Joe Kerns brings over 30 years of experience supporting agricultural operations across the livestock and grain industries. He has worked with producers, suppliers, and mills on procurement and risk management strategies including hedging, ingredient purchasing, feed quality, diet formulation, operational benchmarking, and livestock marketing.
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Matthew Gross is a Hutterite. Hutterites are very open-minded, but still cherish their community values. Matthew is a generational pig farmer, with an open mind towards technology and productivity.
At their farm they are currently using PigFlow as a means to run a more efficient operation. Hutterite’s have always embraced technology as a means to run their farmers as efficiently as possible. And pig farming has always been a big part of their culture, and a means of financially sustainability.
Duane Stateler is a fourth-generation pork producer and as the owner/operator of Stateler Family Farms, along with his son, Anthony, oversees all aspects of production and operations. The enterprise features a wean/feeder to finish pork business marketing 15,600 head annually. They also have 900 acres of crop production, raising corn, soybeans, and wheat. (more…)
Jennifer Patterson obtained her MSc in Animal Science from the University of Alberta where she is currently a Research Associate and the Swine Industry Liaison for Livestock Gentec. This involves developing research projects that address current industry challenges and providing continued support to producers to implement results at the farm level, putting “science into practice”. Jennifer has worked with many pig industry groups around the world and her current focus is on gilt management to improve sow lifetime productivity and retention. She also loves working with farm production data, through which powerful insights can be developed to make data-driven decisions that positively affect overall herd performance.
Lori is from St. Louis, Missouri and for as long as she can remember, she aspired to be a veterinarian. After her undergrad degree, she worked in a large commercial sow farm in central Missouri where her dreams changed and she fell in love with pigs. Lori went to grad school at Kansas State University and completed her Masters and PhD in swine nutrition where the majority of her research focused around nutrient requirements in gestating sows. Following the completion of her degrees, Lori work for Gestal as a Nutrition and Production Specialist, before coming to PIC in 2020 where she currently serves as a Technical Services Manager.
Patrick Fleming, vice president of demand development for National Pork Board, guides his twelve-member team on priorities related to consumer demand, multicultural marketing, foodservice and retail support, packer/processor collaboration and human nutrition strategies.
With decades of experience in sales and marketing, he creates uniquely valuable marketing programs by leveraging business-to-business and business-to-consumer activation’s. He is currently a leader in the pork industry’s consumer-facing, digital-forward brand campaign development designed to unapologetically be more relevant and relatable to Millennial and Gen Z Americans.
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Kristen Cumming’s career is focused on improving the connection between people and their work. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Master of Education degree in Workplace and Adult Learning. Kristen spent 11 years instructing in the Donald School of Business at Red Deer College and the Bachelor of Management Business Economics program at the University of Alberta – Augustana Campus and spent the past 20 years operating a successful consulting practice through which she serves as a consultant, speaker and trainer focused on leadership and execution. She is a proud product of an Albertan farm family.
Kurt was born and raised on a pig farm near Barrhead, Alberta, which sparked his passion for swine production and medicine. He graduated with his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2010 from WCVM in Saskatoon. After graduation, he went directly into swine medicine and has worked in swine practices in Manitoba and Alberta. In 2019, Kurt started a new swine veterinary practice, Precision Veterinary Services inc., based in Red Deer, Alberta. He and his wife Tanja have their home near Lacombe with their 4 children.
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Dr Martyna Lagoda holds a B.A degree in Science, Zoology, and an M.Sc degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. Following the completion of her Ph.D in Sow Welfare (focus on sow chronic stress and its implications for piglet prenatal stress) at Teagasc, Ireland, in collaboration with the Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Poland in 2022, Martyna worked as a research technologist on the “Tail Bite Advice” project in Teagasc, aiming to develop algorithms to accurately monitor tail biting behaviour, and to create a data-driven PLF decision support tool to actively advise farmers on how to reduce tail-biting occurrences.
Dr. David Rosero is an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University. He leads a dynamic research program dedicated to advancing swine nutrition and smart farming practices. His current research initiatives include 1) maximizing the nutritional value of feed ingredients in swine diets, 2) implementing nutritional interventions to improve pig livability and swine systems sustainability, 3) determining the adequate access of pigs to welfare resources, and 4) 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.