Episodes

About the Guest Josh Rennells has been with Clemens Food Group for 15 years during which time he led various aspects of the business including Sales and Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Hog Procurement, and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer. The constant during the multiple roles at Clemens is focusing on adding value to their customers. During his 15 years at Clemens, Josh has seen Clemens Food Groups Revenues triple as their unique model resonated with their key stakeholders...

About the Guest Cesar A Corzo is an Associate Professor and the Leman Chair in Swine Health and Productivity at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Cesar was born and raised in Colombia where he was involved in beef cattle production from a young age but fell in love with pig production and health. He obtained his DVM degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Universidad de La Salle in his hometown of Bogota, Colombia. Upon completing his DVM training...

About the Guest Dr. DeDecker grew up on a third-generation family pig and grain farm in West Central Illinois. She received her B.S. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Animal Science in 2006. She then pursued her Ph.D. in swine well-being at the University of Illinois. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2011, Dr. DeDecker began her career as the Assistant Director of Production Research in the Science & Technology Department at Smithfield Foods. Currently a Director of Production Resea...

About the Guest Dr. Tom Stein is Senior Strategic Adviser for Maximus Systems/Maximum Ag Technologies, working on next-generation pig and poultry production management software. He is the creator of the PigCHAMP software and co-founder of MetaFarms. National Hog Farmer magazine named him one of the top 50 men and women who truly made a difference in the US pork industry over the last 100 years. In 2011, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians presented Dr. Stein with the Howard Dunne Aw...

About the Guest Dr. Seth Krantz graduated from vet school at the University of Tennessee in 2010. Since then he has spent 2 years at a swine consulting practice and 9 years at Tosh Pork. Today Dr. Krantz oversees animal health, well being, and research at Tosh. He is married to his wife Sandra and is the father of 6 year old twins named Oliver and Iris. Dr. Seth Krantz What can you learn from this episode of Popular Pig? Dr. Seth Krantz’s background and role today. How big of a problem our ...

About the Guest Dr. Tyler Holck has extensive leadership and project management experience dedicated to food animal production, primarily the pork industry, with both large international and small entrepreneurial corporations. Some of which include Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis Animal Health, NOBL Laboratories, and Iowa State University. Tyler Holck What can you learn from this episode of Popular Pig? Tyler Holck’s role today with the US Swine Health Improvement Plan. How the swine industr...

About the Guest Dr. Larry Rueff grew up on a small grain and hog farm in Franklin, Indiana. He enrolled at Purdue University in 1972 and graduated with a B.S. in Animal Science in 1976 and a D.V.M. from Purdue University in 1979. In 2001 he received Purdue University’s “Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award”. In 2005, the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine awarded him their “College of Veterinary Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award”. Dr. Larry Rueff What can you learn from this...

About the Guest Barrett Eller, of New Fashion Pork, is a Human Resources Manager that leads Performance & Talent Management and Organizational Development throughout their operations which is based out of Jackson, Minnesota. Barrett’s previous experiences with both large publicly traded and privately owned small to middle-sized organizations have led him to his role today at New Fashion Pork and their pursuit of excellence while rewriting how strategic human resources and other supporting oper...

About the Guest Vance Crowe is a communications strategist that has worked for corporations and international organizations around the world. He has spoken before more than 150,000 people, answering questions about some of the most sophisticated and controversial technologies in the modern age. Vance helps organizations realize why the general public doesn’t agree with their perspective and offers new ways to communicate effectively, resolve disagreements, and build rapport with critics and sta...

About the Guest Jack Bobo is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Why smart people make bad food choices.’ He is also the CEO of Futurity, a food foresight company that advises companies, foundations and governments on emerging food trends and consumer attitudes and behaviors related to the future of food. Recognized by Scientific American in 2015 as one of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology, Jack is a global thought leader who has delivered more than 500 speeches in 50 countries....

About the Guest Dianne is the Human Resources Manager and Controller for LB Pork in Northrop Minnesota. In addition to the HR duties she supervises the 2 office employees, oversees the financial accounting, and wears many other hats as needed. Dianne also owns a nursery barn leased by LB Pork. Some of you may also know her children: Tyler works for NPPC as a Director of Producer Services and Marisa is a Swine Key Account Manager for Kemin Industries. Dianne has been involved in the pork indust...

About the Guest Bob Treadway is a globally-praised advisor on forecasting, strategy, and leadership development. He believes foresight and anticipation strongly enhance a leader’s effectiveness and value. He serves as top-rated faculty for industry programs in financial services, agriculture, food, telecommunications, information security, healthcare, audit, and government. Eight US and Canadian universities and colleges count him as a lecturer and adjunct faculty. His instruction took place a...

