Speakers

January 11-12, 2023

Register HERE

Maggie Baldwin

State Veterinarian - Colorado Department of Agriculture

Dr. Maggie Baldwin is the State Veterinarian and Director of the Animal Health Division at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. She has been with CDA since January 2017 holding several positions working on livestock emergency management, disease case management, and public outreach. Prior to joining CDA, Maggie worked for USDA as a Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian with FSIS and then as a Veterinary Medical Officer with APHIS during the 2014-2015 HPAI outbreak. Maggie is originally from west central Minnesota. She received her bachelor's degree and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota.

Randy Blach

CEO - CattleFax

A CSU graduate, Randy has been serving as the CEO of CattleFax since in 2001. During his tenure, the company has enjoyed significant growth and continues to lead the industry with timely market information, analysis and forecasts on cattle, protein and grain markets both domestic and globally. Raised on his family’s ranch in Yuma, Colorado; Blach and his family remain actively involved in the cattle business. Randy has been a keynote speaker at thousands of cattle, beef and related business meetings, seminars and conventions. In 2016, he was awarded the Industry Leadership Award through the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.

Erin Borror

VP, Economic Analysis - U.S. Meat Export Federation

Erin joined USMEF in July 2006 after receiving her M.S. in Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University and her B.S. in Agribusiness at California Polytechnic State University. Erin is responsible for USMEF’s red meat export forecasts, trade policy related analysis, global market analysis for U.S. exporters, and U.S. market analysis for international customers. Since 2014 Erin has also been Chair of the Economics Committee for the International Meat Secretariat. She and her husband Bryce raise commercial and seedstock Angus cattle in Northern California.

Dave Carter

Regional Technical Assistance provider Director - Flower Hill Institute

Dave Carter is a Director of Regional Technical Assistance Coordination for the Flower Hill Institute, which coordinates the technical assistance network USDA’s AMS established to support producers seeking to expand meat and poultry processing capacity. Previously, Carter served as executive director of the National Bison Association. He was a leader in the campaign to designate bison as the National Mammal of the United States in 2016. Carter was one of the organizers of the Center of Excellence for Bison Studies at South Dakota State University. Dave and his wife are partners in a bison herd operated east of Denver.

Tommy Casados

Owner/CEO - C4 Enterprises, Inc./C4 Farms

Tommy was raised on his family’s cow/calf and irrigated perennial hay operation in Tierra Amarilla, NM. A small town in north central New Mexico, about 20 miles from the Colorado border. After high school Tommy attended New Mexico State University where he studied rangeland science and upon graduation went to work for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service. During his tenure at USDA-NRCS, Tommy and his wife Jessica started their own cattle operation, C4 Farms, that spurred on direct marketing grass fed beef through farmer’s markets and eventually into e-commerce.

Troy & Heidi Crippen

Owners - Crippen's Processing LLC

We are a very small, family owned and operated, State Inspected, custom meat processor. We process domestics Jan-Aug, then wild game Aug-Jan. We have 5 full time employees and our 7 year old CEO, Dean. Troy and Bill Crippen (Troy's father), are the meat cutters; myself, Heidi, meat wrapper & admin, and 2 others we've been blessed to have on our team for the last 5 years. We opened our shop 11 years ago with Troy and Bill's combined years of over 65 years in the Meat Processing Industry. We process approximately 1400-1500 animals annually.

Robert Delmore

Professor - Colorado State University

Dr. Robert Delmore is a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. He teaches courses in Meat Science, Meat Processing and Food Safety. He is a member of the Center for Meat Safety & Quality conducting research to address national and global issues. Bob recently oversaw design and construction of the JBS Global Food Innovation Center in Honor of Gary and Kay Smith at Colorado State University. He directs the production for Beef Sticks for Backpacks, a non-profit providing high quality beef sticks to food insecure children in Colorado.

Pam Fruh

Food Distribution Program Manager - OPI School Nutrition Programs

Pam Fruh is the Food Distribution Program Manager for School Nutrition Programs at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, where she oversees the ordering and distribution of USDA Foods and USDA DoD Fresh produce to sponsors of the National School Lunch Program. Pam also supports Farm to School efforts and local procurement of foods for schools, including the processing of ‘Montana Marinara’ tomato sauce. Prior to coming to OPI, Pam worked in food service for the Helena Public Schools for 12 years. She has experience at every grade level and will gladly exchange funny cafeteria stories with you any time!

