To submit an announcement for Names in the News, please email it to Kristin Bakker at [email protected].

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APC INC., Ankeny, Iowa — Dr. Yanbin Shen has joined the company as global technical sales manager. Shen will provide technical advice to the sales team, the distributor network and end user customers.

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AB VISTA, Marlborough, U.K. — Dr. Cathy Bandyk has joined the company as ruminant technical manager for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Bandyk will provide technical advice and information on ruminant products to customers across North America, Mexico and Brazil.

AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION, Washington, D.C. — Kathleen Cullins has joined the organization as chief financial officer. Cullins was previously with the American Chemical Society.

AMLAN INTERNATIONAL, Chicago, ill. — Clare Mari Torralba has joined the company as regional sales director for the Asia-Pacific region. Torralba will plan and execute the sales strategy and manage the regional sales team. She was previously with Evonik Industries.

THE ANDERSONS INC., Maumee, Ohio — Michael Irmen Irmen will retire as president of the Ethanol Group in July 2019. Irmen will provide transition assistance until his retirement and oversee the start-up of the new ELEMENT LLC ethanol joint venture.

James Pirolli has been named group president, effective April 1, 2019. Pirolli is currently vice president and general manager of the Ethanol Group.

BARTEK INGREDIENTS INC., Stoney Creek, Ont. — Jeff Billig has joined the company as vice president of marketing and business development. Billig will be focused on growing sales, improving margins and driving new growth opportunities. He was previously with Delavau Food Partners.

Heinrich G. Schaefer has joined the company as international sales director. Schaefer will help facilitate the direct sales and distribution programs in Europe, Asia and Latin America. He was previously with HYET Sweet.

BIOZYME INC., St. Joseph, Mo. — Jake Warntjes has been promoted to national sales director. Warntjes will lead a team of area sales managers to help them grow the dealer network and cultivate relationships with current dealers. He was most recently area sales manager for western Kansas, western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.

CALIFORNIA DAIRY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, Davis, Cal. — Denise Mullinax has been appointed executive director. Mullinax will lead the foundation and further the goals to serve California dairy producers and stakeholders through science-based research, specialized programming and direct education. She was most recently interim executive director.

CHORE-TIME EUROPE, Milford, Ind. — Herman Engel has been promoted to operations director. Engel will be responsible for driving a culture of continuous improvement and standardizing processes to create optimal quality, service and enhanced efficiencies within the business group's three locations in the Netherlands and warehouse in Strykowo, Poland. He will also coordinate to ensure that global best practices and customer goals are achieved. He was most recently controller.

CSA ANIMAL NUTRITION, Dayton, Ohio — Dale Kavan has joined the company as account manager. Kavan will have primary responsibility for developing the swine nutrition business and managing relationships across the U.S. western Corn Belt. He will also be involved in developing business with poultry and dairy clients, along with feed manufacturers and nutrition consultants. He was previously with Standard Nutrition.

Jay Shininger has joined the company as account manager. Shininger will have primary responsibility for developing the nutrition business and managing relationships across the U.S. eastern Corn Belt. He will be involved in developing business for swine, poultry and dairy clients, along with feed manufacturers and nutrition consultants. He was previously with MacAllister Ag.

DEERE & CO., Moline, Ill. — John C. May has been named president, chief operating officer, effective April 1. May will be responsible for leading efforts to maximize operational excellence throughout the company. He was most recently president, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division.

DIAMOND V, Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Dr. Jill Davidson has joined the company as national account manager-technical service specialist. Davidson will provide technical assistance for key accounts and will assist the Dairy Research and Field Technical Service teams with development and execution of the dairy research initiative. She was previously with the Purina Animal Nutrition Center.

Darrel Rennich has been promoted to ruminant field technical specialist. Rennich will provide technical support for the Midwest team. He was most recently regional sales manager serving the South Dakota area.

Stacia Sonderman has joined the company as regional sales manager serving the Minnesota market. Sonderman will work with the Ruminant Team to support producers, nutritionists, veterinarians and feed production professionals. She was previously with Adisseo.

Mark Tegeler has been promoted to technical service specialist. Tegeler will provide technical service to the North America team, mostly focusing on the Midwest market and Mexico but also available to help in China. He was most recently ruminant field technical specialist.

DOUBLE S LIQUID FEED SERVICES, Danville, Ill. — Adam Ford has been promoted to compliance director. Ford will have compliance oversite at the Danville, Lewistown, Pa., and Cabool, Mo., plants, including managing existing quality and safety programs, modifying and creating new programs as needed, preparing for third-party audits and pursuing quality certifications. He was most recently department lead in Danville.

Grant Hughes has been promoted to general manager. Hughes will be responsible for the management and performance of the plants in Danville, Lewistown, Pa., and Cabool, Mo. He was most recently compliance director.

Jacob Shepard has joined the company as office manager. Shepard will be responsible for customer relations and information technology, as well as accounts receivable and payable.

