Eggheads

Bruce Dooyema's career in poultry began in the 7th grade, when his parents bought him a dozen chickens to raise in the backyard. Now, as Director of Strategic projects at Versova, he's responsible for around 40 million of them. And as if that wasn't enough responsibility, Bruce serves as President of the International Egg Foundation, where he helps establish layer operations in countries struggling with food insecurity. 

Today, Bruce walks us through what goes into managing 40 million birds, especially in a time where even the best laid plans can be entirely upended by HPAI. He also discusses his w...

There are so many different ways to introduce contaminants during the egg production process: improperly used chemicals, dirty equipment, poor handling techniques, the list goes on. And it's the job of today's guests to develop and enforce the protocols that prevent all that from happening, which would be a tough enough gig for one facility, let alone 15. 

Kim Rice is the VP of Food Safety and Quality at Rose Acre Farms, the second largest egg producer in the US. She joins us today to talk about mitigating all of the different avenues for biological or chemical contamination, w...

Finding the right ventilation solution can be make or break for your layer operation. And especially now with the emergence of cage-free farming, making sure air is circulating evenly can be key in ensuring your chickens remain healthy and productive. 

Craig Morley is in charge of sales at Aerotech, and Ross Demerly is their applications and sales engineering manager. Together they have a combined 60-plus years of experience working in agricultural ventilation, and they've been involved in some major innovations, including the rollout of the EC motor. Now, as part of a larger company called Grain and P...

Sometimes people have this idea that farmers shouldn't use immigrant workers at all, and that there are enough people looking for work domestically to staff their operations. Today, we're getting into why that's often just simply not the case. 

Kyle Farmer is the founder of Farmer Law PC where he's an attorney specializing in immigration law. He works with producers, and operators throughout the agricultural industry to help them navigate the complexities of the legal system, and find solutions for their labor needs.

Today, Kyle walks us through why access to foreign labor is often a...

The last few decades have seen an incredible amount of change in the egg industry. That's especially true of egg grading, where we've gone from machines that can process 200 cases per hour, to systems that can do 800. And where advances in vision automation mean we no longer need people on the line manually inspecting eggs for dirt or cracks. 

Craig England was formerly the President of Sanovo Technology USA and also served as the President of MOBA USA, two of the world's foremost egg processing technology companies. Today, he walks us through the timeline of how automation t...

In four generations, the Braswell family has gone from selling animal feed to local farmers, to becoming one of the largest suppliers of organic feed and specialty eggs on the east coast. And now, Trey Braswell, the president and CEO of Braswell Family Farms, is focused on continuing that incredible legacy. 

Trey joins us today to walk us through the history of the company, to take us inside their long-standing partnership with Eggland's Best, and explain how his unique approach to team building and leadership has made Braswell resilient to whatever challenges may come. 

The Weaver family has been in the specialty egg game for a long time, and they've seen incredible success with their brand, Westfield Egg Farm. A big reason for that success has been their continued willingness to innovate, including a unique model that holds their contract farmers to extremely high standards, but also gives them the autonomy to run their operations as they see fit. 

Our guest today is George Weaver IV — G4 for short — and he's in charge of sales and marketing at Westfield. G4 gives us a glimpse into the relationship between retailers and specialty egg p...

What a year it's been for Eggheads. We've featured so many new voices and interesting perspectives from throughout the egg world, and gained a whole bunch of new listeners along the way. 

Today, Greg shares his thoughts on all of the people and issues we've highlighted in 2025, and what you can expect from the show as we move into 2026. 

Happy New Year! 

Coke Anderson has had one of the most storied careers of anyone in the egg business. She started with a 30,000-bird flock, which would eventually grow into M&C Anderson pullets, a 1700-acre farm that rears nearly 5 million pullets annually. She would also become the first woman to lead the American Egg Board, and helped the organization navigate through some turbulent times. 

Today, Coke joins us in person for the inaugural interview in our new Eggheads studio. We get into her incredible story, her unique approach to leadership, and her thoughts on some of the biggest issues f...

Today, we're returning to our special scramble format and welcoming to the show three legends of the egg industry. We have Mark Kleinsmith, formerly the National Sales and Marketing Manager for Lubing USA, Steve Kuykendall, formerly a Regional Manager for Lubing USA, and Craig England, who spent decades working on the breaker and grader side of the industry. 

These three old friends have a combined 125 years of industry experience, and they join us to reflect on how the industry has changed over the course of their careers, and to share stories from back in the days when t...

'In-ovo' sexing, or determining the sex of an egg before it hatches, has long been seen as a potential solution to the problem of male chick culling at hatcheries. Methods of in-ovo sexing have historically been invasive and difficult to apply at scale, but today we're spotlighting a company with some revolutionary tech that could change that. 

