New employee owners

(Madison, Wis.) – Brad Auger recently joined Vita Plus as grain merchandising manager.  He will work with all Vita Plus facilities across the Midwest to fulfill grain needs for the feed business while focusing on grain origination, merchandising and risk management through effective hedging.  Auger will also work directly with farmers, helping them navigate the volatile, ever-changing marketplace. 

(Madison, Wis.) – Ashley Blackburn recently joined Vita Plus as an agronomy and forage specialist.  Based in Loyal and Kennan, Wisconsin, Blackburn will provide on-farm agronomy expertise across all areas including nutrient management plans, fertilizer application and spraying.  In addition, she will work closely with members of the Vita Plus Loyal and Vita Plus Kennan teams to share her forage expertise and support forage product sales with area farmers and custom harvesters. 

(Madison, Wis.) Lynn Olthof was recently selected as the Vita Plus dairy nutrition and management fellowship student at Michigan State University (MSU).  Olthof is the seventh student to participate in the program.  She will spend two summers and four semesters earning her master’s degree in dairy science while simultaneously gaining experience in dairy nutrition and management consulting.  Vita Plus will fund the credits throughout the duration of the experience in return for the research and project support she will provide.

​(Madison, Wis.) – Chris Belz was recently named Vita Plus safety manager.  Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Belz will develop, evaluate and implement safety standards in compliance with federal regulations for all Vita Plus facilities and employee owners.  Belz will also train employees on these safety standards and provide safety resources for customers and staff.

(Madison, Wis.) – John Tramburg was recently named Vita Plus vice president of operations.  Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Tramburg will provide leadership for all areas related to operations at Vita Plus facilities, including customer service, manufacturing, distribution and safety.  Additionally, Tramburg will manage the private transportation fleet as well as analyze all capital expenditure proposals and strategic investments to help Vita Plus better serve customers. 

​(Madison, Wis.) – Dr. David Carlson recently joined Vita Plus as a dairy nutritionist and technical services specialist.  Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Carlson will provide technical support for Vita Plus field staff, dealers, and customers in southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and eastern Iowa.  In addition, Carlson will remain up to date on current research and technologies to lead dairy nutrition and management training initiatives.

(Madison, Wis.) – Michaela (Mickie) Trudeau recently joined Vita Plus as a swine nutritionist.  Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Trudeau will help design and coordinate research trials, as well as evaluate ingredients and formulations used in Vita Plus swine products.  As a member of the swine technical services team, Trudeau will also provide technical leadership and expertise to Vita Plus field staff, dealers, and customers.

(Madison, Wis.) – Kelly Flack was recently named a Vita Plus Lanark livestock specialist.  In this role, Flack will work closely with dairy, beef, and youngstock producers in the Lanark area to understand their production goals and provide industry-leading feed, nutrition, and management expertise.  Working closely with her Vita Plus teammates, Flack will provide on-farm technical support and the latest in research and technologies to help farms achieve long-term success. 

(Madison, Wis.) – Jaron Lewton recently joined Vita Plus as an eastern region swine technical sales manager.  Based in Indiana, Lewton will use his nursery research and sow management experience to provide farm-specific nutrition and management solutions.  He will also provide leadership for Vita Plus swine team members and dealers to help serve customers in eastern Indiana and Ohio. 

(Madison, Wis.) – Kyle McLain recently joined Vita Plus as a dairy specialist in northern Wisconsin.  He will utilize cutting-edge ration formulation software to provide high-quality rations and solutions to help dairy producers reach their production goals.  In addition, McLain will stay up to date on current industry research to provide on-farm technical support for the northern Wisconsin dairy team.

(Madison, Wis.) – Dr. Lucas Mitchell recently joined Vita Plus as a calf and heifer specialist.  Based in Indiana, Mitchell will provide on-farm support with sales staff in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio for all calf- and heifer-related projects.  He will also work closely with members of the Vita Plus calf team to utilize current research and provide custom solutions to help dairy producers’ meet their calf and heifer program goals.

(Madison, Wis.) – Two students will gain experience in dairy management and the feed industry as Vita Plus interns this summer.  Brock Irwin and Vanessa Roberts will work on different teams and focus on specific projects for the duration of the summer while learning the values of Vita Plus.

(Madison, Wis.) – Kristyn Nigon was selected as the 2019 Vita Plus summer intern.  She will be working with the Vita Plus Loyal team to gain experience in dairy management and the feed industry, as well as conduct her own research project and learn more about Vita Plus for the duration of the summer.