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Rachel Beardsley
Rachel serves as a trusted advisor to clients by providing strategic legal advice and developing immigration strategies for program management. She partners with clients to provide advance planning for the mobilization of their workforces and helps them use immigration as a tool for talent acquisition and retention. Through her immigration experience, Rachel has a keen ability to anticipate evolving immigration trends and identify and mitigate risks for clients. She advises a diverse client base on a variety of corporate immigration matters, including nonimmigrant visas, consular processing, permanent residence and citizenship. Born and raised in Iowa, she is deeply connected to the agricultural community specifically and understands the needs of the agribusiness sector as they relate to immigration, successfully representing both large and small, corporate production companies in the space.
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Ross Bernstein
Ross Bernstein is an award-winning peak performance hall of fame business speaker who's keynoted conferences for Fortune 500 companies on all seven continents and has been featured on CNN, ESPN, Fox News, and "CBS This Morning," as well as in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. Ross' program is all about the DNA of what makes champions in sports so unique and how that relates to business. It’s based on a series of books he wrote in which he was able to interview more than 1,000 professional athletes and coaches that all had one thing in common - they were all members of championship teams. In his research he concluded that the same metrics and characteristics that were common among champions in sports, were also common among peak performers in business. There are reasons certain teams win consistently, whereas others don't... and Ross explains why. It's based largely on the "Good to Great" concept of how the best companies are able to separate themselves from the rest of the pack through servant leadership, by creating a culture of excellence, by developing deeper relationships, and by giving extraordinary customer service. Ross weaves sports stories, about the DNA of champions, along with stories of companies who he has worked with around the world - and shares best practice ideas on ways to overcome disruption, while ultimately building stronger relationships.
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Brian Blumhagen
Brian has spent the majority of his life working in the swine industry including stints in production, genetics, nutrient management, facility maintenance and new facility construction. He is currently Director of Operations for Altenburg Construction which does slat replacements. He has a Bachelor's of Science Degree and an MBA from Iowa State University and currently resides in Ames.
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Bart Borg
Barton Borg is the director of nutrition for Standard Nutrition Services. In this role, Bart supports the field consultants in their work with independent swine producers as well as supporting the nutrition, research and feed milling interests of pig production managed by companies associated with Standard Nutrition Services. He received his degrees from Iowa State University (B.S.) in 1982 and South Dakota State University in 1988 (M.S. and Ph.D.). Prior to this role, he spent 14 years as the director of feed operations for Murphy Brown LLC. During his time with Murphy Brown, Bart was involved in nutrition, ingredient procurement, feed manufacturing, R&D activities, and ISO22000 implementation across the Murphy Brown feed-milling system. Prior to joining Murphy Brown, Bart held positions with companies involved in the swine production and feed supply industries. Bart manages a family farming business in northern Iowa that includes 16,000 contract finishing spaces along with a few row crop acres. Bart and his wife, Laureen, live in Ames, Iowa, have three children and two grandchildren.
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Erin Borror
Erin Borror is the Vice President, Economic Analysis for the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Erin joined USMEF in July 2006 after receiving her M.S. in Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. She received her B.S. in Agribusiness at California Polytechnic State University. As USMEF’s Vice President of Economic Analysis, Erin is responsible for USMEF’s red meat export forecasts, trade policy related analysis, global market analysis for U.S. exporters, and U.S. market analysis for international customers. As of February 2023, Erin is also overseeing USMEF’s Exporter Services department. She also serves on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Animals and Animal Products, as of December 2023. Since 2014 Erin has been Chair of the Economics Committee for the International Meat Secretariat. Raised on a cow/calf operation in Colorado, Erin has a background in production agriculture and a passion for the red meat industry. Working remotely for USMEF, she and her husband, Bryce Borror, along with their boys Clayton and Nolan, raise purebred and commercial cattle at Tehama Angus Ranch in northern California.
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Justin Brown
Dr. Justin Brown is an Assistant Professor of Swine Production Medicine at Iowa State University in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine (VDPAM) Department and instructor with the Swine Medicine Education Center (SMEC). Dr. Brown earned his DVM in 2016 from the University of Georgia and joined the ISU faculty in 2019 following his time as a post-doctoral research associate with the Swine Medicine Education Center. Dr. Brown earned his PhD in 2022 in Population Science in Animal Health through Iowa State University. Dr. Brown teaches swine medicine topics in both the undergraduate and professional curriculums, serves as the lead veterinarian for the ISU swine farms, and conducts collaborative research focused on applied projects in swine production medicine, disease ecology, and foreign animal disease preparedness and response.