GVL, Ames, Iowa — Matt Keller has joined the company as vice president of product. Keller will collaborate with team members to develop and oversee product strategy and prioritization as well as communicate and ensure successful implementation of the product vision. He was previously with Workiva.

INTERNATIONAL BRANGUS BREEDERS ASSN., San Antonio, Texas — Dr. Darrell Wilkes has been named executive vice president. Wilkes was previously with Eastern Wyoming College.

KAI ENTERPRISES, St. Louis, Mo. — Matt Westphal has been appointed president of KAI Design and KAI Engineering. Westphal will be responsible for leading, managing and maintaining accountability for the design and engineering companies. He was previously with Hospital Designers Inc.

LAND O'LAKES INC., Arden Hills, Minn. — Pete Kappelman has joined the company as senior vice president, member and government relations. Kappelman will be responsible for leveraging resources to help the cooperative's members grow and strengthening its partnerships on technology, talent, branding and financial services. He will have responsibility for the member relations and government relations functions and matrixed responsibility for the Business Development Services and Strategic Asset Management teams.

NATIONAL RENDERERS ASSN., Alexandria, Va. — Anna Wilkinson has joined the organization as director of communications. Wilkinson will manage all internal and public communications, public relations and marketing for the association and serve as communications director for the Fats & Proteins Research Foundation.

NATURAL BIOLOGICS INC., Newfield, N.Y. — Joe Daniels has joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing.

PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS LLC, San Mateo, Cal. — Peter Hawthorne has joined the firm as operating director. Hawthorne was previously with Cargill.

PILGRIM'S PRIDE CORP., Greeley, Colo. — Chaz Wilson has been named to lead the Pilgrim's USA international sales and logistics team. Wilson will guide the Pilgrim's USA export strategy, managing the sale and distribution of products to a range of export destinations. He was previously with Grove Services Inc.

QUALITY LIQUID FEEDS INC., Dodgeville, Wis. — Rachel Kenneke has joined the company as dairy technical field support in Wisconsin. Kenneke will provide on-farm analyses of feeding systems and overall management to support area dairy farmers.

SPECIALTY SOYA & GRAINS ALLIANCE, Mankato, Minn. — Eric Wenberg has been named executive director. Wenberg will analyze trends in the specialty soya and grains industry, including transportation. He was previously with the Foreign Agricultural Service.

U.S. FARMERS & RANCHERS ALLIANCE, St. Louis, Mo. — Dr. Nick Goeser has been appointed vice president, sustainability sciences and strategy. Goeser will help produce new research and educational material on the science behind sustainability for farmers, ranchers, thought leaders, food retailers and other stakeholders in the food value chain. He also will lead the Ecosystems Services Science Advisory Council. He was previously with the National Corn Growers Assn.

VALENT U.S.A. LLC, Walnut Creek, Cal. — Rick Kraus has been named national sales director, integrated farms and land management. Kraus was most recently vice president, sales.

Dion McBay has been appointed vice president, sales. McBay will be responsible for leading the sales team and directing the sales process for products and services across North America. He will also serve as executive lead to the customer channel and support the global initiatives of parent company Sumitomo Chemical. He was previously with Bayer CropScience.

VERAMARIS, Delft, Netherlands — Ian Carr has joined the company as global business development director. Carr will strengthen the market position and roll-out of the natural marine algal oil globally.

Lalen Dogan has joined the company as Asia Pacific business development director. Dogan will strengthen the market position and roll-out of the natural marine algal oil globally.

Gaelle Husser has joined the company as global business development director. Husser will strengthen the market position and roll-out of the natural marine algal oil globally.

Christian Martin has joined the company as global business development director. Martin will strengthen the market position and roll-out of the natural marine algal oil globally.

Steven Severino has joined the company as new business development director. Severino will strengthen the market position and roll-out of the natural marine algal oil globally.

Jorge Torres has joined the company as Latin America business development director. Torres will strengthen the market position and roll-out of the natural marine algal oil globally.

WESTWAY FEED PRODUCTS, Tomball, Texas — Willie Hayes has been named vice president of business optimization. Hayes will analyze and develop strategies and create action plans relating to pricing and the supply chain. He was most recently director of sales.

Beau Meneley has joined the company as vice president of operations. Meneley will be responsible for oversight of the 28 production plants across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He was previously with Bunge North America.

WORLD DAIRY EXPO, Madison, WIS. — Mikayla Berge has joined the organization as trade show coordinator. Berge will be responsible for assisting with all aspects of sponsorship and trade show management, from corresponding with exhibitors to floor plan design and sponsor deliverables. She was previously with Boviteq USA.

ZINPRO CORP., Eden Prairie, Minn. — Dr. Mark Whitney has joined the company as swine nutritionist--technical services. Whitney will provide technical service support to customers, with a focus on swine production, and will contribute to nutritional swine research across the globe.

Gregg Wolf has joined the company as account manager-dairy for the U.S. Midwest. Wolf will provide customers in Wisconsin and surrounding-area dairy markets with nutritional and business solutions and performance minerals sales support.