Invited Speakers

PLENARY SPEAKERs

Brett Stuart
Global Agri-Trends

Brett grew up on a family ranch running cows in Utah and Wyoming. He has worked in the cattle/beef industry in Nebraska, Florida, Oklahoma and Colorado for companies including AgReserves, Inc., Cattle-Fax and the U.S. Meat Export Federation in Denver. For most of the past 20 years he has been running Global AgriTrends, a business he co-founded in 2006. His work there has taken him to six continents researching the global meat and livestock markets. He now advises companies around the world on global agriculture trends with an emphasis on Asia. Brett received an Accounting degree at Utah State University and an Agribusiness MBA degree at the University of Nebraska. He and his wife Amanda live on a small farm with their kids near Preston Idaho.

Presentation: Global Pork - Update & Outlook
Thursday Morning Plenary

Rupert Claxton
Gira Foods

Rupert has worked as a strategy consultant in the food sector since joining Gira in 2003, with a high level of specialisation in global meat and livestock markets.  Gira is an independent food-focused consultancy company, founded over 50 years ago, and working globally across the livestock, meat, dairy, ingredient and bakery supply chains. Rupert has spent a considerable amount of the last 20 years analysing the evolving nature of international meat demand and the supply systems that provide it, as well as their internal organisation.  This involves working from feed ingredients and genetics, through slaughtering, international trade, and eventually with consumer brands, drawing insight and inspiration from Asia to Europe and the Americas.

Presentation: Global Pork Opportunities & Lessons Beyond North America
Thursday Morning Plenary

Gerry Friesen
The Recovering Farmer

Gerry brings a wealth of experience and a lifelong passion for learning and discovery. Growing up on a farm, he took over the family operation in 1983, running it until 2007, when other interests began to take precedence. Between 1990 and 2005, Gerry was deeply involved in agricultural leadership, serving on the boards of Manitoba Pork Est., Manitoba Pork Marketing, the Canadian Pork Council, and Keystone Agricultural Producers. Since transitioning from farming, Gerry has dedicated himself to supporting others through mediation and facilitation. His memoir, The Recovering Farmer: A Journey through the Labyrinth of Anxiety and Depression, published in 2024, chronicles his personal struggles with mental health and his journey toward recovery. The book serves as both a memoir and a resource, offering insights and tools for others facing similar challenges. He is a co-founder of the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program and serves as their CAO. Gerry’s passion lies in helping others navigate life’s challenges. His own journey with anxiety and depression, combined with training in conflict resolution and intensive counseling, equips him with the tools to support individuals in finding meaningful solutions to their struggles.

 Presentation: Hogs, Headspace & Holding it Together
Thursday Closing Plenary

BREAKOUT SPEAKERS

Jan Fledderus
Schothorst Feed Research

Jan has a strong background in pig nutrition, combining practical and scientific expertise. After graduating from Wageningen University, he started his career in 1993 as a pig nutritionist at ForFarmers. In 1998, he joined Schothorst Feed Research (SFR) as a researcher on the pig team. From 2008 onwards, Jan held roles as innovation manager swine and leading the pig nutritional teams at Nutreco and ForFarmers. His focus included feed evaluation, nutritional requirements, feed technology, and sustainability. He has contributed to several industry bodies, including the CVB technical committee, SFR’s research committee, GFLI, and as chair of the VDN pig research group. Since 2023, Jan has been Senior Consultant & Product Manager Swine at SFR, supporting clients in applying advanced feed evaluation systems and optimizing pig nutrition for performance and sustainability..

Presentation: Start Right with Your Piglet Nutrition
Breakout 2: Piglet Management

Presentation: Modeling the Effect of Heat Stress on Sow Nutritional Requirements
Breakout 5: Sow Management

Luc Dufresne
Demeter Veterinary Services

Bio coming soon.

Presentation: How to Maximize Wean Age & Is It Always Worth It
Breakout 2: Piglet Management

Julia Linck Moroni
Topigs Norsvin

Julia Linck Moroni earned her degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and holds a master’s degree from the University of Alberta, Canada. She currently serves as Manager of Global Nutrition and Female Reproduction Services at Topigs Norsvin International and collaborates closely with the company’s R&D department on female fertility initiatives. Julia provides international technical support on female reproduction across the Americas and leads her team in developing management and nutritional strategies, recommendations, and protocols to optimize fertility outcomes.