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Guilherme Cezar
Dr. Cezar got his DVM and Master’s in Veterinary Science from the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil). After practicing for two years as a technical veterinarian service in an autogenous vaccine company, Dr. Cezar joined Iowa State University, where he is pursuing his Ph.D. in Population Science in Animal Health.
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Isabella Condotta
Dr. Isabella Condotta received her PhD degree from the University of Sao Paulo- ESALQ in Brazil, followed by a post-doc at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Condotta is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Illinois. She reduces animal stress, improves animal well-being and environmental sustainability, and helps farmers make better and more efficient management decisions by developing precision management systems for animals. Her interdisciplinary research applies advanced technologies, such as image and audio processing and machine learning algorithms, to acquire and analyze individual animals' electronic data, allowing continuous and automatic monitoring of their physical condition, behavior, health, and well-being.
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Gordon Denny
Gordon Denny grew up working on his family farm and restaurant in southern Indiana. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer obtaining rank of Major. Gordon retired from Bunge after a 28-year career. Half of his career was spent in commodity trading (director soybean procurement) and half as soybean processing plant manager at multiple locations. He has served as a consultant for United Soybean Board and United States Soybean Export Council since his retirement. He also advises seed technology companies on the quality and value of soybeans and actively trades equities and select commodities. Gordon’s specific areas of expertise include: How to buy, sell, and hedge various commodities; use of futures markets, board crush; how to run and manage soybean processing plants; extensive experience with rail, barge and vessel logistics. Gordon has visited 12 foreign countries helping them utilize U.S. soybeans and soybean meal, and trouble-shoot processing plants to increase volumes, efficiencies and margins. He also has extensive knowledge of processing plant operations and how operations impact the quality of finished products. Gordon graduated from DePauw University. He is an honor graduate of all classes/courses in USMC. He was former board of directors for National Grain and Feed Association, National Oilseed Processors Association, and, during his career, trained in six-sigma, ISO 9001, attended personnel management classes at Pepperdine University, attended advanced leadership/management training at Insead University in France, Agribusiness Management at Perdue University, and senior marketing/management classes at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri.
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Jamee Eggers
Jamee Eggers is a highly regarded thought leader in animal agriculture. She has more than 20 years working in livestock industry affairs, animal health, and wellbeing programs across a variety of species. Jamee is the Chief Operating Officer of Cloverleaf Animal Welfare Systems - a global company focusing on strategic animal welfare solutions for livestock and food producers. Jamee received her Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University and her Master of Science degree from the University of Nebraska. Both degrees were in the field of animal science. Jamee, together with her husband and son are the 4th and 5th generations on the family’s corn, soybean, pig farm in central Iowa.
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Anna Forseth
Dr. Anna Forseth is the Director of Animal Health with the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). In her role, Forseth is responsible for preharvest swine health issues including foreign animal disease prevention and preparedness, biotech, and swine welfare. A Montana native who grew up on the family’s farrow-to-finish swine operation, Forseth received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Montana State University, her DVM from Colorado State University and a master’s in veterinary preventive medicine from Iowa State University.
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Aaron Gaines
Aaron Gaines is a managing partner for Ani-Tek and shareholder of Ani-Logics Outdoors. Aaron completed his bachelor’s in agriculture, and his masters and doctorate in animal science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has worked in the livestock feed industry for nearly 20 years and as a managing partner of Ani-Tek, he is responsible for product development and providing technical support to customers on new product technologies for livestock. He has authored or co-authored 20 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, 100+ abstracts, and has been an invited speaker at numerous nutrition seminars both nationally and internationally. He has received many awards and recognitions for his research which include National Pork Board Innovation in Applied Research Award; Omega Protein Innovative Research Award; International Ingredients Pinnacle Research Award; and ASAS Outstanding Agribusiness Award. In addition, Aaron has been developing new product technologies for whitetail deer over the last 10 years and serves as the nutritionist for Ani-Logics Outdoors where he is focused on new product development for the outdoor and captive deer industries. Aaron and his wife, Selena, reside with their two children in Shelbina, Missouri.
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Matt Helmers
Matt Helmers is the Director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, Brent and Cindy Hart Professor, and a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University. His research areas include studies on the impact of nutrient management, cropping practices, drainage management, and prairie strips on nutrient export from agricultural landscapes.
