Popular Pig

In his capacity as Chief Legal Strategist for the National Pork Producers Council, Michael Formica works with state and federal lawmakers on pressing, high profile issues impacting livestock production. His work leading strategic legal initiatives has benefitted America’s 66,000 pig farmers across the country, including efforts to get NPPC’s challenge to California Proposition 12 to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He was previously an attorney in private practices in Washington, D.C., where he represented agricultural clients on environmental and natural resource matters.  He has been recognized as one of the foremost experts in Washington, D.C. on environmental and energy policy. 

Formica received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Rhode Island and his law degree from Vermont Law School where he founded the school’s influential environmental law journal. He has been admitted to the bar for the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as multiple other federal courts.

Jeb Gent is the co-founder of Ascension Ag, a livestock biosecurity company. His focus is to solve niche biosecurity issues in swine and other large animal industries. He has a passion for helping people and solving problems. When he is not working, he is spending time with family and friends, driving tractors or spending time outside. 

Joel is the CEO and Co-founder of Genvax Technologies. Formerly he was the Director of Product at GlobalVetLINK and was VP of Harrisvaccines, which Merck Animal Health acquired in November of 2015. Along with coordinating investor relations and mentoring at the Ag Startup Engine, he participates in several advisory and mentoring roles to entrepreneurs and startups in the SaaS, Agtech, Biotech, and Healthcare industries. Joel holds a degree in economics from the University of Iowa and a professional certificate in public relations, marketing, and non-fiction writing from Northwestern University.

Joseph Dykhuis was born and raised on his family’s farm in Holland, MI. Joseph is a Purdue University graduate with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics. Joseph is the President of the family farm, Dykhuis Farms, Inc, a farrow to finish pork producer in Michigan and Indiana. Dykhuis Farms also farm row crops in Ottawa, Allegan and Van Buren Counties. He is a member of the Michigan Pork Producers Association, Michigan Farm Bureau, National Pork Board’s Nominating Committee, NPPC’s Competitive Markets Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Mutual Agricultural Software Association, the ODC Network, and the Michigan Maritime Museum. He and his wife Heather, their son, and three daughters reside in Holland, MI.

Dr. Rebecca Robbins is a mom, veterinarian and swine industry professional with 12 years of post-graduate experience. Her business, R.C. Robbins Swine Consulting Services PLLC, provides consultation in swine health management and research to animal health companies and swine producers. She is also the Lead instructor for the Elite Swine Veterinary Program available through SwineIt’s SwineCampus. Rebecca’s goal is to always deliver the highest quality, applied business solutions to the swine industry.

Rebecca has supported veterinary services for two of the world’s integrated pork production companies. She began her veterinary career in 2009 as an associate veterinarian with Banfield, The Pet Hospital.  In 2010, she (officially) became a swine veterinarian.  From 2013-2021, Rebecca was part of a seasoned swine production management team and led 12 who were responsible for the health and well-being of 280,000 sows and their offspring from wean to market. In addition to veterinary responsibilities, she advised the applied research and development team which coordinated an average of 45 studies per year.

Dr. Rebecca Robbins earned her BS, DVM and PhD degrees from North Carolina State University in 2004, 2009, and 2016. Her doctoral degree emphasis was in Population Medicine and Veterinary Public Health. Among Rebecca’s biggest accomplishments was receiving the Allen D. Leman Science in Practice award and completing the Pikes Peak Marathon. Her greatest professional joy has been teaching animal caretakers, college students, and the public about pig and pork production.  

Chris Opschoor is 43 years old and already for 22 years working in the pig industry. After his study at the Hogeschool INHOLLAND on Animal Husbandry, 1994 – 1998 he graduated with a BSc in Swine husbandry and later obtained his Masters in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Wageningen University. He started working as Account Manager (Swine nutrition and farming) for the Company Agruniek Rijnvallei from September 1998 until October 2007. For 9 years he gave technical support to his customers and was responsible for sales too. His main focus was to take his clients to a higher technical level.

