Look Who's Presenting Keynotes at the 2022 Leman Swine Conference

(Jennifer Shike)

JBS and PIC leaders will keynote the 2022 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, organized by the University of Minnesota, on September 17-20 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. The event will begin with preconference workshops on Saturday and Sunday and continue Monday and Tuesday with keynote speakers followed by breakout sessions.

Here's a quick look at the line-up of keynote speakers.

Pijoan Lectureship: PRRS Resistance Through Gene Editing - The Path to Market

Bill Christianson
Christianson has a deep understanding of agriculture and biotechnology with broad industry knowledge and extensive commercial and global experience. He has a DVM and PHD in veterinary medicine from the University of Minnesota. He joined Genus in 1993 and subsequently worked in operational roles spanning Europe, South America and the U.S., before becoming general manager of PIC North America in 2007. Christianson led the combined ABS and PIC business across the Americas from 2010 before becoming COO of Genus PIC in 2012. Here's a look at in-depth conversation Porkbusiness.com had with Christianson on his perspectives on the pork industry and business.

Matt Culbertson
Culbertson was born and raised on a swine farm in western Illinois where he gained his initial experiences within the swine industry. After graduating from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's degree in animal science and the University of Georgia with a master's and PhD in animal breeding and genetics, he returned to the Midwest and worked for Heartland Pork Enterprises where he gained experience supervising a range of activities from technical operations to production to business development and transportation. In 2002, Culbertson moved to North Carolina and began working for Murphy Brown/Smithfield Foods where he managed their internal genetics program as well as technical operations for their Eastern operations. In 2011, he joined PIC and currently serves as global director for product development and technical services. In this role, Culbertson leads a global team focused on continually accelerating the creation and delivery of superior swine genetic products and technical support for PIC customers around the globe.

Banks Baker
Baker is director of new product marketing for PIC. 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. He also led McDonald’s agriculture technology programs focused on improving animal health and welfare and environmental outcomes while increasing production efficiencies. 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 U.S. 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.
 

JBS: A Global Culture of Being the Best

Matthew Turner
Turner oversees the operations of JBS Live Pork, the live swine production division of JBS-USA since 2016. JBS Live Pork is the 7th-largest swine production system in the U.S. with 170,000 sows in production and marketing 3.7 million market pigs annually. Turner obtained his DVM from the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. Following graduation, he accepted a position at Livestock Veterinary Services in Kinston, N.C., as a swine consultant. In 2002, he joined Prestage Farms in Clinton, N.C., as their staff swine veterinarian. He was selected as the NCVMA’s Young Veterinarian of the Year in 2004, and was named to Pfizer Animal Health’s “10 Under 40” list of young veterinarians making contributions in swine medicine and Turner also serves on the Board of Directors of the Swine Health Information Center.

Kyle Coble
Coble is the director of nutritional services for JBS Live Pork, Greeley, Colo. He was hired in 2018 to internalize and develop the company's internal nutritional services department. Coble is responsible for all aspects of nutrition for 175,000 sows and 3.8 Million market pigs, annually. He provides leadership for a team that develops and implements nutrition programs, oversees internal and external feed milling operations, manages feed ordering and delivery, completes internal efforts, establishes ingredient specifications for procurement and other related activities. Originally from Arkansas City, Kan., Coble graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2010 and 2012 with bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science and K-State in 2015 with his Ph.D. in swine nutrition. After completing his PhD, he joined New Fashion Pork, Jackson, Minn., as a nutritionist, research manager, and production specialist where he completed more than 150 research projects with over 300,000 pigs.

PJ Corns
Corns is the director of sow production for JBS Live Pork, Greeley, Colo. Responsible for nearly 175,000 sows, boar studs and gilt development units across the Midwest. He has spent his entire career forging world class results with every step from managing large sow units in North Carolina, to working internationally with PIC and his own consultancy firm where his involvement in well over 2 million sows was driven by delivering results based upon proven protocols, system maximization, people development and biosecurity implementation and execution. Corns joined JBS in his current role in September 2021.

Darin Madson
Madson is head of veterinary services for JBS Live Pork and works with a tremendous team of veterinarians to manage the health for 170,000 sows worth of production in eight states in North America. Prior to this position, he was veterinary diagnostician at Iowa State University. He received his DVM degree from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and PhD in veterinary pathology from Iowa State University in 2009.

Conference registration is available at lemanconference.umn.edu.

The conference is an annual educational event for the global swine industry and draws hundreds of participants from more than 20 countries, including swine veterinarians, people in swine production and animal health management. 

More from Farm Journal's PORK:

8 Quotes to Remember from Day One of the Leman Swine Conference

A Look at Day Two of the Leman Swine Conference

10 Quotes to Remember from the 2020 Leman Swine Conference 

A Look Back: 2019 Leman Swine Conference

 

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