Poultry Team

Mark W. LaVorgna, Ph.D.

Poultry Technical Director

Providing technical support for the Poultry Team is Dr. LaVorgna's main focus for Devenish while also providing a number of commercial poultry companies' diet formulations and technical advice. Working with the Devenish Research Group on the design and implementation of our research studies throughout the U.S. is also a priority. Dr. Lavorgna received his B.S. and M.S. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He has previously worked for Perdue Farms, Alpharma and most recently was the Director of Global Technical Services at Zoetis Animal Health.

Mahmoud Masadeh, Ph.D.

Poultry Sales Director - Poultry Nutritionist

Joining as a Poultry Nutritionist, Mahmoud Masadeh will support customers in the central part of the United States. Mahmoud received his Bachelors and Masters degrees at the Jordan University of Science & Technology. After graduation he relocated to Nebraska where he received his PhD in Poultry Nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mahmoud started his working career as the Corporate Nutritionist for Tecumseh Poultry “Smart Chicken”. Following this, Mahmoud worked for four years at Lallemand as Poultry Technical Services Manager. Mahmoud has spent the last four years with Land O Lakes/Purina as a Poultry Technical Sales Specialist.

Keith Harper

Poultry Account Manager

With an extensive background within the industry and a lifelong experience with poultry for over 22 years, Keith has a substantial amount of experience in the market. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a BSA in Poultry Science and Agribusiness. After college, he started with Seaboard Farms in Athens, GA in 1999 as a Broiler Supervisor. Seaboard was later acquired by Con Agra and then Pilgrim’s Pride and Keith stayed within the company until 2005 when he began with Chick Master Incubator Company in Technical Sales. In 2006, he went back into production management to oversee the hatchery in Athens, Georgia with Pilgrim's. Then in 2009, he took a position with Cobb Vantress to manage a hatchery that was commissioned to be built. In 2018 Keith left production and jumped into sales again as Territory Sales Rep with Animal Health International as a Territory Sales Rep and then a Key Account Manager at EW Nutrition.

Dr. John Schleifer, DVM, MS, DACPV

Poultry Veterinarian

As a Poultry Veterinarian for Devenish Nutrition, Dr. John Schleifer provides technical support and serves poultry producers, nutrition consultants, and feed mills. With Devenish, Dr. Schleifer conducts field visits to evaluate general bird health, assists with the complexities of organic and cage-free production, and provides other vital veterinary consulting needs, particularly specializing in turkey and commercial egg chickens.

Chris Rude, Ph.D.

Poultry Nutritionist

Chris comes to Devenish with a B.S. in Agriculture, a M.S. in Poultry Nutrition, and a Ph.D. in Poultry Nutrition from Kansas State University. Focusing on laying hen and turkey nutrition for Devenish, Chris works extensively in non-traditional markets and cage free. Prior to Devenish, he worked as a Nutritionist for Willmar Poultry Farms where he was responsible for breeder and market turkey nutrition, the feed mill quality control program, and a small ingredient analysis laboratory. Followed by a position at Kemin as a technical services manager for nutritional products and Sal-CURB.

Paul V. Twining, Jr., Ph.D.

Poultry Nutrition Consultant

With three degrees from the University of Maryland, including a Ph.D., Paul has a wealth of experience in the chicken industry. He was a Chemist and Nutritionist for Perdue in the late 1960s. He then worked as a Nutritionist for a Salisbury private consulting company, was a part-time research associate with the University of Maryland, was a chicken grower from 1956 until 2002, and has had his own company, Paul Twining Associates, Inc. since 1976 where he works with poultry companies around the world. Dr. Twining joined the team when Devenish purchased his business in order to expand the services within the broiler market.

H. John Kuhl, Jr., Ph.D.

Poultry Nutrition Consultant

Dr. Kuhl's focus at Devenish is primarily layer nutrition consulting along with overseeing the feed analysis laboratory. John grew up on a turkey and grain farm near Blair, Nebraska and holds a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. After college he relocated to California and worked for Stutts' Scientific Service, a vitamin premix company, until 1983 when he formed Nest Egg Nutrition, LLC. Devenish Nutrition bought Nest Egg Nutrition in September of 2015. John is board certified by the American College of Animal Nutrition as a charter member, ARPAS and a Poultry Science Association member.

