Dr. Tesdell completed his Ph.D. at Iowa State University and has recently retired from Minnesota State Mankato, where he taught course in technical communication. Dr. Tesdell owns & operates Tesdell Century Farm in rural Slater, Iowa.

His great-grandfather was born in Norway and then in 1855, immigrated with his parents and siblings to central Iowa. They helped to establish Palestine Lutheran Church in rural Huxley, Iowa. When he returned from the Civil War he began to farm the rich, black topsoil of the Des Moines Lobe. He became successful and left about 1,000 acres to his family. Recently, Tesdell has put into place various practices that will help to mitigate the effects of climate change. These include diverse crops, in-field practices and edge-of-field practices.