Russell Taylor
Position: President
Company : Live Earth Products
Russell Taylor is President of Live Earth Products, Inc., which is a premium producer of humic shale derived products. He has spent 20 years in the mining, extraction, and marketing of humic acid based products. Areas of experience with humic isolates include; agriculture, turf management, organic fertilizers, animal feed and soil reclamation. His knowledge of humic acid processing and isolation has put his company on the forefront of the humic acid manufacturing industry. Russell is a Certified Crop Advisor and raises organic beef for a hobby.
Contact Information:
russell@humictrade.org
russt@livearth.com
livearth.com
435.286.3203
Mohammad Rahbari
Position: Vice President
Company : BioLiNE
Mo is a co-founder of BioLiNE Corporation a manufacturer of fulvic acids. He is a process engineer with more than fifteen years of experience in research and technology development. As the lead researcher behind the development of BioLiNE’s technology, He was the chair of the executive committee in the Biostimulant Council of TFI from 2021 to 2023 and continues to serve on the executive committee. Mo graduated from Western University with a Bachelors (2001) and Masters (2005) in Chemical Engineering. Since joining the HPTA in 2017, Mo has been contributing to the science committee, and attends most board meetings. In addition to his involvement with the HPTA, Mo is highly active in the industry, leading work groups and making contributions to task forces and committees working with AAPFCO, the USDA, and EPA. He is the current chair of the executive committee in the Biostimulant Council of TFI. He is an active member of the BPIA, and dedicated to improve the education, adoption, and regulatory environment for humic substances.
Contact Information:
mrahbari@biolinecorp.ca
biolinecorp.ca
519.495.9808
David Chinn
Position: Secretary-Treasurer
Company: Huma, Inc
David is the Vice President of Corporate Compliance for Huma®, Inc. Through company-owned humate mineral rights, Huma sources raw materials to create an extensive range of liquid, dry, and water soluble humic-based products that stimulate beneficial microbial activity for premium crops, healthy soil, and clean water. David has over 16 years of experience in the area of fertilizers, soil conditioners and biostimulants and has spoken at several conferences in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to working in the fertilizer industry, Mr. Chinn spent over 20 years practicing general business law in Louisville, Kentucky.
As an HPTA Director, David has spearheaded work on by-law changes, helped shepherd and defend our humic substances definition at AAPFCO, and represented HPTA® in the USDA Biostimulant Workgroup alongside biostimulant trade organizations, USDA, FDA, EPA, and state fertilizer and pesticide regulator organizations. David currently serves as HPTA’s Secretary/Treasurer.
Contact Information:
Dr. Fernando Rosario-Ortiz
Position : HPTA ex officio Science Advisor
Company : University of Colorado
Dr. Fernando L. Rosario-Ortiz is a Professor and Director of the Environmental Engineering Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Rosario received his BS and MS in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico and the California Institute of Technology, respectively. He received his doctoral degree from UCLA in environmental science and engineering in 2006. His current research focuses on environmental photochemistry, impact of watershed perturbations on water quality and characterization of organic matter in different environments.
Contact Information:
Lyndon Smith
Position : HPTA At Large Member
Company : CEO, Huma, Inc.
Mr. Lyndon W. Smith is currently the CEO of Huma, Inc. (Huma) formally known as Bio Huma Netics, Inc. (BHN) and was the President and CEO of BHN since the spring of 1995. Smith is a majority-owner of this employee-owned, privately held Arizona Corporation. Lyndon speaks fluent Spanish, lived in Spain for two years, and has travelled extensively in many parts of the world. The company has developed major distribution in over 40 countries around the globe where Huma products are marketed and sold. During his over 30-year tenure, Lyndon has redefined the company vision and strategies for this profitable mid-sized, global business.
Smith serves with many professional organizations and on several industry boards, including the Humic Product Trade Association, The Fertilizer Institute, and Agriculture Retailers Association. He is an active voice for the worldwide biostimulant movement and served as the Chair of the TFI Biostimulant Council. Smith received a B.S. degree in Financial Planning in 1984 and after a 3-year active-duty stint in the Army, a Juris Doctorate degree in 1990 both from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Huma was started in Arizona in 1973 by Lyndon’s father, the late Dr. Jordan Smith, PhD in plant physiology from Purdue University. Beginning in 1977 and throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies, Lyndon also worked as a distributor for BHN products. After law school graduation, Lyndon took a full-time position with BHN for one year from 1990-91. Smith then practiced law in Arizona for the next three years prior to returning to BHN as a second-generational leader in the spring of 1994.
Smith is married to Carla Chapman, and they are the parents of 8 children and 21 grandchildren. They have lived in Mesa, Arizona since 1990.
Contact Information:
lyndon@huma.us
huma.us
480.423.6801
Peter Orizondo
Position : HPTA At Large Member
Company : Business Manager, Borregaaard’s Plant Nutrition
Peter Orizondo is the Area Business Manager for Borregaard’s Plant Nutrition business in the Americas. With more than 30 years of experience in the chemical industry, he has held a variety of technical and commercial leadership roles
throughout his career.
Peter began his professional journey with Great Lakes Chemical/Chemtura and later
joined Songwon International, where he gained extensive experience in specialty
chemicals and market development. He joined Borregaard in 2017 to support the
introduction and commercialization of a new product line. In 2022, he transitioned to
the company’s Agri team and subsequently assumed his current role as Area Business Manager in 2024.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Rollins College and a Master of
Science in Chemistry from Wichita State University. He is based in the Greater
Houston, Texas area.
Contact Information:
Peter.Orizondo@borregaard.com
borregaard.com
(409) 218-5493
HPTA
Membership
HPTA Members
