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Home > Research & Development > Facilities & Staff > Research & Development Staff

Research & Development Staff

Ronny L. Moser - Director, Research and Development

Joined JBS United: 1994^**
- Education:
  - Ph.D. - University of Nebraska, 1980
  - M.S. - University of Nebraska, 1978
  - B.S. - Oklahoma State University, 1976
- Offices:
  - Director, Business Dev., 2003
  - Director Technical Services, 2003
  - Associate Professor at University of Minnesota, 1980-89
  - Director, University of Minnesota Swine Center
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society of Animal Science
  - Affiliate Member - American Association of Swine Veterinarians
- Awards:
  - Animal Science Graduate of Distinction Award from Oklahoma State University
Dr. Moser has completed 18 years as a nutritionist serving the feed industry, the last 13 years with JBS United, Inc. Ron came to JBS United, Inc. in a merger with Ringger Feeds where he served as Director of Nutrition for five years.

Ron came to Ringger Feeds from the University of Minnesota having served on the faculty for nine years. While at Minnesota, Ron was associate professor of Animal Science with responsibilities in research and teaching. Ron also served as Director of the University of Minnesota Swine Center, an interdisciplinary effort to increase the transfer of scientific information to Minnesota Pork Producers.

JBS United, Inc. is dedicated to providing research-based solutions to enhance animal nutrition and livestock production profitability. As a member of the Research and Development team, Ron contributes to the development of new products and directs the technical support of these products and services specifically to the large pork producers, veterinarians and pork industry influencers in the US and Canada.

^**Through a merger with Ringger Feeds
Doug M. Webel, Ph.D. - Chief Operating Officer, Nutrition & Emerging Technologies

Joined JBS United: 1998
- Education:
  - Ph.D. Comparative Nutrition - University of Illinois, 1997
  - M.S. Animal Science, Swine Nutrition - University of Illinois, 1995
  - B.S. Animal Science - University of Illinois, 1993
- Offices:
  - Vice President, Emerging Technologies, 2005-2007
  - Director of R&D, JBS United, Inc. 2004-2007
  - Swine Nutritionist, United Feeds, Inc. 1998-2004
- Memberships:
  - American Society of Animal Science
  - Poultry Science Association
- Honors Include:
  - SAS/ADSA Outstanding Young Agribusiness Award in 2004
Raised in Central Illinois on a farrow to finish swine operation, Doug Webel received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois, the later completed in 1997. While working on his Ph.D. under the direction of Dr. D. H. Baker, he studied the interactions of nutrition and immunology in growing chicks and pigs. Doug joined United Feeds, Inc. as a swine nutritionist immediately after completion of his doctoral degree. Since that time he has been heavily involved in both research and technical service. His research emphasis has been on nursery and grow-finish nutrition and management technologies that optimize carcass value and economic returns. More recently his focus has been on phosphorus nutrition and novel phytase technologies. Dr. Webel is currently Chief Operating Officer, Nutrition & Emerging Technologies at JBS United, Inc. He has authored or co-authored 23 peer-reviewed scientific articles, one book chapter and numerous abstracts and invited presentations.
Joel D. Spencer - Director of Nursery Research and Technical Service

Joined JBS United: 2002
- Education:
  - Ph.D. - University of Missouri, 2001
  - M.S. - University of Missouri, 1998
  - B.S. - University of Missouri, 1996
Dr. Joel Spencer graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in the fall of 2001. His graduate research investigated amino acid and mineral nutrition, piglet nursery nutrition, and energy partitioning under varied environmental conditions. His responsibilities at JBS United are to direct nursery research and technical service, and manage the nutrition for JBS United's swine division. His current research is to improve existing commercial nutrition products, and develop novel proprietary products for the global agriculture industry. He conducts collaborative research with Universities and biotechnology companies, and works directly with customers to develop feeding programs for integrated swine companies and independent swine producers in North America and Asia.
Yingran (Sam) Shen - Technical Manager, China and Southeast Asia

Joined JBS United: 2005
- Education:
  - Ph.D., Animal Nutrition - University of Guelph, 2005
  - M.S., Animal Nutrition - McGill University, 2000
  - B.S., Animal Science - South China Agricultural University, 1983
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society for Nutritional Sciences
  - American Society of Animal Science
Yingran (Sam) Shen's major responsibility is to provide support and direction in all business development activities in Asia, so to develop market, grow sales and generate revenue. Shen works with R&D, marketing group, and Select Solutions Team to provide technical support, develop strategies and grow sales revenue in non-traditional and international accounts. Before joining JBS, Shen worked with research institute and technology companies in Asia. Shen has extensive working experience, culture understanding, and language skills in China and South East Asia.
Nathan Augspurger - Manager of Growth Modeling

