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Dr. Thach Winslow currently serves on Elanco’s team of beef outside cattle technical consultants focusing on stocker / backgrounder and cow/calf operations in the southeast where he owned an operated large animal practice for the first 17 years of his veterinary career.
Thach spent another 11 years in regulatory medicine in both Virginia and most recently Wyoming as a livestock epidemiologist with a focus on foreign, domestic, and emerging disease mitigation, surveillance, control, and eradication. As assistant state veterinarian for Wyoming he was involved nationally in livestock disease, traceability, and emergency response programs.
Thach has extensive experience working directly with producers in most all pre-feedlot sectors. He provided animal health and consulting services to both stocker and backgrounder operations, seedstock and commercial cow/calf producers, buying stations, and livestock markets. While familiar and supportive of traditional systems, Thach continually seeks innovative solutions improve and add value to what was done last year, last week, and yesterday. His practice was the first PVP age source provider in Virginia. He is a strong believer in good records as an analysis tool – as well as looking beyond the computer screen. It is rare that you will hear Thach making blanket recommendations as he feels that protocols and practices should vary by operation, season, source, facilities, environment, desired outcome, and other significant factors. “One thing is for sure – all the answers are NOT in the bottle.”
Brian Moore is a small businessman in rural northeastern New Mexico. He and his wife Linda have owned and operated Clayton Ranch Market (a small supermarket) in Clayton, NM since 1995. Moore served in the New Mexico House of Representatives since 2000. Over his eight years in the legislature, he served on committees for Ag and Water Policy, Transportation, Business and Finance. The last two years, he also served on the Education Funding Formula task force assigned to re-evaluate New Mexico’s formula for funding education more equitably. Moore represented one of the largest legislative districts in the country. NM House District 67 is comprised of 6 counties, 13 municipalities and 12 school districts … and takes in almost 15,000 square miles on New Mexico’s northeastern corner. In his service in Santa Fe, Moore became known for his ability to work with members of both parties to find solutions for rural New Mexico. As a member of the Legislative Finance Committee, he worked to find ways to be more creative about resources and put fewer mandates in budgets for government agencies and schools around the state. From 2011 thru 2012, Moore served as deputy chief of staff for Governor Susana Martinez. From 2014 to the present, Moore is director of government relation for NM Counties. Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham asked Moore to serve as co-chair of her Economic Recovery Council, a bi-partisan group of business people working to improve the business outlook since the Covid pandemic began in 2020.Brian Moore is married to Linda (18 years) and they have five children and seven grand-children.
Dina Chacón-Reitzel has worked with the New Mexico Beef Council since 1989 and has served as the Executive Director of the council since 1991. Dina was raised on a cattle ranch in northern New Mexico, close to the Colorado border. Her family has roots in the state going back over four hundred years. Dina earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics in Business and an MBA in Marketing and Management from New Mexico State University.
In her capacity as Executive Director of the New Mexico Beef Council, she is responsible for the creation and implementation of beef research, promotion and consumer information programs. In addition, she is responsible for collection and compliance of the Beef Checkoff.
Dina has held seats on several national beef industry committees and is currently serving on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Beef Safety Research Committee.
In 2018, Dina was appointed to serve on the Board of Regents at New Mexico State University. She currently serves as Chairwoman of the Board.
New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science named Dina to serve as one of three delegates to USDA’s Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET). In her role as a CARET delegate, she is a “citizen advocate”, advocating for federal funds in Washington, DC for the college. She has served on the CARET Executive Committee and became Chairwoman of CARET in January 2016.
In May, 2015, Dina was awarded the New Mexico Outstanding Leadership Award, the highest honor given by NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The award is given to an individual who has made a significant leadership contribution to agriculture in New Mexico and/or service to agriculture. Candidates for this distinguished award will exemplify the philosophy of leveraging knowledge, talents, partnerships and resources to better serve agriculture.
Dina was honored in August, 2011 by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture as the recipient of the 2011 Industry Partner Award for her support of the department and New Mexico agriculture. She also received the Friend of Extension Award, from the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service in 2012.
