Daniel Linhares, DVM, MBA, PhD – Professor & Director of Graduate Education at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Worked for 8 years as a practicing veterinarian, technical services, and health assurance; now he is dedicated to training MSc and PhD students as part of the ISU fieldepi team, working with swine producers and health professionals in the US and abroad.

Edison Magalhães, DVM, MBA, MSc, PhD – Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. Dr. Edison Magalhaes previously worked for four years in the Brazilian swine industry as a swine veterinarian practitioner. He then pursued his Master’s and PhD in Swine Epidemiology at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Currently, Dr. Magalhaes leads the SwinalytIQ Lab, a multidisciplinary team composed of undergraduate and graduate students from veterinary medicine, animal science, data science, and computer engineering. His program focuses on research and extension that supports the U.S. and global swine industries by developing data-driven approaches to improve health, productivity, and decision-making, helping producers better utilize their production data.

• You will learn how most grow-finish mortality ties back to conditions and performance in the sow farm.
• You will learn how integrating siloed data reveals connections between health, environment, and production outcomes.
• You will learn why weaning age, variation within groups, and early health challenges influence downstream performance.
• You will learn how barn setup, environment, and basic husbandry practices impact pig survivability early on.
• You will learn how gilt development and sow farm management set the ceiling for overall system productivity.

Dr. Bill Christianson is the former Chief Operating Officer of PIC. He has a background in agriculture and biotechnology, with broad industry knowledge and extensive commercial and global experience. He earned his DVM and PhD in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Christianson joined PIC in 1993 and held a range of operational roles across Europe, South America, and the United States before becoming General Manager of PIC North America in 2007. He later led the combined ABS and PIC businesses across the Americas starting in 2010 and became COO of Genus PIC in 2012.

• How growing up around a family farm and machinery business led into the swine industry.
• What it was like working on PRRS during its early discovery and research phase.
• How large systems approached eliminating PRRS and the time and cost involved.
• Why taking opportunities before feeling ready can help you grow in your career.
• Bill “Golden Nugget”

Edwina and her husband run Blantyre Farms, a 2,200 sow pig farm and a mixed farm of sheep, cattle and crops, near Young, NSW, Australia.

In operation for more than a decade, a methane digestion system captures methane gas from pig manure and converts it into electricity. Blantyre also utilizes food waste products for pig feed and saves 13,500 of tonnes of landfill each year. The NSW EPA has awarded Blantyre with a Green Globe Award for Resource Efficiency.

• How a family pig farm in Australia grew from a small farrow-to-finish operation into a much larger sow farm over time.
• How using liquid feeding and food waste products can help reduce feed costs and create new opportunities on a pig farm.
• How capturing methane from pig manure can generate electricity and lower energy costs on the farm.
• How pig producers in Australia are dealing with activist pressure and protecting their farms and teams.
• Edwina’s “Golden Nugget”

What began as a spontaneous job application became a lifelong commitment to protecting animals across New South Wales and supporting some of the state’s most underserved and marginalized communities.

Throughout his career, Steve has developed a deep understanding of human behavior and an exceptional ability to inspire people to take meaningful action. His experience across animal welfare, government relations and the justice system has shaped his insight into what drives individuals, organizations and communities.

As CEO, Steve leads the largest animal welfare organization in Australia with authenticity, integrity and a clear strategic vision — creating the conditions for lasting, impactful change.

• The difference between animal welfare and animal rights — and why the pork industry needs to understand that distinction.
• Why communication and working with producers often leads to better animal welfare outcomes than enforcement alone.
• How real farm constraints influence decisions around housing systems like farrowing crates.
• Why consumer expectations, economics, and welfare improvements are closely connected in pork production.
• Steve’s “Golden Nugget”

Dr. Dustin Oedekoven is the chief veterinarian for the National Pork Board, based in Des Moines, Iowa. In this role, Dr. Oedekoven leads a team of veterinarians and swine production experts in Pork Checkoff-funded work for pork producers, including foreign animal disease (FAD) preparedness, protecting the U.S. herd from African swine fever and developing a national swine health strategy.

