Oklahoma Pork Council Hires Executive Director
The Oklahoma Pork Council has hired Kylee Deniz as its executive director. Deniz previously served as the senior director of consumer marketing at the National Pork Board. She will join the okPORK team in March, according to an okPORK release.
“The Oklahoma pork industry is a significant contributor to the state’s economy and an instrumental player in the global pork sector,” Deniz said in the release. “I consider the opportunity to serve Oklahoma’s pork producers a great honor.”
Deniz grew up on an alfalfa farm outside of Hudson, Colo. She received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in agricultural communications from Oklahoma State University, and also has an associate degree in agribusiness from Black Hawk College.
Prior to working at the National Pork Board, Deniz held positions at Lessing-Flynn Advertising and the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center, the release said.
Deniz was named as the 2019 National Agri-Marketing Association Next Gen Marketer and has also been recognized by the American Marketing Association, National Agri-Marketing Association and Public Relations Society of America for her work in advertising, copywriting, social media and magazine development.
“We are looking forward to having Kylee join okPORK as the new executive director,” said Dottie King, okPORK board president. “We strongly believe Kylee will bring new energy along with a wealth of knowledge and ideas to our organization.”
Nikki Snider will take on a new title of associate director. She has been with the okPORK team for 17 years serving in various roles, but most recently as the interim executive director and director of marketing and communications since 2016, according to the release. Snider said she is grateful for the opportunity to step into the role of associate director at okPORK.
Snider grew up near Hydro, Okla., where her family farmed wheat, peanuts, cotton and raised cattle. They also had a 600-sow operation under contract with Farmland. She earned two bachelor’s degrees in agricultural communications and agribusiness from Oklahoma State University.
Indiana Pork Honors Three for Dedication to Pork Industry
Indiana Pork recently honored three individuals for their dedication to the pork industry.
Heather Hill received the Producer Meritorious Service Award. She is co-owner of Hill Farms in Greenfield, Ind., a 600-sow, farrow-to-finish operation, with her husband Marc and his parents. Hill Farms also grows corn, soybeans and wheat. She is a former president of the Indiana Pork Board and has been actively involved since 2009. She also serves on the National FFA Career Development Sales Committee and is a leader for the local 4-H chapter. Hill is an Operation Main Street speaker, a release from the association said.
The Industry Meritorious Service award was given to Justin Schneider. With over 15 years at Indiana Farm Bureau, Schneider has worked on air, water, and other environmental issues for ag and was trusted on those issues by legislators, the release said. He led the effort to transition from NPDES permitting to state permitting for CAFOs. He worked on several right-to-farm law issues, both at the Indiana Statehouse and as a resource for litigators. During his time at Indiana Farm Bureau, Schneider was a policy expert that was motivated to ensure commercial agriculture thrived in Indiana. Schneider grew up on a hog farm and his family still raises corn and soybeans.
Daryn Cordes of Wabash County received the Contract Grower award. Cordes has contract grown hogs for Dykhuis Farms for over 13 years. As a young man, he built two brand new facilities for DFI. He has 8,625 wean-to-finish spaces for DFI located in Roann, Ind. He is married and a father of two daughters. His entire family is involved in day-to-day animal care and activities around the farm. Cordes is also a volunteer fire fighter for the Roann Fire Department, the release notes.
Retiring board member Marshall Martin of Purdue University was also recognized, along with Nick Maple, a hog farmer from Amboy, as outgoing Indiana Pork president and Jeff Rodibaugh was honored as outgoing INPAC chairman. Maple will serve one more year on the board as past president and Rodibaugh joined the Indiana Pork board as a member. New members to the board include Matt Paschen, farrow-to-finish hog farmers in Cass County, and Dale Schmitz, an area buyer for Weichman Pig Company in southern Indiana.