Dina was selected to participate in Leadership New Mexico and successfully completed the program in June of 2007. She has been very active in various organizations at the state level, serving on the New Mexico 4-H Foundation, and past board member of the Saint Pius High School Foundation and the UNM Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Dina was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Agriculture and Home Economics College at New Mexico State University in 1996. In addition, she was recognized by the Governor of New Mexico as a “Hero of the Cerro Grande Fire” and also by the Children’s Hospital of New Mexico for her long-time work on behalf of New Mexico’s sick children.
Dina is married to Jim Reitzel, and has two wonderful children, Elizabeth and Matthew. Elizabeth graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School with a Natural Resource specialty, and Matthew graduated with an Agriculture Economics degree from New Mexico State University.
Dr. Nichols is a Senior Veterinarian with the Professional Services Group at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. His responsibilities include providing technical support for the US beef business at Boehringer Ingelheim as well as the veterinarians and cattle producers that prescribe and utilize Boehringer Ingelheim cattle products.
Mike is a native of Oklahoma, received his Bachelors degree in Animal Science and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Oklahoma State University in 1986. He practiced veterinary medicine in Oklahoma for over 20 years, first in mixed practice and then concentrating on bovine production medicine working with cow calf ranchers and stocker cattle producers. He also maintained a cow herd, grazed stocker cattle, and fed cattle during this time. In 2006 Mike left private practice and began working in industry as a technical services veterinarian. Currently his responsibilities are focused on support of beef cattle veterinarians and beef producers in Texas and New Mexico.
Dr. Nichols’ professional affiliations include the AVC (Academy of Veterinary Consultants), AABP (American Association of Bovine Practitioners), AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), NCBA (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association), TSCRA (Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association), OCA (Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association), TCFA (Texas Cattle Feeders Association), OVMA (Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association), and the TVMA (Texas Veterinary Medical Association).
Mike’s family includes his wife of 33 years, Shannon, as well as their son and daughter-in-law Jonathan and Maria, and daughters Erryka and Caroline. He and his family live in Grapevine, Texas.
Dr. Sara Linneen is a beef cattle Technical Consultant for Elanco Animal Health based in Arcadia, Oklahoma. In this role, she is responsible for research and technical support for sales reps and producers focused primarily in cow-calf and stocker cattle. Dr. Linneen grew up in Southern Arizona where she received her B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Arizona. She went on to complete an M.S. in Animal Science from Kansas State University and Ph.D. in Animal Science in ruminant nutrition focused on cow-calf nutrition from Oklahoma State University. She has previous held positions in both academia and industry focused in livestock production, feed milling, and applied research.
Shawn Darcy is the Senior Director of Market Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The market research team helps enhance a range of Beef Checkoff funded work, by bringing consumer insights into the equation when issues management, production, nutrition, quality and communications work is being designed and implemented.
Shawn has over 11 years of Market Research experience, having conducted hundreds of consumer studies. Topics have ranged from consumer perceptions regarding how food is raised, consumer segmentation, food preferences, foodservice and retail trends, new product opportunities, advertising evaluation, and messaging and brand insights. Previous to NCBA, Shawn worked for comScore ARS, where he was an Account Manager of Market Research on the company’s top Pharmaceutical and Consumer Package Goods accounts. Prior to market research, he also spent time as an Assistant Store Manager at Kroger in the Cincinnati division. Preceding his career at Kroger, he received his B.A. at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Shawn loves living in Colorado where he looks forward to spending time with his wife and two kids.
Alisa Harrison is Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). In her role, she leads a team of marketing and communications specialists that works to grow beef demand through the Beef Checkoff funded Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. campaign.
Alisa re-joined NCBA in October 2016 after serving in various trade associations and public affairs agencies where
advised on strategic positioning, media relations, corporate responsibility, crisis management and government affairs activities to position them positively among various domestic and international audiences.
Alisa served as Director of Communications & Press Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005, where she served as a strategic advisor to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on communications matters involving the entire USDA portfolio, including rural development programs, farm bill implementation, biotechnology, forestry, food safety, health and nutrition, international trade and farm policy. During her tenure at USDA, managed communications efforts in response to the first U.S. case of Mad Cow disease in 2003 and other high-profile food safety incidents.