About the Guest Jeff Monk has been with the Waukon Feed Ranch for 10 years and in the swine industry since 1992. The most rewarding part of his job is the fact that the industry feeds millions of people every day! Jeff Monk What can you learn from this episode of Popular Pig? Jeff Monk’s background and how he became involved in the swine industry. The challenges that producers face when staffing sow farms. How the Waukon Feed Ranch encourages and rewards employees who meet and exceed expec...

About the Guest New Fashion Pork is headquartered in Jackson, Minnesota with Brad Freking as its CEO and managing partner. Founded in 1994, New Fashion Pork (NFP) employs over 400 people and owns 53,000 sows in six states, along with having interests in several related businesses (i.e., Triumph Foods and Daily’s Premium Meats). Annually, NFP markets roughly 1.2 million hogs. What can you learn from this episode of Popular Pig? How Dr. Brad Freking became involved with the swine industry. Som...

About the Guest Canadian small business owner and professional consultant Andreas Funk has over 25 years of experience working with livestock farmers to increase livestock operation productivity. Andreas built his reputation in water treatment; with a focus on the animal’s water diet. From understanding the needs on-farm to analyzing problematic areas, Andreas’s knowledge, service, and support have demonstrated the impact of a genuine passion for farming and the importance of fresh insight on l...

About the Guest Following the completion of his Doctoral Degree in Meat Science and Muscle Biology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Dr. Chad A. Stahl founded Food Animal Consultation and Testing Services (F.A.C.T.S.). In doing so, Chad hoped to serve as a third-party scientific liaison for livestock producers, meat processors, restaurateurs, and consumers. To date, Dr. Stahl has had the privilege of providing business solutions for nearly 50 companies and universities located throughou...

About the Guest Dr. Jim Pillen is a pig farmer, veterinarian, and the founder and chairman of Pillen Family Farms and DNA Genetics, a multi-generational family business that employs over 1,100 team members. Raised on a farm in Platte County, Pillen has spent his entire life in Nebraska production agriculture, working alongside his dad and brothers from an early age. After a successful collegiate football career as a defensive back for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, Pillen earned his Do...

About the Guest Dr. Jason Ross is the Lloyd L. Anderson Endowed Professor in Physiology in the department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. In October, 2015, Jason became the Director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center with responsibilities in research, administration, and extension. Jason’s research program focuses on using both basic and applied research approaches to help enable livestock producers and associated industries to improve swine production efficiency. Jason Ross What ca...

About the Guest Dr. Mark Lyons represents the second generation of the global business his father, Dr. Pearse Lyons founded in 1980. With experience working in all regions and nearly all departments — from palletizing bags in production to researching in the lab — he has a deep and uniquely personal knowledge of the company. Based on Alltech’s belief that agriculture has the greatest potential to shape our world’s future, Dr. Lyons launched the company’s vision of Working Together for a Planet...

About the Guest Glenn Stolt serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Christensen Farms. Glenn assumed the CEO role in November of 2012 upon the unexpected passing of Bob Christensen, founder and CEO of the company. Glenn is responsible for all strategic, operational, and financial aspects of the company. In addition, Glenn currently serves as Chairman of the Board for Triumph Foods, and sits on the Board of Directors for Seaboard Triumph Foods and Daily’s Premium Meats; all of which a...

About the Guest Dr. Kara Stewart received her bachelor’s degree from Purdue in 2001 and her Master’s and Ph.D. from NC State with Dr. Billy Flowers in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Kara taught in the Animal Science department at NC State for 2 years before returning to Indiana to work for Cook Inc., a human medical device company. In July of 2013, Kara happily accepted a faculty position in reproductive physiology in the Animal Science department at Purdue. She carries a majority extension appoi...

About the Guest Matthew Wilkin is a pork producer and the owner of White Syke farm, a 2,000 sow family farm in Yorkshire, UK. He is also the inventor and co-founder of FARROPEN, which is a company that manufactures and distributes unique 360-degree farrowing pens. On White Syke Farm all of the sows are loose housed and farrowed in these 360-degree free farrowing pens designed and built in-house. Matthew Wilkin What can you learn from this episode of Popular Pig? Matthew Wilkin’s background a...

About the Guest Paul Willis is a 5th generation family farmer and founder of the Niman Ranch Pork Company. He has owned and operated the Willis Free Range Pig Farm in Iowa since 1975. Today he works hard to increase opportunities for traditional, sustainable and humane family farmers while representing the Niman Ranch brand. Paul’s involvement in sustainable agriculture began after he graduated from The University of Iowa and joined the Peace Corps. He returned to the states to start his own f...

About the Guest Greg graduated from the University of Iowa in 2001, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Greg spent the next 7 years working in his family business, a sales and marketing agency in the business products, education and janitorial markets. After exiting that business, he then moved to Atlanta where he served as the Director of Sales- Americas for a CPG company in business products, arts and education. Greg has spent the last year and a half running the global eCom business for Ma...