Jennifer Volz is the Head of Global Business Development at Orbem, a Germany-based company using MRI technology and AI algorithms to make mass in-ovo sexing achievable for only a few cents per egg. Orbem's tech is already in use at s...

Steve DeWeerdt, and his parents before him, grew the DeWeerdt poultry farm from a small family business into a massive egg production and processing operation. But when Michigan passed a law mandating that all egg producers in the state go cage-free, Steve was faced with a choice: adapt or close up shop. 

Ultimately, Steve decided to make the transition, and today he takes us through that long process from start to finish, including the race against time to get their farm switched over, and the steep learning curve they faced when they ultimately got there. 

Unfortunately, not all eggs that get produced make it onto supermarket shelves. Producers try to sort out eggs that are broken or misshapen, hatcheries discard infertile eggs, and breaker operations need to deal with broken yolks or excess fluid left in shells. So what happens to that stream of waste egg products that still have nutritional value, but are deemed to be unfit for human consumption? 

Ingmar Middelbos is the Global R&D Director for Animal Nutrition at Symrise Pet Food. Symrise partners with producers across the US and abroad to collect discarded egg products that would o...

After nearly a year and a half of hearing his voice on Eggheads, we figured you might be curious about who Greg is and why in the world he decided to start a podcast about the egg industry. Well today, we hope to give you some insight, by flipping the script and putting Greg in the guest's seat. 

Stepping in as host for the day is Dr. Kay Russo. Kay's always been willing to lend us her scientific expertise when it comes to bird flu, and in this episode she uses that same academic rigour to tease o...

At only 25 years old, Cole Luthman is the Lead Service Technician at Cooper Farms, responsible for overseeing five out of their 8-million total birds. And as if that wasn't keeping him busy enough, Cole recently decided to start his own barn and become a contract grower himself. 

Cole's journey into the poultry world started at 13, when he began working with one of Cooper's contract growers. Since then, he's won an FFA award for proficiency in poultry production in the state of Ohio, obtained a degree in agriculture, and helped Cooper's growers navigate through a devastating HPAI outbreak. 

Logan Webster has worn many hats in his life: he grew up on a broiler farm in South Arkansas, he worked in PR for Tyson Foods, he interned for a US Senator in Washington, and now, he's an entrepreneur working on an app that could prove to be an indispensable resource for growers everywhere. 

We've talked a lot about the broiler industry on this show, but for the first time we're featuring a voice from inside of it. Logan's going to walk us through his family's experience working as contract growers, the different challenges that people face w...

Besco Structures is one of the leading suppliers of pre-fabricated steel structures for agriculture. And since they started in the 80's, their director, Mark Doyle, has had the opportunity to observe poultry operations across the globe, from South America to Sub-Saharan Africa. 

His many travels have given Mark a repository of amazing stories that you wouldn't necessarily expect from your typical career in agriculture, including run-in's with dangerous reptiles, wearing bullet proof vests, and monkey bodyguards. Yes, seriously.  

Today on Eggheads, we're picking Mark's brain about the upsides and challenges of operating in the international mar...

On this show we've talked a lot about the debate around vaccinating birds against highly pathogenic avian influenza, and the opposing views on the issue within the egg and broiler industries. For clues on how to break that deadlock, we looked to a country that experienced very similar pushback when they first started talking about vaccinating their own birds, but still managed to make it work. 

Charles Martins Ferreira is the Deputy Agricultural Counselor at the French Embassy in Washington. As a trained veterinarian, Charles has worked on sanitary and phytosanitary issues all over the world. Now h...

A few months ago, Eggheads had the pleasure of running a booth at the PEAK Conference in Minneapolis. We met so many different folks working in the egg world, and felt so inspired by all of the incredible things we saw going on within the industry. So today, we wanted to sit down with one of the people who made it all possible. 

Lisa Henning is a board member for the Midwest Poultry Association, the body responsible for organizing the PEAK conference. She's also the Strategic Relationship Manager at Henning Companies, where she's worked for more than 22 y...

Glenn Hickman is the president of Hickman's Family Farms, one of the largest egg producers in the southwestern US. You'd think that their location in the middle of the Sonoran desert, well outside the range of migratory birds, would keep them safe from outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). But that was unfortunately not the case. 

After taking root in a nearby dairy farm, HPAI spilled over into Glenn's facility. 80 years of continuous operation came to a screeching halt, and the Hickmans were forced to sacrifice 95% of their flock — nearly 6 million birds. 

Glenn takes us i...

Why are so few young people pursuing careers in the skilled trades? For Aaron Witt, the founder of BuildWitt, the problem is a lack of visibility. For too many young people coming out of high school, the trades just don't end up on their radar. And he knows that firsthand, because he was one of those kids. 

As a teenager, Aaron got a summer job working on a construction project in his hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, and despite the sweltering heat, he fell in love with the industry. He's since obtained an engineering degree, and built a m...

