Brilee Tucker is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. She currently works for the Kentucky Dairy Development Council as a dairy consultant. “My main goal as a consultant is to be a resource for Kentucky’s dairy producers and work with our organization to provide educational opportunities that allow those producers to enhance and progress their operations."
Nathaniel Keith is the Complex Manager at Cal-Maine Cage Free Layers in Bremen, KY. “Ag is a very small group. Always stay humble and be kind. You never know who you will work for in the future. Be slow to speak.”
Few people share the extreme passion and openness that Nikki Whitaker has displayed in her time with the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association. Going on 18 years with KCA, For 17 years, Nikki served as the Membership Coordinator, where she oversaw all aspects of membership services, including being a liaison between the state office and 99 county chapter affiliates.
Layne Ellen Harris is a Ph.D. Research Fellow for the Alltech Center for Animal Nutrigenomics & Applied Animal Nutrition in Nicholasville. Her experiments observe how nutrition influences the gene expression of plants and animals and how the downstream effects of that expression can affect the overall health of the plant or animal.
“I am currently an Asset Technology Intern for Royal DSM Nutritional Products in Winchester, Ky. The facility is a pilot plant that supports both scaling up of new research and development projects as well as improvement of current industrial scale processes.”
Beka, who is a Keeper II in the Glacier Run area of the Louisville Zoo, is part of a team who is responsible for the care and enrichment of grizzly bears, seals, sea lions, and polar bears. Every day is different, and that is what Beka loves the most.
Jared Shelton is the Live Production Manager at Perdue Farms in Cromwell, KY. In his current job, Jared helps his “very talented and dedicated management team” manage all aspects of live broiler production, starting with the egg all the way through to the market-age chicken that is delivered to the processing plant.
As the Executive Director of the Kentucky Pork Producers Association, I work on behalf of all of Kentucky’s pork-producing families. I work to ensure that pork production in Kentucky stays successful and sustainable. Like the farm families I represent, we are focused on keeping our pig herds healthy and our environment safe and supporting our communities across the state.
Terry Paschall grew up on a small family farm in Murray, Kentucky, where they grew tobacco, soybeans, and corn. His plan growing up was to continue farming for his entire life, as there was no substitute for being able to work daily with parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents and learning the lessons of life.
“I really wanted to be a row crop farmer, but I couldn’t drive a tractor in a straight line. I chose veterinary medicine as a career because of my interest in livestock and the opportunity to work daily with people who felt as I did. I spent 18 years as a private practitioner in eastern Kentucky, working with all species. In 2006 I took a position with Breathitt Veterinary Center, a state veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Hopkinsville, KY.”
Jamie Guffey is the Executive Director of the Kentucky Poultry Federation (KPF). This non-profit federation fosters, promotes, and encourages the improvement of production and marketing of all types of poultry, poultry products, eggs, and egg products in Kentucky.
Sheila Phillips is the owner of Green Pastures Veterinary Services and opened the business in 2021. Aside from veterinary services, they also offer at-home euthanasia for large and small animals. Prior to this, she worked in a rural mixed-animal practice for six years.
Bradon Burks is the Director of Education at the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and has been with KCA since December 2021. Prior to that, Bradon worked as a Leadership Consultant for a nonprofit and attended Western Kentucky University and majored in Agricultural Education and Sales.