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Locke Karriker
Dr. Karriker is a Morrill Professor focused on swine medicine in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine (VDPAM) and is the inaugural holder of the Dr. Douglas and Ann Gustafson Professorship for Teaching Excellence in Veterinary Medicine. His position is a mix of teaching (50%), professional practice (25%), research (20%), and university service (5%) activities focused on supporting the development of swine veterinarians and practitioners globally. Dr. Karriker is the Director of the Swine Medicine Education Center and formally served as a voting member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) for the United States. His research work is currently focused on antimicrobial stewardship, adapting telehealth technology for teaching, and water supply biosecurity. Dr. Karriker is an alumnus and Morehead Scholar of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (’95), earned his DVM (’99) and MS (’00) degrees from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine in 2006. He completed the Executive Veterinary Program in Swine Health Management at the University of Illinois in 2009. Recently, Dr. Karriker was included in the founding cohort of distinguished experts for the Academy of Veterinary Educators. Dr. Karriker collaborates extensively leading to approximately 661 publications, $9.5 million in competitive funding, and 61 successful graduate students.
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Jason Henderson
A nationally recognized expert in agricultural and rural issues, Jason R. Henderson is the Vice President for Extension and Outreach and professor in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University. In his role as Vice President, Jason leads 900 extension faculty and staff throughout the state of Iowa to engage all Iowans in research, education, and extension experiences to address real-life challenges and prepare for a thriving future. Prior to Iowa State, Jason was at Purdue University and served as director of extension and senior associate dean for faculty development in the College of Agriculture, as well as assistant vice provost for engagement. He previously served as Vice President and Omaha Branch Executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Jason has published more than 60 research articles in academic and Federal Reserve publications on such topics as land values, entrepreneurship, electronic commerce in agriculture, demographics, and many more. He holds master’s and doctorate degrees in agricultural economics from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Central College in Pella, Iowa. Jason was raised on a family dairy farm in Northeast Iowa.
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Amy Petry
Amy Petry is an assistant professor in the Division of Animal Sciences, where she leads the MU Monogastric Nutrition Research Lab. Here, her research is largely centered around enhancing energy utilization, the role of dietary fiber in swine diets and investigating the non-nutritive aspects of dietary ingredients and their influence on nutrition and health. Additionally, she works collaboratively within MU to create nutritional biomedical pig models. Through her research, Amy aims to improve the health, sustainability and production of swine through implementing basic and innovative science to develop, advance or improve applied nutrition solutions. Previously, she was an assistant professor of nutritional physiology at Texas Tech University. In her young career, she has secured substantial research grants from federal sources and industry, and published over 60 research articles, reports, extension documents, abstracts and book chapters. Amy completed her Ph.D. at Iowa State University in 2020.
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Micah Pope
Micah Pope is a senior consultant at Centrec Consulting Group, LLC, and has been with the firm for 15 years. His current work involves linking grain and oilseed quality to differentiated value propositions by collecting and analyzing data on the key drivers that impact intrinsic value of soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil. This includes the development of decision tools that simplify complex systems and enable stakeholders to communicate product value. His skill set includes economic and market analysis, group facilitation, data analysis, and research project management. Micah received a B.S. in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois and his M.S. in agricultural economics from Purdue University. Micah grew up on a farm in Western Illinois and is a graduate of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program.
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Gerardo Rada
Gerardo Rada is an experienced engineer who transitioned into Business Immigration at Farmer Enterprises, where he leads legal operations, recruitment, and consular processing for H2A, H2B, H1B, EB3, TN & J1 visas. As an immigrant himself, with a background in process improvement and supply chain optimization, Gerardo leverages his technical expertise and hands-on knowledge of the US consular process to drive strategic growth and client satisfaction. He and his team have a proven track record of finding innovative labor solutions for employers across multiple industries through various visa programs.
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Melissa Rodriguez
Melissa Rodriguez has been with IRI for over 14 years holding a variety of roles in consulting and client service. Focused on driving Thought Leadership for the industry, she leverages her extensive CPG knowledge to advocate for a consumer-first approach to strategy and decision making, and can be seen sharing insights across many industry associations. Melissa has deep expertise in CPG related insights and measurement services, with experience supporting a myriad of cross functional teams (marketing, category management, and sales), with a special focus on New Products, Innovation, and M&A.
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Matthew Rooda
Matthew Rooda is the Founder and CEO of SwineTech, Inc., leading a team committed to transforming animal agriculture globally through innovative workforce management and human-centered automation. His flagship product, PigFlow®, enhances operational efficiencies and pig care by streamlining routine tasks, emergency care, and herd diagnostics, thereby empowering pork producers. Rooda's background in genetics, pre-medicine, and animal agriculture fueled his passion for integrating technology into livestock care, leading to the founding of SwineTech in 2015. Since then, he has been recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient and awarded by the Farm Bureau, MIT, Microsoft, Under Armour, and many others. He has also steered the company through significant achievements, including participation in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator in Ireland, raising over $8 million in venture capital, and expanding the business globally. Beyond SwineTech, Rooda enjoys hosting the Popular Pig Podcast, engaging a community of experts in discussions about swine production and entrepreneurship.