Mark Gallegos

Division Director, Inspection and Consumer Services Division - Colorado Department of Agriculture

Mark Gallegos’s passion is serving Colorado agriculture with the Colorado Department of Agriculture. He leads as the Division Director of the Inspection and Consumer Services Division (ICS). On a day-to-day basis, Mark develops strategic planning and analysis for ICS and directs administration and daily operations for program management, enforcement, and budgets. He enjoys working in a wide range of industry engagement including livestock, grain, and feed manufacturing. Originally from northern Colorado, Gallegos is an alumnus of CSU, he received his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business.

Hollis Glenn

Deputy Commissioner of Operations - Colorado Dept. of Agriculture

Hollis Glenn is currently Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). Previously he served for seven years as Director of the Inspection and Consumer Services Division at the CDA, where he oversaw the customs meat processing program. In 2021, Governor Polis appointed Hollis to serve on the Colorado Food System Advisory Council. And he was a “Who’s Who in Agriculture” honoree by the Denver Business Journal in 2020. Hollis has over 15 years of dedicated public service for the state of Colorado.

Dan Halstrom

President and CEO - U.S. Meat Export Federation

Dan was named President and CEO of USMEF in 2018. He originally joined USMEF in 2010 as the Senior Vice President of Marketing, and was responsible for global marketing, including the coordination of programs in 19 regions around the world promoting U.S. beef, pork, and lamb. In addition, he oversaw industry relations and membership activities for USMEF and their 9 sectors of membership. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Dan was born and raised near Cherokee, Iowa on a 1,000-acre grain farm, which included a 3,000-head cattle backgrounding operation.

Gray Harris

Senior Advisor, Food System Finance - USDA RD

Gray Harris is the advisor on food systems finance for the Food Systems Transformation portfolio of programs at the Rural Business-Cooperative Service of USDA RD. Prior to her role at RD, Gray spent 15 years at a rural CDFI in Maine, where she created and led the agriculture and food system business and financing strategy, offering TA and capital through lending and investing, and policy advocacy, to Maine family farms and the supply chain businesses that support them.

Kevin Kephart

Deputy Director, Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment - USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Deputy Director, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Kevin Kephart has been deputy director of the Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment at USDA NIFA since September 2021. From 2017 to 2019 Kevin led strategic collaborations and communications at Indigo Ag, Inc., a company based in Boston. From 2005 to 2016 he was VP for research and economic development at South Dakota State University (SDSU). He also spearheaded SDSU’s intellectual property portfolio and developed partnerships with agricultural technology companies, conservation groups, and farmer organizations. Kevin earned a B.S. degree from Montana State University, an M.S. degree from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

Tricia Kovacs

Deputy Administrator for Transportation and Marketing - USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

Tricia Kovacs leads grantmaking at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, along with research and technical assistance in agricultural transportation and local and regional foods. She joined USDA in 2016 as local and regional food systems policy advisor, where she coordinated efforts across USDA to support the local and regional food sector. Recently, Tricia held a 1-year assignment as a Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Domestic Policy Council. Prior to joining USDA, Tricia managed Regional Markets at Washington State Department of Agriculture, where she was founded the state Farm to School Program and led the Small Farm Direct Marketing Program.

Beth LaShell

Director, Old Fort at Hesperus - Fort Lewis College

As Director of Old Fort at Hesperus for Fort Lewis College, Beth oversees day to day operations including FLC and community uses, research and farmer training on the 6,300 acre property which was the original site of FLC. She received an Animal Science degree from The Ohio State University, and MS in Animal Breeding and Genetics at CSU with Dr. Jim Brinks. The Old Fort has 120 mother cows and produce replacements using PAP tested AI bulls. Red Angus calves are sold at weaning; Murray Greys are marketed as grass fed beef and Herefords are fed at CO feedyard.

Michele Meyer

Executive Director - Community Agriculture Alliance

Michele has worked at Community Agriculture Alliance since 2010 and assumed the Executive Director role in 2018. She brings over 25 years of professional fund raising, marketing, and nonprofit management experience to the CAA. Michele believes deeply in the value of agriculture and its critical importance to the Yampa Valley, working to honor the past, support the present, and build for the future of agriculture. Her passion for local food has led the CAA Market program growth and she continues to work to build a resilient local food system in NW Colorado.

Sara Place

Associate Professor - Colorado State University

Dr. Sara Place is an expert in livestock systems sustainability with over a decade of experience in academia, industry associations, and private industry. Most recently, Sara has been the Chief Sustainability Officer at Elanco Animal Health where she provided technical expertise on sustainability issues. Prior to Elanco, she was the senior director for sustainable beef production research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and an assistant professor in sustainable beef cattle systems at Oklahoma State University. She received her PhD in Animal Biology from the University of California, Davis, and a BS in Animal Science from Cornell University.

