Popular Pig

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.

Fleming resides in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife, Karen, and two children, Sean and Kelly.

Jennifer Tirey, executive director of Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA), and her team represent more than 1,000 pork producers across the state by judiciously spending Checkoff dollars to enhance profitability and preference for pork, education, and research opportunities in urban and rural areas.

Illinois’ non-checkoff programs focus on state and national legislative issues. IPPA serves as a grassroots voice for pork producers to proactively represent their freedom to operate and to protect the legacy of multi-generational farm families.

Throughout her 10 years as the IPPA executive director, Tirey has served on a variety of national committees focused on marketing/promotion, policy, and member relations. Tirey enjoys running, teaching yoga and spending time with her husband, Kevin, and their two children, Flynn and Katharine.

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.

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.

Martyna currently works as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in the Swine Ethology and Welfare research group at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. Martyna’s main research interest includes using behaviour to gain insights into welfare states, as well as developing housing environments which promote species specific behaviours. In her current role, Martyna continues to work towards improving the welfare of swine.

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.

Scott Dee earned a DVM, MS, and PhD from the University of Minnesota, is board-certified in veterinary microbiology, past President of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, past Chair of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents and currently serves on the AVMA House of Delegates. After 12 years in swine practice and another 12 years in academia, Scott joined Pipestone Veterinary Services as Director of Applied Research, where he served as Director of Discovery and Innovation for Pipestone for 12.5 years.

Throughout his career, he has been awarded >12.5 M in research funding and published 187 peer reviewed papers, including the initial publications on the proof of concept of PEDV transmission in feed and the transboundary survival of ASFV in feed. He developed the initial knowledge and industry-wide protocols to understand and control Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) infection at the farm level. The comprehensive application of these protocols has reduced annual PRRS incidence below 10% across the 76 breeding herds in the Pipestone System, the 3rd largest pork production company in the US, over a 3-year period. This is the first report of long-term control of PRRSV in a large-scale commercial swine production system and is published in the Journal of the AVMA and Animals. He received the AASV Practitioner of the Year, the Howard Dunne Memorial, and Leman Science in Practice awards, a Warrior Chip from the FBI, and is a Master of the US Pork Industry.

He has guest-edited a Special Issue on Feed Risk in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases and is currently guest-editing another Special Issue on Biosecuring Animal Populations for the journal Animals. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service to the US Pork Industry Award from the National Pork Board and the Distinguished Service and Research award from the PRRS scientific community and recognized as the Distinguished Research Alumnus by the UMN College of Veterinary Medicine.

Scott is currently retired, and he and his wife Lisa live in Alexandria, MN. They have two children: Nicholas, a medical student at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Ellen, a CPA at Cargill, and Matilda, a 3-year-old Scottish Terrier.

As the CEO of Farm Health Guardian, Rob Hannam is committed to helping farms and food companies improve animal health and protect against the devastating impact of animal disease through digital biosecurity.

Launched in 2020 for the swine and poultry sectors, Farm Health Guardian technology is reducing the risk of disease spread and improving biosecurity compliance which saves time, reduces the cost of production and improves farm sustainability.

Rob’s passion for agriculture was cultivated while growing up on his family’s grain farm in Guelph, Ontario. He has worked in agriculture for over 30 years and has proven experience in building innovative businesses.

Kyle Nisley graduated from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2023 and has been a staff veterinarian with Christensen Farms since the fall of 2023. He was introduced to the swine industry with a production internship at CF in 2017 and was hooked ever since. He expanded his experience in the SVIP program at both Christensen Farms and Swine Vet Center and knew that he wanted to work with pigs long term. Now, he spends his time practicing medicine and researching new and upcoming innovations in the swine world.