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David Rosero
Dr. David Rosero leads a research program at Iowa State University focused on the development of practical innovations that advance swine sustainable systems. His current research initiatives include: 1) maximizing the nutritional value of feed ingredients in swine diets, 2) enhancing animal livability by implementing targeted nutritional interventions, and 3) harnessing computer vision AI technologies to improve production practices and animal welfare. Leveraging his past experience as the Technical Officer at The Hanor Company, he combines invaluable industry experience with academic pursuits.
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Craig Rowles
Craig graduated from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary medicine in 1982. He moved to Carroll, Iowa, where he entered mixed animal practice with an emphasis in swine until 1996. Craig then left practice and entered into swine production and served as general manager and partner of Elite Pork Partnership, an 8,000 sow farrow to finish operation until 2014. Since then he has served as General Manager of Cage Free Operations for Versova Management Company. Versova owns and manages 40million layers in Iowa, Ohio, Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado.
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Peter Schneider
Peter is from Hudson, Iowa and attended Iowa State University for his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and masters in Veterinary Preventive Medicine. He is employed by Innovative Agriculture Solutions, a swine veterinary practice based in Ames. Peter works with a diverse set of clients throughout the United States, providing veterinary and production management services. In addition Peter is actively involved in his family’s farrow to finish hog farm and row crop operation.
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Hans Stein
Hans H. Stein is a Professor of Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois, where he has responsibilities in research, extension, and teaching. His research focuses on feed ingredient evaluation, digestibility and utilization of energy and nutrients by pigs and humans, and development of systems for accurate diet formulation. Dr. Stein has mentored approximately 135 graduate students, post-doctoral research fellows, interns, and visiting scientists. He has authored or co-authored approximately 360 peer-reviewed publications and he has given invited presentations on nutrition in 41 countries.
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Shawn Topliff
Shawn helps businesses with their labor challenges, and people who are anxious to work towards bettering themselves and the lives of their families. He serves as an initial point of contact for businesses who are interested in finding labor solutions. He works with our legal team and recruiting team to formulate sound strategies for those business partners.
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Eric van Heugten
Eric van Heugten is a professor of nutrition and a swine nutrition extension specialist in the Department of Animal Science at North Carolina State University. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in animal science from Wageningen University in The Netherlands and his Ph.D. degree and post-doctoral training from North Carolina State University. Subsequently, he worked as swine research nutritionist at the Wayne Feed Division of Continental Grain Company in Chicago where he developed nutrition and feeding programs for swine and provided leadership in the development of a swine modeling program. In his current role at NC State, he focusses on providing relevant, research-based nutritional and management solutions to support the production of responsible, healthy, sustainable, and affordable pork. Research includes the evaluation of abatement strategies to reduce the impact of heat stress in pigs and sows, the evaluation of alternative ingredients and enzymes on production efficiency, the application of feed additives to promote health in nursery pigs in the absence of growth-promoting antibiotics, and the nutritional management of manure and recycling of animal waste products.
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Lynn Wachtman
Dr. Lynn Wachtman is a Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) with USDA, Veterinary Services (VS), Swine Health Team. In this role, Dr. Wachtman manages swine commodity programs with a particular focus on the pseudorabies, swine brucellosis, and African Swine Fever/Classical Swine Fever surveillance programs. Previously Dr. Wachtman served in other VS roles including as a field VMO and Epidemiologist, and she has worked in other facets of veterinary medicine including biomedical research. She received DVM degree from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and her MPH from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wachtman is a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine.
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Steve Weiss
Mr. Weiss is founder and CEO of NutriQuest and a partner in 21st Century Strategic Forums. He also serves as a Board member for several enterprises in the U.S. swine industry and non-profit sectors. At NutriQuest, Steve leads a team which has developed several internationally-marketed technologies to improve animal performance and help solve key industry problems like humane euthanasia and improving bacon quality, among others. He has also been an active and outspoken industry leader in his role with 21st Century Strategic Forums and in leading industry efforts and dialogue around animal rights activists, preserving antibiotics, fake meat and other industry challenges. Mr. Weiss has served as a turnaround specialist for several companies, including serving as Interim CEO for a 50,000-sow Nebraska based swine producer, Chief Restructuring Officer for a 17,000-sow North Carolina operation, and a consultant to numerous distressed production agriculture businesses, in each case accomplishing successful restructurings or the sale and continuity of those businesses.
Questions?
Stacie Matchan
Program Specialist
