Popular Pig

Dave received his BA from The University of Northern Iowa in 1982. In 1984, Dave, with business partner Jeff Westrom, formed JWMorton, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based advertising agency. They produce marketing communications programs ranging from branding to digital to broadcast and for clients representing over 30 industries from high tech to healthcare. JWMorton’s work is seen in local, national and international markets. They are the only Iowa-based independent agency to create and produce a spot airing on the national Super Bowl broadcast. JWMorton’s agriculture roster has included brands such as Diamond V Mills, Vi-Cor, Art’s-Way, Chore-Time, PigTek and Brock Grain Systems.

Dave is a frequent speaker on the subject of branding and marketing communications. He has served in various ministries at his church and is active in his community, serving on the Cedar Rapids Advertising Federation Board of Directors, including a term as President. Dave also served on the Board of Directors for: the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival (President), the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce, The Carl & Mary Koehler History Center (President), Linn Mar Schools Foundation, Community Health Free Clinic, Theatre Cedar Rapids, (President) and Advisory Board for the UNI College of Business Marketing Department.

As the CEO of GroGuru, I drive the overall strategy and operational execution for an exciting AgTech company that is changing the way that we grow crops by using an innovative IoT system for precision irrigation, soil monitoring and management. Former contributor at FastCompany, Tech.Co, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post, and other publications. Previously featured on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and in Forbes.

I took a company from pre-revenue and pre-product through a successful IPO and a $1.2 billion valuation. I’ve personally raised over $200 million in equity financing for my companies, and been directly involved in over $2 billion of M&A transactions. I have the experience and the in-depth knowledge of what it takes to build a business from the ground-up and win in the marketplace.

Winner of 2008 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Technology, San Diego Daily Transcript 2008 Top Influentials in the Technology Industry, and 2011 San Diego Business Journal Most Admired CEO.

Melissa Bradford – Operations Coordinator 

Melissa Bradford graduated from Purdue University earning a bachelor’s degree in animal Agribusiness.  For the past 15 years Melissa has worked for Martin Family Farms in Williamsport Indiana and is currently the Operations Coordinator. Prior to working at Maritn Family Farms, Melissa also worked for United Animal Health and M2P2 (Ames, IA). Melissa has served on Indiana Pork’s Youth Committee for the past 7 years.

Locally, Melissa is involved in her Church as the Middle School Sunday School class teacher as well as serving as Assistant Treasurer of the Church. Melissa and her husband Andy have 3 children, the oldest graduated from Wabash College in May of 2024, the middle child is a first year Pharmacy Student at Belmont University and the youngest is a senior in high school.  Melissa and her family reside near Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Azael Romero – Sow Operations Manager

Azael joined Martin Family Farms in 2018, seeking an opportunity to grow while doing work he genuinely enjoys. As Sow Operations Manager, he is committed to fostering a positive environment built on mutual respect and effective communication. Azael lives by the principle: “Treat people the way you want to be treated. Talk to people the way you want to be talked to. Give respect to all.”

Chris Ford

VP Corporate Swine Lender, Farm Credit Services of America, Frontier Farm Credit, and Ag Country Farm Credit.

Chris works with swine operations across the Farm Credit Services of America, Frontier Farm Credit, and Ag Country Associations’ state territory and throughout the Midwest ranging in a variety of sizes. Chris is a part of the specialized Swine Team which has lending relationships with 28 of the 40 largest swine producers in the nation. Prior to becoming a Vice President of Corporate Swine Lending, Chris was a Credit Underwriter that specialized in swine operations.

Chris, his wife Christan, and their 5 boys live in Elkhorn, Nebraska. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2002, received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Bellevue University in 2005, and has been with the Association for 16 years.

Valerie Weis

Commercial Lending Officer, Farm Credit Services of America, Frontier Farm Credit, & Ag Country Farm Credit

Val works with mid-size swine operations in our territories as part of the specialized swine team, primarily working with operations in Western Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Val joined the swine team in 2021 after 18 years as a financial officer for the Emmetsburg retail team at Farm Credit Services of America, where she worked with grain, cattle, and contract finish operations as well as swine operations. She has been with the Associations for 21 years.

Val, her husband Joe, and 3 kids live in Algona, Iowa, where they also operate a cash grain operation. She is a graduate of Iowa State University, and grew up on a diversified family farming operation in North Central Iowa.

Banks Baker is Global Director of Product Sustainability for PIC, a global animal genetics and biotechnology company.  He supports genetic improvement and gene editing as a way to continually improve animal agriculture and provide holistic benefits across the value chain, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved animal welfare and more efficient protein production.