Presentation: Rearing Gilts for Proper Development
Breakout 3: Gilt Management

John Sonderman
DNA Genetics

John is Director of Technical Services for DNA Genetics, a provider of swine genetics to the commercial swine industry in North America, Spain, and Brazil. His duties include oversight of technical support to commercial customers and multipliers in North America, the North American nucleus herds and boar studs, and collaboration on research. He also provides consulting and research support for Pillen Family Farms, a 70,000-sow commercial producer located in Nebraska and South Dakota and is a past member of the National Pork Board’s Sow Lifetime Productivity Task Force. John’s experience includes three years in extension and over ten years working in the US feed industry in nutrition and reproductive management. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a PhD from Colorado State University in Reproductive Physiology & Nutrition. He currently serves on the External Advisory Board for the Animal Science Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He currently resides with his wife on a small ranch near Columbus, Nebraska, where they raise purebred Beef Shorthorn cattle.

Presentation: Important Considerations for Developing Gilts for Entry into the Herd and Lifetime Productivity 
Breakout 3: Gilt Management

Jen-Yun Chou
Prairie Swine Centre

Dr Jen-Yun Chou is a research scientist at the Prairie Swine Centre and adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. She is leading the ethology and welfare group at the Centre and a part of the Swine Welfare research team. Jen-Yun’s background is multidisciplinary at the interface of applied animal behaviour, animal welfare and social science. She obtained her PhD degree in Clinical Veterinary Sciences at the University of Edinburgh in 2019 and holds an MA in Science, Technology and Society. She has experience working as an animal welfare advisor at international non-profit organisations and has conducted research at various research institutes across Europe and North America. Her research projects collaboratively explore issues surrounding ending piglet painful procedures and providing pigs with a better physical and social environment. She is also interested in subjects such as One Welfare, welfare at transport/slaughter and on-farm euthanasia. She has ongoing research collaborations with partners in the US, Europe and Taiwan, where she is from. Her goal is to show animal welfare can be beneficial and profitable for all stakeholders and to contribute to improving pig welfare globally. She did a postdoctoral research project from 2020-2021 at the Swine Teaching and Research centre at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, focusing on sow housing in early gestation. She was also a Marie Skłodowska Curie postdoctoral fellow at the Pig Development Department, Teagasc and the Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria, investigating social behaviour and social network in pigs.

Presentation: Practical Enrichment
Breakout 4: Welfare

Lee-Ann Huber
University of Guelph

Dr. Huber grew up on a farrow-to-finish and beef operation in Southwestern Ontario. Dr. Huber completed her BSc in Animal Biology and subsequently, a MSc and PhD at the University of Guelph exploring nutrient utilization during various life stages of swine. Thereafter, Dr. Huber used the mini-pig as a translational model for premature human infant nutrition interventions during her post-doctoral fellowship at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dr. Huber is now an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph and runs a comprehensive swine nutrition research program, largely focusing on amino acid utilization by reproductive sows, developing precision feeding programs for sows, and exploring greenhouse gas mitigation strategies for swine. 

Presentation: Feeding the Lactating Sow
Breakout 5: Sow Management

John Harding
WCVM, University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Harding has been a professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine since 2004 He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners; Swine Health Management specialty (ABVP-SHM) and is currently the examination committee vice-chair. His main research interests aim to develop mitigation strategies for swine dysentery, understand the pathophysiology of reproductive PRRS and disease related hypothyroidism, and the enhancing disease resilience. He developed and directs the Swine Medicine Advancement Recruitment and Training (SMART) program to respond to challenges recruiting swine veterinarians. The program has established clinical competencies in swine medicine, work experience programs for Canadian DVM students, continuing education opportunities, and a remote swine medicine residency program to enable the board certification and licensing of internationally trained veterinarians in Canada.

Presentation: What’s New in the World of PRRS
Breakout 6: Disease

Suzanne Leonard
North Carolina State University

Dr. Suzanne Leonard is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University. Trained as an Agricultural Engineer, her program focuses on precision livestock farming, ventilation, and facility and pig management. She integrates engineering and animal science principles to develop practical, data-based solutions for swine producers

Presentation: Choosing the Right Technology for Your Barn 
Breakout 7: Buildings & Technology

Corey Bosko
The Progressive Group

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Corey grew up on a grain and commercial beef farm. She attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating in 2002 with and Animal Science Degree. She then moved to Manitoba in 2003 and was drawn into the pork sector. She has been employed with The Progressive Group since 2008, starting as a technician and have moved into subsequent roles as a supervisor, manager, production manager, compliance specialist, CPE trainer and validator as well as provide production, technical, program and audit support within their system.

Presentation: Open Housing - Our Perspective
Breakout 7: Buildings & Technology