Today, we return to our special 'Scramble' format, where some of our most trusted experts break down some of the most pressing issues facing the egg industry today. 

First up, Dr. Kay Russo joins us to talk about the current situation with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and why the number of outbreaks has declined so dramatically in recent months. We also get into the HPAI situation in the dairy industry, the risk of spillover into nearby poultry operations and why the presence of the disease in cattle could turn the disease into a year-round concern for producers. A...

We've talked before about how government policy has prevented the egg industry from using vaccines to fight Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. But if there was a policy shift tomorrow, and producers were given the green light to immunize their birds, what would that effort even look like? Where would the vaccines comes from? How would we know they're safe and effective? How much would they cost? And who would be expected to foot that bill?

Joel Harris is the co-founder of Genvax. An economist by trade, he has nearly 20 years of experience working in the field of...

This week on Eggheads, we're chatting with Dr. Ken Anderson, a long-time poultry scientist and a Professor in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University. Ken has been working with eggs since he was 6 years old, and his perspective is informed by a wealth of hands-on industrial and academic experience.

One of his biggest contributions is a project called the Layer Performance and Management Test. It's a long running trial where different breeds of hens are raised under various production systems to measure their impact on egg output, feed efficiency, shell quality, and...

This week on Eggheads, we sit down with Mark Kellen, Executive Vice President at Daybreak Foods, to explore the mindset, skillset, and lived experience behind leadership in the egg industry. From his beginnings on a small family farm in Minnesota to overseeing operations across six states, Mark’s journey is rooted in curiosity, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to his team.

We unpack what it takes to become a well-rounded general manager—from hands-on live bird work to managing budgets, community relations, and customer expectations. Mark shares how Daybreak is building internal pipelines of leadership through tailored deve...

This week on Eggheads, we sit down with Dr. Maurice Pitesky, veterinary epidemiologist at UC Davis and founder of AgriNerds, to explore how technology—think radar, satellites, and spatial modeling—is reshaping disease prevention in the poultry industry. His tool, the Waterfowl Alert Network, helps producers track wild bird movement in real time, offering a red-light, green-light system for assessing avian influenza risk.

Maurice explains how biosecurity needs to expand beyond the barn, why data sharing is just as important as data collection, and what it’ll take to modernize vet training for the 21st century. From drones...

In this special roundtable edition of Eggheads, we bring back “The Scramble”—our unfiltered format where leading voices in the egg industry sit down to tackle the Avian Influenza chaos head-on. Host Greg Schoenfeld is joined by three experts at the forefront: Dr. Kay Russo, veterinarian and virologist, Brian Moscogiuri, egg market analyst, and Jacques Klempf, former egg producer and industry veteran.

This conversation covers it all: the continued volatility in egg prices, the relentless spread of avian influenza, the economic and emotional toll on farmers, and the controversial but potentially game-changing role of vaccination. Kay breaks down t...

Sustainability, animal welfare, and transparency—are they just buzzwords, or true commitments?

This week we sit down with Sandra Vijn, Managing Director of Kipster USA, to explore how the company is rethinking the entire system—from upcycled feed to carbon-neutral farming. Kipster is aiming to redefine what ethical egg farming looks like.

Sandra shares how Kipster’s model challenges conventional agriculture, why transparency matters (even when it’s not pretty), and the complex question of who really pays for sustainability. She explains how Kipster was designed around the needs of chickens rather than regulations, the challeng...

Egg prices have been anything but stable in recent years, and behind every price shift is a complex web of market forces. In this episode, we sit down with Karyn Rispoli, Managing Editor of Eggs at Expana, to break down how egg pricing really works. From avian influenza outbreaks wiping out millions of layers to shifting market dynamics and the intricacies of price reporting, we explore why the egg industry is so volatile—and what that means for producers, buyers, and everyone in between.

Karyn sheds light on the challenges of market reporting, the common misconceptions about pr...

The egg industry is changing, and at the center of that transformation is a bold mission: ending chick culling globally. In this episode, Greg sits down with Respeggt Group’s Silvin Faulstitch to explore how their groundbreaking in-ovo sexing technology is reshaping hatcheries.

Respeggt’s approach has evolved from early research to a fully automated production line that allows hatcheries to determine the sex of eggs with 99.5% accuracy—all before they hatch! This innovation is more than just a technological leap; it’s a critical step in eliminating an inhumane practice while keeping the industry’s economic r...

What does it take to succeed in the egg industry? According to Mark Kleinsmith, it’s a mix of hard work, persistence, and sometimes… shaving your mustache to close a deal. In this episode, Greg sits down with Mark, a legendary industry salesman whose career spans decades of innovation, market shifts, and unforgettable negotiations.

Mark shares wild tales from his time in the field, from 5:30 AM swim tests with clients to sealing contracts in an 80-foot treehouse. But beyond the stories, he offers valuable insights into how the egg industry has evolved—from the rise of high-rise cage s...

What does it take to keep a poultry farm safe from disease outbreaks? In this episode of Eggheads, Greg sits down with Jack Hughes, a biosecurity advisor at LiveTec Systems based in the UK. Jack shares his perspective on how proactive measures, innovative solutions, and a disciplined mindset can transform the way farmers protect their operations.

From the risks posed by migratory birds to the importance of tailored solutions, Jack emphasizes that biosecurity is about more than compliance—it’s about care, resilience, and protecting livelihoods. The conversation also explores the human side of farming, the growing dema...

What drives a 22-year-old to take on the world of egg farming? In this episode of Eggheads, Greg sits down with Michael Jimenez, the founder and CEO of JMZ Farms. Starting with a single baby chick named Peaches in his mom’s backyard, Michael has grown JMZ Farms into a thriving pasture-raised egg operation. 

Michael shares how his entrepreneurial spirit and a high school business plan paved the way for his success. From navigating USDA organic certification requirements to scaling his operation with a subscription-based model, Michael provides an inside look at the challenges and triumphs of run...

Greg sits down with Ryan Bennett, Executive Director of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance, to discuss his journey from public policy to driving sustainability in agriculture. With a career rooted in supporting farmers and improving industry practices, Ryan shares how he transitioned from lobbying in DC to leading initiatives that unify the supply chain around meaningful, data-driven progress.

Ryan offers a behind-the-scenes look at how his team builds trust and transparency among farmers, processors, and retailers, using outcome-based standards to address challenges like greenhouse gas emissions and animal...

Today, Greg Schoenfeld sits down with Danny Leckie, CEO of Hatch for Hunger, to learn about his journey from corporate agriculture to leading a mission-driven nonprofit. With roots in feeding people that trace back through his career, Danny shares how he transitioned from big agriculture to Hatch for Hunger, where he’s now tackling food insecurity by providing fresh, sustainable proteins like eggs to food banks across the country.

Danny offers a behind-the-scenes look at Hatch for Hunger’s unique model, which combines farm partnerships, innovative logistics, and cold storage solutions to address the economic and distribution chal...

Today Greg Schoenfeld sits down with the "Queen of the Coop," Lisa Steele-- the fifth-generation chicken keeper behind Fresh Eggs Daily, to explore her unique path from Wall Street to the farm. Lisa shares how her family’s tradition of raising chickens, which traces back to Finland, influenced her shift from accounting to becoming one of the most recognized voices in the backyard chicken community.

Lisa discusses into her work across cookbooks, a thriving blog, TV shows, and social media, all centered on the value of fresh, farm-raised eggs. She shares why she made the leap to fo...

In the debut episode of The Egghead Scramble, host Greg Schoenefeld reconnects with industry experts Brian Moscogiuri, VP of Eggs Unlimited, and Dr. Kay Russo, a leading veterinarian, to tackle the most pressing issues facing the egg industry today. Together, they dive into the economic turmoil caused by recent avian influenza outbreaks, which have led to record-high egg prices and significant supply chain disruptions.

The episode sheds light on the unpredictable nature of the virus, from its devastating impact on farmers to growing public health concerns. Brian and Kay discuss the crucial role of early detection...

In this episode, we explore the cutting-edge of agricultural innovation with Robert Yaman, CEO of Innovate Animal Ag. A veteran of the tech industry, Robert is focused on in-ovo sexing technology, which addresses the significant issue of male chick culling in the egg industry. By determining the sex of a chick before it hatches, this technology promotes both animal welfare and sustainability.

Robert explains how he applies a 'techno-optimist' philosophy to agricultural innovation, showcasing how technology can solve some of the industry’s most pressing problems. While in-ovo sexing has seen widespread adoption in Europe, thanks to le...

In this episode, we dive into the bold gamble that changed the organic egg farming game. Cameron Whitehead, COO of Pete & Gerry's, shares the inspiring story of how a small family farm in Monroe, New Hampshire, went from the brink of collapse to becoming a trailblazer in the organic egg industry. In the 1990s, when 'organic' was still a rarity, Pete & Gerry’s made a daring move that saved the farm—and set them on the path to becoming a leader in the market.

Cameron takes us through the highs and lows of their journey, from the pres...

Jacques Klempf is a true veteran in the egg industry, with a family legacy that spans three generations of egg farming. In this episode, we learn about his remarkable journey, starting with his grandfather’s humble beginnings as an egg candler, through his father’s entrepreneurial drive, and into Jacques' own leadership in the modern egg industry.

We explore how Jacques embraced technological advancements, from inline processing systems to automation, which transformed his company into one of the most efficient in the industry. He also shares insights into the major challenges the industry faces today, including the deva...