Prior to joining USDA, Alisa served in various positions at NCBA, including most recently as Executive Director of Public Relations where she directed all public relations programs, including public affairs, food marketing communications, crisis management and food safety and nutrition communications
Alisa earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications/Journalism from the University of Tennessee, where she currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information Services.
Blach came to CattleFax in 1981 and served as Director of Market Analysis for 15 years. He was promoted to CEO in January of 2001, a role that he continues to serve in today. During his tenure, the company has enjoyed significant growth and has continues to lead the industry with timely market information, in-depth analysis and forecasts on cattle, protein and grain markets in the United States and globally. Blach has been a keynote speaker at thousands of cattle, beef and related business meetings, seminars and conventions.
A Colorado native, Randy Blach and his family remain actively involved in the cattle business and farming. He was raised on his family’s ranch in Yuma, Colorado and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in animal science. Blach received the Honor Alumni award from its College of Agricultural Sciences in 2004 and the Livestock Leader Award in 2011. In 2016, he was awarded the Industry Leadership Award through the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.
Randy and his wife Karen have been married for 33 years. She is a retired school teacher. Their son, Ty, plays for the San Francisco Giants baseball team, and daughter, Haylee, attends Creighton University in Omaha and competes in soccer. Randy and his family enjoy spending time together at sporting events and at the ranch in eastern Colorado.
Manny is an animal science professor at Mesalands Community College and formerly a NMSU Extension Beef Specialist for 15 years. He is a 4th generation cattle rancher and also has a cattle management consulting business. He raises and direct market grassfed cattle under the brand Trilogy Beef. Se habla español.
Chadelle “Chaddy” Robinson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business at New Mexico State University. She earned her Ph.D. at New Mexico State University in the College of Business. Her research and Extension efforts aim to improve producers’ incomes by providing a better understanding of consumer behavior, market research and general business research.
Frannie Miller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics andAgricultural Business at New Mexico State University. She is an NMSU alum, with a B.S. in Animal Science and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics. Her Ph.D. is from University of Texas at Dallas in Public Policy and Political Economy. Her current research focus is on the impacts and spread of foreign animal diseases. With production experience in dairy and beef livestock, she has a particular interest in applied research projects. Prior to returning to New Mexico, she taught Economics for 12 years at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Jim Richards, a Cornerstone Principal and Managing Director, joined the firm in 2005 after serving in both the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. Since joining the Cornerstone family, Jim has successfully managed and advised a diverse set of clients in the agriculture, defense, technology, higher education, transportation, environment, and appropriations spheres, amongst others. In addition, Jim is heavily engaged in Republican politics at the state, local, and federal levels.
Before leaving Capitol Hill, Jim served as the appropriations staff for succeeding chairmen of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies, the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations at the United States Department of Agriculture, and the chief of staff to Congressman Steve Pearce.
Prior to his government service, Jim was the General Manager of a multi-million-dollar wholesale and retail business in New Mexico and a small business owner in Arizona. He also served as an interrogator, linguist and intelligence specialist on active duty in the U.S. Army with extensive experience throughout Southwest Asia. While in the Army, he graduated as Distinguished Honor Graduate of the Defense Language Institute and Foreign Language Center’s Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Dialect courses.
Jim grew up on his family’s fifth generation cattle ranch in Southwest New Mexico and resides in McLean, VA with his wife Patty and their two youngest children.
Dr. Craig Gifford, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, started employment with Extension Animal Sciences & Natural Resources Department at New Mexico State University July 1st. Dr. Gifford comes to us from Oklahoma State University where he was a Research Associate in the Department of Animal Science. His major field of interest is in Beef Cattle Production with a focus on Beef Cattle Reproduction. He obtained his B.S. Degree in Animal Science from the University of Wyoming, M.S. Degree in Animal Physiology from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and his Ph.D. Degree in Animal Physiology from the University of Idaho. He has served in education programs in Beef Cattle Production in New Mexico. Dr. Gifford was also involved in programs centered around profitable and sustainable management of beef cattle operations and has been involved in youth development programs. His research is in methods to improve pregnancy rates in beef cattle and the involvement of maternal immune system in early pregnancy in beef cattle.