the eastern United States.  In 2020 Brock became an independent seed dealer as well as working with biologicals & biofumigants across a vast array of crops throughout the US.  The knowledge acquired and impact biologicals can have led him to his current Account Manager position with Yield Master Solutions.  Brock’s passion for learning about all types of farming operations and finding the right solutions for each grower is what drives him day in and day out.