Kathryn Quanbeck

Director of Sales - West - Force of Nature

Kathryn Quanbeck is currently the Director of Sales - West for Force of Nature, a regenerative meat business. Her career has been focused on getting local and sustainable meat to market, working on issues like aggregation, processing, distribution and sales. She is on the Advisory Board of the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN) and has a masters degree in Agricultural Economics from UC - Davis.

Angie Reish

Co-Owner - Brother's Custom Processing inc.-Former

I co-owned and operated the former Brother’s Custom Processing Inc. in Craig, Co. with my parents(Dave & Sharla Satterwhite) and my husband(Kyle Reish). A USDA processing facility that processed domestic livestock and wildgame as well as having a retail store and catering business. After the sale of our processing plant in 2022 I joined the team at High Plains Frontier Supply, Loveland,Co. I am now responsible for project management and HACCP Consulting for new plant construction and existing plant remodels.

Chris Roper

Regional Director of Technical Assistance - FlowerHill Institute

Chris Roper is a Regional Director of technical assistance for the FlowerHill Institute and has spent over 25 years developing and managing development projects in various capacities. Projects have ranged in size from $1,000,000 to over $500,000,000. USDA has committed over $1 Billion dollars in expanding meat and poultry processing capacity. USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity - Technical Assistance (MPPTA) Program ensures that participants in USDA’s Meat and Poultry Supply Chain programs and initiatives have access to robust technical assistance (TA) to support them.

John Scanga

Chief Scientific Officer - Eurofins

Dr. John Scanga received his Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. He and his wife Chauna and their sons Sam and Ian reside in Ault CO and operate a diversified farming operation. John currently serves as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University and is also the Chief Scientific Officer for Eurofins Laboratories North American Meat Division and is the Chair of the Colorado Beef Council.

Armando Valdez

State Director - USDA Rural Development

Armando is the USDA-Rural Development State Director for Colorado. A native of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, Armando was raised on a farm and ranch consisting of cattle, sheep, small grains, and hay. Armando continues to be actively engaged with this family farm and ranch along with his wife and children. In addition to his passions for agriculture, Armando spent over two decades as a professor and administrator in the higher education system in Colorado. In various roles, Armando has been involved with production agriculture, water leadership, higher education, rural health care, and small business creation.

Holly Zink

General Manager - Sunnyside Meats

Holly Zink was raised in Durango, a fifth generation descendent of farmers, ranchers, and business owners. While attending CU in Boulder, Colorado, Holly worked at a small grocery store where she enjoyed spending time in the meat and seafood department. She went on to attend the Meat Sciences program at CSU and worked at small meat processing facilities in Weld County, Colorado to learn about all aspects of the meat business. In 2002, she moved back to Durango, and along with her family, opened Sunnyside Meats Livestock Processing and Sunnyside Farms Retail Market.

Email Libby Christensen at libby.christensen@colostate.edu with questions about the event.

Join us for Happy Hour!

Happy Hour is brought to you by CSU Fermentation Science and Technology Program, the Food Systems Institute and Get Plattered!

Thank you to our ILF Sponsors and Partners

Thank you to our Mountain Meat Sponsors and Partners

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number G325-21-W8612 through the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Marco Antonio Abarca

CEO - Ready Foods Inc

Marco grew up in Denver and graduated from Regis Jesuit High School. After attending Yale College and Stanford Law School, he spent four years working with the Migrant Farmworker Project of California Rural Legal Assistance. Marco returned to Denver in 1992 and began working in his family's Mexican food business. In the nearly thirty years he has been with Ready Foods, Marco has transformed the company into a medium sized soup and sauce company. This year, Marco and his wife Cathy have become empty nesters. They are looking forward to finally tackling their large stack of unread books.

Christine Arbogast

President - Kogovsek & Associates, Inc.

Christine Arbogast is a native Coloradan, whose career began as a journalist and developed into advocacy on Western natural resource issues after six years on the staff of the late Congressman Ray Kogovsek from 1979-84. She represents multiple water districts, whose interests include sufficient water supplies for domestic, agricultural and industrial use. She also works on public lands issues, including wildfire and watershed health, In addition she represents Colorado's two Ute Indian tribes. Most of her work is at the federal level, but when state and federal issues interface, she works with state resource agencies as well.

Flora Archuleta

Executive Director - San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center

Flora Archuleta is a San Luis Valley native, who has worked in the non-profit sector for the past thirty-five years. She has been employed as the Executive Director with the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center for the past twenty years and is recognized as an Accredited Representative with the Department of Justice.