Meet your
Sweet Bran team.

Chad graduated from Kansas State University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Later he got a master of animal science focusing on ruminant nutrition from North Carolina State University. He started working for Cargill at the corn-milling facility in Dayton, Ohio, where he held positions in operations, process engineering, project engineering, and automation in the wet mill, industrial starch, and corn syrup departments before moving to Blair in 1997 to become the plant engineer. In 1997 Chad received a Professional Engineer license in the State of Nebraska.

From 1999–2004, Chad had various roles leading plant operations or large, complex design and construction projects for various businesses within CSST. Since 2004, Chad has been focused on our Branded Feed business, first leading engineering and operations, and for the past 15 years has been the Beef Product Line Leader.

A member of the Branded Feed team since 2012, Lance has 30+ years of experience at Cargill, gaining expertise in different positions in the beef industry. Lance started his career in Friona, Texas, with Cargill Protein Solutions in the packing house, where he worked as a tagger in the coolers and as a cattle scheduler. He then accepted a position in cattle procurement—and was named buyer of the year twice.

Lance works closely with both the beef and dairy sales teams and customers in the Southwest region for our brands. His knowledge and experience make him a valuable member of the Branded Feed team. He has earned the respect of his customers and created solid, long-term partnerships.

Kurt manages both the beef and dairy sales teams in the Midwest region. Kurt grew up on a diversified livestock and grain farm in Eastern Nebraska. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he took a job at IBP for a short time but soon joined the Branded Feed team. Kurt was one of the first employees on this team when Sweet Bran was first introduced in 1995.

“Twenty-five years in the Branded Feed business gives me a unique perspective in working through customer challenges and using my experience as a guide,” explains Kurt. “I have customers who were part of the first set of Sweet Bran customers—they’ve been with me for a quarter-century!”

As a former owner of feeder cattle and his own cow/calf operation, J.D. has a deep background in cattle feeding. He worked for the Branded Feed team for several years as an RCM (Regional Commitment Manager), managing inventories and customer relationships in the Midwest for both beef and dairy customers. After this, J.D. worked as a grain merchant and feed-sales rep before returning to manage accounts for Sweet Bran in 2018.

Mark grew up in eastern Nebraska with a background in agriculture. He worked on a feedyard while in college at the University of Wyoming, earning a B.A. in Biology. After college, Mark spent time in the pharmaceutical industry, then later joined Elanco Animal Health where he worked with feedyards in southeast—Nebraska.

Mark joined the Sweet Bran team in 2018 and offers a unique range of experience and expertise. As Mark explains, “My 16 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, both human and animal, taught me about the sales role and delivering solutions for customer problems. The value that I bring to customers is focused on improving their operation and efficiencies. Having experience in all facets of the feedyard enables me to discuss solutions with them for cattle performance, health, and profitability.”

Maggie grew up on a feedlot in northwest Kansas and worked on several yards during college. Her passion for the industry moved her into graduate studies at Kansas State University, where she earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition. Maggie joined the Branded Feed team in 2018 and works with Sweet Bran and RAMP customers and sales reps in the Midwest and Southwest regions. “I provide technical support for our beef sales team and customers,” explains Maggie. “We provide our customers with a high-value product—and backing that up with additional nutritional expertise is important.”

Zane was born and raised in the Texas Panhandle and has been involved in cattle and farming his entire life. Before joining Cargill, he spent 16 years with Micro Beef Technologies and prior to that Zane worked in the feedyard directly. Zane has a great background and the experience to help manage key accounts in the high plains for Branded Feed.