Prime_Time_Fall_2019

AMERICAN AKAUSHI ASSOCIATION 2019 ANNUAL CONVENTION Speakers

technical manager, he also provides technical support for field staff. Prior to joining Micro- nutrients, Farmer earned his master’s and doctorate degrees at Kansas State University and spent 15 years working for Purina Animal Nutrition, where his work focused on adapting nutritional programs to specific environments to maximize profitability. He owns and man- ages his own purebred cattle operation in north central Texas. Colin Woodall, Chief Executive Officer, NCBA

Keynote Speaker Mike Howard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC

Mike Howard co-founded Howard Energy Partners (HEP) in 2011. Since then, the company has grown to nearly 350 employees in 10 offices across Texas, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Mexico. HEP operates more than $2.5 billion in assets, including natural gas and

Colin Woodall is chief execu- tive officer of NCBA. He previ- ously served as NCBA’s senior vice president of government affairs in Washington, D.C., where he worked as NCBA’s chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill and led the Washington office in developing strategies to en- sure that the cattle industry’s

crude oil gathering and transportation pipe- lines, natural gas processing plants, liquid stor- age terminals, deep-water port facilities, rail facilities and other related midstream energy assets. A South Texas native, Howard earned a degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University. In addition to his professional life, Howard is active in various community, industry and charitable organizations. General Session Speakers Danielle Beck, Senior Director, Government Affairs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)

voice is being heard by policy makers. Originally from Big Spring, Texas, Woodall graduated from Texas A&M and then worked as a grain elevator manager and merchandiser for Cargill at several locations in western Kan- sas and the Oklahoma Panhandle. After ven- turing to Washington, he took a job with U.S. Senator John Cornyn from Texas. He has been with NCBA since 2004. Breakout Session Speakers Trina Blankenship, Operations Project Manager, Neogen ® GeneSeek ®

Danielle Beck joined the Na- tional Cattlemen’s Beef Asso- ciation (NCBA) in June 2016. As senior director of govern- ment affairs, she is the lead lobbyist on all issues pertain- ing to tax, credit, appropria- tions, nutrition, food safety, labeling and research. Prior to joining NCBA, Beck represent-

Trina Blankenship joined Neogen GeneSeek in 2013. Since then she has fulfilled multiple positions, including lab technician, sample recep- tion supervisor, customer support and sample recep- tion manager and, currently, operations project manager.

ed clients across the food and agriculture sector as a lobbyist for The Russell Group. Before that, she spent five years on Capitol Hill working for Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL), where she managed his work on the Agriculture Appro- priations Subcommittee and House Agriculture Livestock Subcommittee Chairmanship.

Through her various roles, she has extracted DNA; established policies, procedures and work- flows to support sample submission processes; and standardized communications and process- es to excel customer service expectations. Originally from Lincoln, Neb., Blankenship has bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and chem- istry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Chance G. Farmer, Ph.D., Beef Technical Manager, Micronutrients Chance G. Farmer, Ph.D., joined Micronutrients in 2018. He conducts research com- paring IntelliBond ® hydroxyl trace minerals to other trace mineral sources. As beef

Continued page 28

25

www.akaushi.com • Fall 2019