Dr. Oedekoven has over 20 years of experience in the agriculture sector. Prior to joining the National Pork Board in 2022, he served as state veterinarian and executive secretary for the South Dakota Animal Industry Board, where he provided strategic leadership and direction for the state’s animal health agency – a seven-member, governor-appointed board of livestock producers with responsibility for all animal health programs and disease control efforts in the state.

Dr. Oedekoven received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University and bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science from South Dakota State University. He resides in Pierre, South Dakota, with his wife and kids.

• Why the National Swine Health Strategy was created and how pig health directly impacts producer profitability.
• The two big goals guiding the strategy: reduce the impact of domestic diseases and keep foreign and emerging diseases out.
• Why PRRS elimination is now being set as a long term industry destination.
• Why PED elimination may be more achievable in the near term and how recent progress gives the industry momentum.

Nat Stas is a Technical Services Director for PIC and has been in the commercial swine industry for 15 years, 8 of which have been with PIC. He holds a master’s degree from University of Illinois under Dr. Mike Ellis focusing on swine genetics and reproduction.

In addition to Nat’s commitment to the commercial swine industry, he currently stays involved in the American Society of Animal Science and many livestock youth development programs and swine research programs. Nat resides in Latrobe, Pennsylvania with his wife and twin daughters.

• Why finishing mortality keeps climbing and why it costs you the most money.
• How tracking week on feed at death can quickly narrow down where your real problems are.
• Why cutting pigs open and getting a true diagnosis beats guessing every time.
• The simple things that matter most: getting pigs started right, keeping feed in front of them, avoiding feed outages, and managing space and sound feet late in finishing.

Al Wulfekuhle lives on Lake Delhi in east central Iowa, he is the owner of G&W Pork, a farrow-finish operation that markets around 50,000 pigs per year to Tyson Foods. Al also farms 640 acres of corn and soybeans. Al has business experience in managing farrow to finish pig farms and providing pork industry consulting and is a past President of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and is now serving as Past President of the National Pork Board.

Al has a passion for improving pig production and health, creating more long term demand for pork and assisting others to be successful in the pig industry. He has served on numerous IPPA, NPB and Iowa State University research projects, advisory boards, committees, and task forces. Al and his wife Kathy have 3 married children, all very successful in their careers outside of the pork industry and 9-grandchildren. His personal hobbies are traveling, physical fitness and spending time with family and friends.

• How Al Wulfekuhle built a hog operation from 45 gilts starting in 1979 and grew through both good times and hard ones.
• How relationships and trust helped Al move forward when lenders said no on a barn loan.
• Why some of the toughest times in pork production created the biggest opportunities for growth and leadership.
• Why pork demand became a top priority after 2023 and how the domestic marketing campaign took shape.
• Al’s “Golden Nugget”

Dr. Derald Holtkamp is a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostics and Production Animal Medicine (VDPAM) in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa, U.S.). He received his DVM, MS in Agricultural Economics, and B.S. in Agricultural Business with a minor in statistics, all from Iowa State University.

Prior to joining Iowa State, he was a private veterinary consultant. He has also served as a technical services veterinarian for ADViSYS Inc., Vice President of Swine Applications for MetaFarms Inc., Director of Pork Development for E-Markets, Inc., and veterinarian for Smithfield Foods in Warsaw, North Carolina. Dr. Holtkamp’s research focuses on managing infectious swine diseases, biosecurity, disease risk assessment, and the economics of animal health and disease. He has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, delivered over 70 invited presentations internationally, and given more than 220 invited talks across the United States. In addition, he has mentored over 275 professional and graduate students.

• How pig mortality directly impacts US competitiveness and why productivity gaps matter far beyond individual farms.
• What global benchmarking data shows about how the US compares to countries like Brazil and why mortality is a major driver.
• How PRRS continues to play a significant role in lost productivity and why its true economic impact is likely underestimated.
• Why biosecurity failures are usually tied to everyday processes, not rare events or one time mistakes.
• How identifying, prioritizing, and monitoring biosecurity risks matters more than debating rules like downtime length.