Keynote Speakers | Allen D. Leman Swine Conference

2026 Leman Swine Conference Keynote Speakers

The time for change in the pork industry

Chad Groves, President & Chief Executive Officer, Seaboard Foods LLC

Chad Groves is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaboard Foods LLC, the pork segment of Seaboard Corporation — a Fortune 300 agribusiness with over a century of history. Seaboard Foods is an integrated pork processor marketing 7.2 million hogs annually from its 330,000 sows, and markets and sells premium pork under the iconic Prairie Fresh® brand. In this role, Groves leads the full scope of the business — spanning live operations, processing, sales, sustainability, supply chain and innovation — with a relentless commitment to bringing excellence to the table.

Prior to Seaboard Foods, Groves built a distinguished career across multiple sectors of the food industry. He served as Vice President of Sales – Retail and Foodservice at Trilliant Food & Nutrition LLC, and before that, as Vice President of Field Sales – Foodservice at High Liner Foods. Earlier in his career, he gained foundational experience at Cargill, advancing through a series of progressively responsible roles.

Across these positions, he developed deep expertise in commercial strategy, brand growth, customer partnerships, and the complexity of global food supply chains. Groves is a recognized voice on the future of the U.S. protein industry — from consumer demand and trade policy to sustainability and supply chain innovation. As CEO of Seaboard Foods, Vice President of the National Pork Board’s Board of Director, and an Executive Board Member of the Meat Institute, he has been vocal about the importance of engaging younger generations with the fresh pork category, viewing their affinity for bacon, sausage, and ham as a gateway to broader pork consumption. He has spoken at the national level on long-term demand strategy, describing targeted investment in consumer engagement as “not an investment for next year — this is an investment into the next 25 years of pork production and beyond.”

Cost of disease and next generation health - Morrison Lectureship

Joel Nerem, Director of Industry Relations, Pipestone

Dr. Joel Nerem, originally from West Union, Iowa, earned his undergraduate degree from Luther College and his DVM from Iowa State University in 1996. Since joining Pipestone in 2006, he has served as a practicing Veterinarian and Chief Veterinary Officer. Today, he serves as Director of Industry Relations and on the board of Pipestone Holdings, while continuing to provide clinical veterinary support. He and his wife, Denise, reside in Edgerton, Minnesota, where they enjoy spending time with their family.

The dynamic roles of pigs in society

Matt Sturos, Veterinary Diagnostic Pathologist, University of Minnesota

Dr. Matt Sturos is a veterinary diagnostic pathologist at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, with a faculty appointment within the Veterinary Population Medicine Department in the College of Veterinary Medicine. His focus is on food animal pathology and diagnostics, with special interests in swine infectious diseases, herd health diagnostics, and supporting biomedical swine client needs. Dr. Sturos graduated with his DVM in 2012 and was a mixed animal practitioner before completing a residency in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology, becoming board certificated through the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, and earning a PhD in veterinary medicine with research into the pathogenesis and transmission of senecavirus A in swine.

Global update on FMD and what the pig industry should know

Don King, The Pirbright Institute

Dr. Don King is Head of the Vesicular Disease Reference Laboratory Group and leads the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) World Reference Laboratory for foot-and-mouth disease (WRLFMD). He has a background in veterinary virology and immunology (University of Leeds, University of California, Davis, USA), and has research interests in understanding the processes that drive the evolution of positive-stranded genome viruses such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV).

From a practical perspective, work within the group also develops and applies new technologies for the detection and characterisation of important livestock disease agents such as FMDV. These methods underpin the routine diagnostic work of the FMD Reference Laboratory at The Pirbright Institute and are also used to monitor the global patterns of disease, and to recognise new emerging viral lineages that pose threats to the UK and Europe.

Dr. King is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Virological Methods and participates in European collaborative research projects that aim to develop new diagnostic tools (Rapidia-Field), and to use next-generation sequencing approaches for molecular epidemiology.

Why every good strategy needs an economist

Lee Schulz, Chief Economist, Ever.Ag

Lee Schulz joined Ever.Ag as chief economist in 2024. In this role, he speaks on various industry topics, develops and delivers economic data and analyses, and provides clients with critical economic perspectives for informed decision-making. He also serves as the consulting economist for the National Pork Board. Lee grew up on a crop and livestock farm in central Wisconsin. From 2012 to 2024 he was on the economics faculty at Iowa State University where he served as a professor and as the statewide extension specialist on livestock economics and markets. Lee has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, a master’s in agricultural economics from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in economics from Kansas State University. Lee and his wife, Kelly, have two children and live in Kimball, Minnesota.

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2026 Leman Swine Conference Keynote Speakers

Allen D. Leman Swine Conference

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