Previously, Banks led protein sustainability for McDonald’s USA, creating and implementing greenhouse gas reduction strategies and managing animal health and welfare commitments and antibiotic policies.  Prior to McDonald’s Banks established a regenerative agriculture research department for a private operating non-profit foundation and managed farms and ranches across the United States.

Banks has an undergraduate business degree from Warren Wilson College and holds master’s degrees in agriculture and business from Colorado State University and The University of Notre Dame.

Matt Erickson is currently the Agriculture Economic and Policy Advisor for AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Farm Credit Services of America and Frontier Farm Credit where he provides perspective, insights, and commentary that help connect conditions in the agricultural economy to individual producer impact and resulting impacts to the organization.

Before his role at Farm Credit, Matt accumulated approximately fifteen years of policy and agricultural economic experience in Washington, D.C. Most recently, he served as Chief Economist at the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry under the leadership of former Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS).

As Chief Economist, Matt was responsible for the management of the Committee’s work regarding budget, economic, and policy analysis. Matt advised the Chairman and other Committee members on the status of the agricultural economy, commodity markets, and economic impacts pertaining to the Committee’s legislative priorities. He also led the Chairman’s policy priorities pertaining to commodities, crop insurance, dairy, and grain standards. He helped craft numerous pieces of legislation that included the 2018 Farm Bill, the United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020, and legislation relating to COVID-19 relief. Prior to the Senate Agriculture Committee, Matt worked as an Economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation and at the United States Department of Agriculture under President George W. Bush.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University. He maintains an active role on the family farm in Brookston, Indiana.

Eric Psota is the Digital Innovation Manager at PIC North America. Since joining in 2021, he has been responsible for developing advanced technologies for digital phenotyping using computer vision and machine learning. Specifically, he specializes in multi-object tracking, pose estimation, animal identification, anomaly detection, real-time systems, and edge computing. Prior to joining PIC, he was a researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he remains on the faculty as an adjunct professor.

Steve Malakowsky is the Director of Swine Lending at Compeer Financial. He started as an analyst in 1997 working with swine clients and today leads the Swine Sales team for Compeer. Steve is rooted in the industry, serving as the Allied Industry representative as both a delegate and member of the nominating committee for the National Pork Producers Council.

He presents nationally and internationally on topics regarding the U.S swine industry and is a regular contributing writer for national agriculture publications.

Prior to joining our organization, Steve had 17 years’ experience as a farrow-to-finish owner operator and helped with his family’s dairy and crop farm.

Steve earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Mankato State University.

Steve and his wife Julie live in Wells, MN and have two sons. Brian and his wife Heather and daughters, Kennedy and Maddie live in Shakopee, MN.  Jacob and his wife Alexis also live in Shakopee.

Matthew Rooda is the Founder and CEO of SwineTech, Inc., where he leads the development of innovative solutions for the pork industry. Through SwineTech’s flagship product, PigFlow®, pork producers are empowered to enhance operational efficiency, optimize resource management, and improve pig care through automation and workforce innovation.

With deep roots in the commercial swine industry and a background in human health and animal agriculture, Matthew is passionate about integrating technology into livestock care. Since founding SwineTech in 2015, he has raised over $12 million in venture capital, expanded operations globally, and earned a spot on the Lemelson MIT and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 lists. Matthew has also participated in the Iowa Pork Leadership Academy and served on the Swine Health and Wellbeing Committee. Additionally, as host of the Popular Pig Podcast, he engages weekly with industry experts to share insights on swine production and innovation.

Abraham Espinoza is an entrepreneur and leader dedicated to empowering farmers with innovative tools and technology to sustainably feed a growing global population. As a founder and Chief Operations Officer of SwineTech, Inc., he has played a pivotal role in developing groundbreaking solutions that improve animal welfare and operational efficiency in the swine industry. Espinoza has led the establishment of an international manufacturing network, successfully expanded SwineTech’s products to global markets, and spearheaded the company’s global customer success efforts.

Espinoza’s leadership and achievements have earned him numerous prestigious accolades. He was recognized as EO National Student Entrepreneur of the Year, Farm Bureau National Entrepreneur of the Year, and Ambassador of Entrepreneurship for the U.S. The following year, he was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Manufacturing & Industry category and was honored by MIT Technology Review as one of the Innovators Under 35 Latin America.

Celebrating 200 Episodes: Join SwineTech co-founders Matthew Rooda and Abe Espinoza as they share the story behind SmartGuard, their innovative solution to piglet crushing, and the persistence it took to bring it to life.

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 186 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.