After 9 years he started working for Topigs Norsvin as a Specialist in Feeding & Genetics, as member of the Topigs Norsvin International Feed group. Chris’s main task in this team was to develop advice for feeding and management of all Topigs Norsvin products. He gave technical support for the breeding farms worldwide, clients and colleagues and also to the Feed Industry and all other partners in the pig industry as well.  For the past 5 years, Chris has been responsible for the Topigs Norsvin Feed Group. He is managing an enthusiastic, driven, and very professional team of scientist, nutritionist and advisers all over the world. This worldwide team is responsible for developing and maintaining Feed and Management advice of all Topigs Norsvin products. With this BEST TEAM and our advice is it possible to support our clients worldwide to unlock the full genetic potential?

Precision Livestock Technologies CEO Andrew McKenzie co-founded the company in 2019 to bring new sources of data and analytics to the livestock industry.  Prior to PLT, he held executive positions in several software companies, worked in venture capital in New York City, and was lead engineer at a global industrial gas company.  He lives in Dallas, TX with his wife and two children and plays a little tennis when he isn’t driving around feedlot country.  Andrew has an MBA from the NYU Stern of Business and BSE in mechanical engineering from Princeton University.

Chris is a widely respected sales and marketing leader who delivers breakthrough growth for clients and builds high performance teams. He presents frequently on industry-changing trends, and his expertise is sought by senior executives of both retailers and food/packaged goods companies. In addition, he partners with industry trade associations and serves on several councils and boards.

For IRI, he leads a portfolio of larger fresh-food clients and leads IRI’s engagement with the Food Marketing Institute and other industry associations. Throughout the year, he’s a frequent speaker at industry events including FMI Connect and FMI Midwinter, the NAMI/FMI Annual Meat Conference, IPPE, National Chicken Marketing Summit, Urner-Barry Executive Conference, and the Prepared Foods R&D Council.  He’s also often quoted by industry and national media, including CNN, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Progressive Grocer, National Provisioner, and Supermarket News.

Shonda Sammons is a partner and Program Leader with the sister organization of 21st Century, 21st Century Agriculture Leadership. With over 30+ years of experience, she works with employers and employees to provide coaching, guidance, and leadership development. In addition to her highly engaging facilitation style, Shonda converts individuals into enterprising champions and assists companies in identifying in-house talent and matching employee skill sets to job responsibilities.

Originally from Indiana, Shonda has called Kentucky home for the last 23 years. After graduating from Austin Peay State University with a Bachelor of Science in Agri-Business, Shonda held many financial services roles but always knew she wanted to own her own business. She established Advocate Builders in 2013 and has remained an integral part of her company. She is also the author of a tracking program that offers the ability to manage advocate relationships and to track cross-sells and referrals companywide. She is an adjunct professor at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. She also specializes in Corporate Culture Development, Customer Service, DISC and Motivators, EQ-i 2.0, EQ 360, and Performance Management.

Dr. Jack A. Shere is the Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Beyond the domestic program diseases work that is a large part of the Veterinary Services mission, Dr. Shere has worked on animal disease outbreaks of Salmonella enteridittis (SE), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in England, Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI), Exotic Newcastle Disease (END), and High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). During the 2002-2003 Exotic Newcastle Disease Outbreak in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Utah, he served as the Joint Area Commander and Incident Commander for the task force that eradicated this disease from the United States.

Dr. Shere has held many roles since joining the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services in 1990, serving as a field Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) in Nebraska and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, he worked both as a field VMO and as the State Area Epidemiology Officer (AEO) from 1991 to 1999. In 1999, he was promoted to the position of Area Veterinarian in Charge (AVIC). Dr. Shere served as the AVIC from April 1999 to November 2002, when he was promoted to the position of the Associate Regional Director (ARD) for the Western Region of the United States. From 2005 to 2013, Dr. Shere was the Eastern Regional Director of the United States for Veterinary Services. Dr. Shere received a BS in Biology and Chemistry in 1981, a DVM in 1987, and a MS in Education with a minor in counseling in 1988 – all from Iowa State University. He practiced Veterinary Clinical Medicine for three years in Georgia. He received a joint PhD in Poultry Science and in Microbiology, which were awarded in 2001 from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. His PhD research and dissertation involved the epidemiology and ecology of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle.