Send us Fan Mail The International Egg Foundation is building an infrastructure of hope across nutritionally disadvantaged regions — and the humble egg is at the center of it. When a teacher reported her students were getting loud, wild, and "naughty" after a school started serving eggs, that complaint was actually proof something was finally working. Children who'd been running on empty now had enough protein to act like kids again. In this episode, Brandon Mulnix sits down with Cassy Price, th...
Apr 14, 2026•41 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Send us Fan Mail Most leaders in the agricultural industry know AI is coming. Far fewer have actually figured out how to use it in a way that makes their day-to-day leadership better — not someday, but this week. In this solo episode, Brandon Mulnix shares what happened when he stopped treating AI like a search engine and started using it as a thinking partner. Over the last quarter, he used AI to prepare for a difficult performance conversation, build documents he had no formal training to writ...
Mar 25, 2026•20 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Send us Fan Mail Prices spike, headlines swirl, and a humble staple turns into a cultural flashpoint. We sat down with Emily Metz, CEO of the American Egg Board, to unpack how the egg industry is rebuilding trust, boosting demand, and standing up new tools to keep farmers and consumers on the same side of the table. From a 50-year mandate to market eggs and fund research, to hands-on support for producers facing biosecurity and ransomware threats, Emily opens the playbook on what it takes to lea...
Mar 11, 2026•33 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Send us Fan Mail A fourth-generation story rarely follows a straight line, and George Weaver IV proves it. From sneaking into trade shows as a kid and napping under booth tables to helping steer a 90-person team, George invites us into a family business that measures success by people, not just pallets. He shares how his dad’s stroke pushed him into responsibility early, what it took to rebuild with humility, and why Westfield Egg Farm chose a model that keeps small family farms alive by letting...
Feb 25, 2026•50 min•Season 3Ep. 43
Send us Fan Mail Season three opens with a candid, funny, and deeply human conversation that spans leadership change, end-of-life care, family milestones, and the surprising ways a poultry podcast can move people. Brandon shares what “managing up” looked like through a leadership transition at Prism Controls—how learning a new boss’s values and cadence sharpened communication and trust over time. Emily takes the mic to unpack her shift from a high-intensity med-surg unit to hospice nursing at a ...
Feb 11, 2026•58 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Send us Fan Mail A blue jacket can change a life. We sit down with Michigan FFA state officer and MSU agribusiness student William Rogers to trace how one classroom broiler project became a launchpad for leadership, real business skills, and a clear career path in modern agriculture and the poultry supply chain. From public speaking nerves to state office, William breaks down the steps that built his confidence—and why those same steps create standout talent for integrators, suppliers, and agtec...
Nov 26, 2025•27 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Send us Fan Mail What if your hen house burned tonight—would your plan hold? We sit down with Brett Cohrs, CRM and Senior Vice President at Palomar Insurance, to unpack what’s really changing in poultry insurance and how leaders can turn risk management into a competitive edge. From rate softening for large layered property programs to tighter appetites for smaller growers, Brett explains why deductibles are climbing, which choices actually move premiums, and how to prepare your balance sheet fo...
Nov 12, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Send us Fan Mail A slow Sunday at a neighborhood lounge turned into the spark for a national brand. Raechel Van Buskirk shares how a grumpy regular, a tray of sriracha bacon deviled eggs, and pure curiosity unlocked a simple truth: everyone loves deviled eggs, no one wants to make them. That insight carried her from bar brunches to trailers, a mall push-cart next to a missing Santa, a full-service restaurant, and now a franchise model with nationwide shipping and high-protein bowls built around ...
Oct 29, 2025•59 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Send us Fan Mail Power problems don’t announce themselves—they show up as dead fans, stressed birds, and energy bills that creep higher every month. We invited superintendent electrician Cody Pommer of Interstates to walk through the electrical decisions that quietly decide whether a poultry site runs smooth for years or limps from fix to fix. Together, we unpack where farms get into trouble—moisture, dust, untrained panel work—and the simple, proven steps that keep people safe and equipment ali...
Oct 15, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Send us Fan Mail Episode 37 is jumping back to where it all began: Episode 1 with Benji Campbell of Cal-Maine Foods: What does it take to lead in the poultry industry during times of unprecedented challenges? General Manager Benji Campbell of Cal Maine Foods opens up about his journey in egg production management, sharing how family entrepreneurship shaped his leadership approach from the very beginning. The conversation takes us deep into the current biosecurity challenges facing poultry operat...
Aug 27, 2025•25 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Send us Fan Mail When a headhunter asked Budd Bentley, "How do you feel about chickens and eggs?" in late 2019, it marked the beginning of a transformative journey. After decades in automotive engineering and technology development, Bentley was about to step into the unfamiliar world of poultry technology as President of PMSI (now Prism Controls). In this revealing conversation with Brandon Mulnix, Bentley shares his unlikely path from solving Rubik's Cubes as a child to leading innovation in ag...
Aug 13, 2025•48 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Send us Fan Mail Ever feel like you're wearing an emotional mask at work? You're not alone. Brandon Mulnix sits down with TEDx speaker and breathwork practitioner Sam Kabert to explore the hidden mental health challenges that plague even the most successful leaders. Sam shares his remarkable journey from building a seven-figure business while working just four hours daily to confronting a numbing depression despite having achieved all his goals. This vulnerability opens a powerful conversation a...
Jul 30, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Send us Fan Mail What happens when 400 vegan activists storm your chicken houses? How do you rally an entire county to defeat a ballot measure designed to eliminate family farming? And what drives someone to keep producing food when faced with one existential threat after another? Mike Weber, fourth-generation California egg farmer, doesn't just survive challenges—he transforms them into opportunities for community building and innovation. From the moment his family decided to "bet the farm" and...
Jul 16, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Send us Fan Mail When financial stress grips your mind, everything suffers - your health, your relationships, and especially your leadership. This revealing conversation with Matt Paradise takes us from his remarkable journey through teen homelessness and addiction to becoming a respected financial wellness expert who now helps leaders build healthier financial futures. The statistics are startling: 57% of employees report that financial worries steal hours of productivity each week. One-third e...
Jul 02, 2025•42 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Send us Fan Mail Jay Dee Graber sits at a fascinating intersection in the poultry industry as president of Michiana Equipment. Serving northern Indiana's substantial Amish farming community, he bridges traditional agricultural practices with modern poultry production requirements while navigating his own journey from reluctant family business participant to determined second-generation leader. Growing up on his father's broiler farm, Jay Dee initially swore he'd never join the family equipment b...
Jun 18, 2025•26 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Send us Fan Mail A gentle voice with decades of wisdom, Mohamed Mousa reveals how his childhood experience of losing baby chicks in Egypt became the foundation for revolutionary animal welfare practices that transformed an entire industry. From tending a small flock by the Nile River to implementing poultry management systems across the globe, Mohamed's 40-year journey contains profound lessons about leadership, compassion, and the unexpected connection between profitability and proper animal ca...
Jun 04, 2025•53 min•Season 2Ep. 31
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how the chicken on your plate became so efficient to produce? The answer lies in cutting-edge genetic science happening behind the scenes at companies like Cobb-Ventress. Brandon Mulnix sits down with William Herring, Vice President of Cobb-Ventress, at the Animal Ag Tech Innovation Summit in Dallas to uncover the fascinating intersection of artificial intelligence, camera technology, and poultry genetics. With experience spanning beef cattle, pork, and now broiler...
May 21, 2025•24 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Send us Fan Mail John Graham's life reads like an adventure novel, but with a profound transformation at its core. At just 17, he left behind his sheltered existence in Tacoma, Washington, for a summer job on a freighter bound for the Far East. That voyage would set him on a path of increasingly dangerous adventures spanning decades and continents. Graham recounts harrowing experiences with remarkable candor – mountain climbing expeditions where avalanches narrowly missed him, hitchhiking throug...
May 07, 2025•57 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Send us Fan Mail Jay Halliday of Vaxinova joins host Brandon Molnix for a heartfelt conversation about servant leadership that goes far beyond traditional management advice. Their candid exchange dives into how leadership principles transform not just workplaces but every human relationship. Jay shares his unexpected journey into agriculture through his language skills, which launched him into an international business development role requiring extensive global travel. While professionally exhi...
Apr 23, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Send us Fan Mail What drives you to get out of bed each morning? Is it just to collect a paycheck, or is there something deeper fueling your motivation? Brian Bosché, author of "The Purpose Factor," never expected his life to take such a dramatic turn. After achieving his dream job as a national journalist only to lose it a year later—along with his marriage ending and unresolved childhood trauma surfacing—Brian found himself in a dark depression searching for meaning. This crisis led him to dev...
Apr 09, 2025•38 min•Season 2Ep. 27
Send us Fan Mail Eric Rupnow's journey through agriculture—from his roots in Wisconsin to his role at J&D Manufacturing—reveals how ventilation technology transforms livestock operations across species. Driven by a passion for creating optimal environments where animals thrive, Rupnow brings practical solutions to complex airflow challenges in poultry, swine, and dairy facilities. The conversation dives deep into why ventilation serves as an "unpaid employee" on farms when implemented correc...
Mar 26, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Send us Fan Mail A simple yet profound question sparked a movement that continues to transform lives across continents: "What if I raised chickens to help my friends back home?" When 8-year-old Biruk Van De Stroet posed this question to his adoptive parents in Iowa, no one could have predicted the remarkable journey that would unfold over the next eleven years. Having been adopted from Ethiopia where he once survived by rushing into restaurants to eat strangers' leftovers before being chased awa...
Mar 12, 2025•22 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Send us Fan Mail Legendary poultry industry pioneer Jim Dean shares his remarkable journey, from a challenging childhood to a thriving career in the egg industry. With grit and determination, Jim made the tough choice to leave school early, supporting his family and ultimately building a successful career. His candid reflections on his experiences, including his time in Vietnam, reveal invaluable lessons on resilience and the power of learning through lived experiences. Discover the entrepreneur...
Feb 26, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Send us Fan Mail What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a remote canyon with your survival hanging by a thread? Aron Ralston, whose incredible story of resilience was captured in both his book "127 Hours" and the film adaptation starring James Franco, joins us on The Poultry Leadership Podcast to share his remarkable journey. Facing a life-or-death decision after being pinned by a boulder, Aron reveals the mental strength and innovative thinking that saw him through 127 grueling hour...
Feb 12, 2025•26 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Send us Fan Mail Jasen Urena, Executive Vice President of Nest Fresh Farms, takes us on a captivating journey from his beginnings in Southern California to becoming a trailblazer in the egg industry. Tune in to hear how Jasen's Hispanic heritage and bilingual skills became instrumental in forging strong relationships within the company and beyond. His story is not just one of personal growth, but also a testament to the power of community and family, both in life and in business. Jasen's narrati...
Jan 29, 2025•57 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Send us Fan Mail What if you could harness the power of AI to revolutionize your approach to agriculture and beyond? Join us on the Poultry Leadership Podcast as we explore this fascinating frontier with Daniel Burrus, a visionary futurist lauded by the New York Times for his inspirational insights. Daniel takes us on a journey from his early days of federal research to his transformative ventures in the business world. He shares how his passion for teaching and critical thinking has fueled his ...
Jan 15, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Send us Fan Mail How did a spontaneous idea during a high-altitude hike lead to an insightful conversation on The Poultry Leadership Podcast? Join me, Brandon Mulnix, and my incredible wife, Emily Mulnix, as we kick off Season 2 with a heartfelt dialogue that crosses the boundaries of personal and professional life. Emily gives us a glimpse into her fascinating journey from dairy farm roots to her vital role as a registered nurse, while we share amusing anecdotes from our life in a small Michiga...
Jan 01, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Send us Fan Mail What drives a family to persist and thrive in farming for a hundred years? Discover the remarkable history behind Kreher Farms as Hal Kreher shares his family’s century-long journey in transforming 18 acres of land into a flourishing farmstead. From his grandfather's initial purchase in 1924 and the bold expansion to a 1,200-bird flock by 1930, to overcoming the Great Depression and the establishment of innovative barn designs in the '60s, Hal takes us through the farm's evoluti...
Aug 21, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Send us Fan Mail Discover the groundbreaking advancements in poultry farming as we welcome Silvin Faulstich, Business Development Manager at Respeggt Group , to discuss in-ovo sexing. (In the egg) This revolutionary technology is set to transform the industry by identifying the gender of hatching eggs before they hatch, thus addressing the pressing issue of male chick culling. Silvin’s journey from Germany to his current role provides valuable insights into the innovations and challenges of impl...
Jul 22, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how the poultry industry is shaping up globally? Join us as we welcome Ryan Bennett , the Executive Director of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs , and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance . Learn about Ryan's fascinating journey from a Maryland farm boy involved in 4-H to a key player in public policy and government relations, and eventually to his current role where he champions sustainability and animal welfare. He shares his experiences a...
Jul 02, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 17