Joined JBS United: 2003
- Education:
  - Ph.D. Nutrition - University of Illinois
  - M.S. Animal Science - University of Illinois
  - B.S. Agriculture - University of Illinois
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society for Nutrition
  - American Society for Animal Science
  - American Oil Chemists' Society
  - Poultry Science Association
Nathan Augspurger grew up on a farm in central Illinois. Augspurger raised swine as a 4-H project for many years. Augspurger has helped write 13 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 1 book chapter and 28 abstracts.
Stephen K. Webel - Director Reproduction Research and Development

Joined JBS United: 2000
- Education:
  - Ph.D. Animal Science. - University of Illinois, 1972
  - M.S. Animal Science - Iowa State University, 1969
  - B.S. Agricultural Science - University of Illinois, 1967
- Offices:
  - Swine Business Manager
  - Faculty Member at Illinois State University
  - Senior Physiologist
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society of Animal Science
  - Midwestern Section American Society of Animal Science
  - International Conference on Pig Reproduction
  - Illinois Council for Food and Agriculture Research (C-FAR)
  - Illinois Livestock Industry Activities
Stephen Webel is responsible for managing and overseeing the internal and external domestic animal reproduction research projects. Webel must identify, screen and evaluate potential new technologies that may be accessed from external sources or developed internally. Webel also provides technical support and training for the sales staff. Prior to JBS United, Webel was the Swine Business Manager at Purina Mills, Inc., owned and operated a livestock and grain farm, a professor at Illinois State University, a physiologist at Abbott Laboratories and has consulted multiple companies. Webel has been published in various publications through the years.
Eric Parr - Managing Director

Joined JBS United: 1997
- Education:
  - M.S. Non-ruminant Nutrition - University of Illinois, 1998
  - B.S. Animal Science - University of Illinois, 1983
- Offices:
  - Research Coordinator
  - Research Manager
  - Veterinary Research Farm Manager at the University of Illinois
  - Veterinary Research Farm Swine Manager at the University of Illinois
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society of Animal Sciences
  - Montgomery County Farm Bureau
Eric Parr provides oversight of research trials conducted at the four JBS United research farms. Parr also directly supervises the on-site research managers and provides training and guidance in proper research techniques. Parr collects and summarizes data from trials for submission to Research and Development. He also works with R&D in the development of trial protocols and provides feed-back to farms on the quality of research conducted.
Mike E. Johnston - Nutritional Scientist

Joined JBS United: 2007
- Education:
  - B.S. & M.S. - Kansas State University
- Offices:
  - Faculty Member at Kansas State University
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society of Animal Science
Mike Johnston joined JBS United in June of 2007 as a Nutritional Scientist. He received his BS and Masters degrees from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. Johnston has spent his professional career specializing in nutrition research. Prior to joining the R&D team at JBS, he was the research manager for the Hanor Company, a large integrated swine production company from 2001 to 2007. At Hanor, Johnston's research focused on nutrient evaluation as well as feed management practices. From 1992 to 2001, he was the nutrition research manager for PIC USA where he conducted research in amino acid and energy nutrition that led to over 25 technical reports for PIC and the development of the PIC Nutrition Guide. Johnston's background includes six years on the faculty at Kansas State University as a research assistant as well as several years in the feed industry. He is a member of the American Society of Animal Science. Results of his research work have been published in more than 30 refereed journal articles and abstracts.
Jody Rush - Product Manager

Joined JBS United: 2004
- Education:
  - M.S. Animal Sciences - Purdue University, 2004
  - B.S. Animal Sciences - Purdue University, 2001
- Offices:
  - Lab Technician
- Professional Memberships:
  - Member of the Poultry Science Association
Jody Rush is originally from Indiana, where she was raised on a small swine and row crop farm. Rush came to JBS United, Inc. from Purdue and started at JBS United as a Lab Technician. Rush was responsible for getting the lab up and running for phytase analysis. Rush then began to focus on the production, inventory, and QA/QC of OptiPhos®.
Stacie Crowder - Research Assistant

Joined JBS United: 2007
- Education:
  - M.S. Animal Nutrition, Ruminant Nutrition - Purdue University
  - B.S. Animal Science Agribusiness - Purdue University
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Dairy Science Association
Stacie Crowder is directly involved in the swine and poultry nutrition research and diet formulation. Crowder is responsible for coordinating research protocols, data summarization, and providing support to the technical services area.
Lindsey Wilson - Business Analyst

Joined JBS United: 2000
- Education:
  - B.S. Animal Science - Purdue University
- Professional Memberships:
  - American Society of Animal Science
  - ARPAS
  - Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society
Lindsey Wilson grew up in central Indiana, spending close to 10 years showing American Quarter Horses. Wilson joined JBS United after graduating from Purdue University. Wilson began in the Discovery Units at Burton Russell Farm, later transitioning to become the Research Coordinator for the R&D team. In 2004, Wilson began coordinating new product development initiatives within the Emerging Technologies Group. Currently, Wilson focuses on developing commercialization plans for the Emerging Technologies products.