Trevor Lutz, Ph.D.

Swine & Poultry Nutritionist

Dr. Lutz started his career at Iowa State University as an Assistant Scientist in the Monogastric Nutrition Section. From there he worked for McFleeg as an Animal Nutritionist and then joined Devenish working in both the swine and poultry markets. After earning his B.S. in animal science at North Dakota State University he went on to earn his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from Iowa State University. Currently Dr. Lutz lends his expertise to the Research Team to help develop new innovations in both the poultry and swine divisions.

Kristjan Bregendahl, Ph.D.

Poultry Nutritionist

Kristjan joins Devenish as a Poultry Nutritionist and will provide nutrition consulting for laying hens as well as other poultry. Academically, he has served as Assistant Professor of Poultry Nutrition at Iowa State University, and is the author or co-author of 22 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, 2 book chapters, and a college-level animal-nutrition textbook. His professional career led him to Hy-Line International as a Nutritionist and Director of Technical Service and later worked as a nutritionist for Sparboe Farms, a large Midwestern egg-producing company. Before joining Devenish, Kristjan was the Poultry Technical Manager for ADM Animal Nutrition, providing technical support for ADM’s specialty feed ingredients as well as nutritional consulting for commercial turkeys, laying hens, broilers, and ducks both in the U.S.A and internationally.

Jim Milam

Account Manager

Jim Milam, an alumnus of Texas A&M University, will primarily support customers in the central part of the United States. Jim has spent the majority of his career working as an Account Manager in the Animal Health and Animal Nutrition industry for companies like Wynco, Elanco, IVESCO and Novus. Before joining Devenish, Jim spent the last three years a Sales Specialist at Land O Lakes/Purina.

Dr. Sharon Miller, DVM

Poultry Veterinarian

Devenish welcomes Dr. Miller, DVM to the team as a Poultry Veterinarian. Her primary role will be to support customers with on-farm veterinary consultation while adding technical support to our account managers.

Dr. Miller earned her B.S. in Poultry Science and her D.V.M. from North Carolina State University, Raleigh. She also completed the Avian Internship program in the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University. Prior to joining Devenish Nutrition, she worked in veterinary services and management positions for Merial Select, Alpharma Animal Health, Pfizer/Zoetis Global Poultry, House of Raeford, and Diamond V.

Ron Nietfeld

Poultry Account Manager

Ron Nietfeld has joined the Devenish Team as a Poultry Account Manager. Ron will primarily service layer and turkey customers within the Midwest. Ron received his B.S. in Agriculture from North Dakota State University and a Master's in Public Administration from Drake University.

Over the course of his career, Ron has held positions at Quality Technology International (QTI), Merck Animal Health, and most recently spending the last four years at Anitox Corporation. Ron overall brings 15 years poultry sales experience in commercial layer and turkey production.

Cody Flores, Ph.D.

Poultry Nutritionist

Dr. Flores joins Devenish as a Poultry Nutritionist. He will work directly with our Poultry Team on technical support and add additional assistance to our consulting services.

Dr. Flores obtained his Bachelor of Science in Poultry Science in 2013 and Ph.D. in Poultry Nutrition in 2017 from Texas A&M University. Since obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Flores has spent the previous three years of his career with Novus International as a Poultry Technical Service Manager. Over the years, he has worked with broiler, breeder, layer and turkey customers across the country.

Zach Roes

Poultry Account Manager

Zach Roes comes to Devenish as a Poultry Account Manager. Zach received a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Salisbury University. After college he began his career in agriculture with Perdue Agribusiness as a feed merchandiser followed by a year of seed and chemical sales with Tidewater Agriculture. In 2017, Zach was hired by Boehringer Ingelheim, where he had spent time as a Poultry Service Representative.

Zach will primarily service broiler and layer customers in the Northeast section of the U.S.