Sarah Boucher Des Moines, Iowa Ruminant Technical Service Manager Kemin AgriFoods

What education are you bringing with you to this position?
I received my bachelor’s degree in animal bioscience from Penn State University. I received my master’s degree in animal science and my Ph.D. in animal and nutritional sciences from the University of New Hampshire. I studied at UNH under the direction of Dr. Charles Schwab.

What previous positions have you held?
Prior to Kemin, I held the position of post-doctoral research associate at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, New York. My position at the Miner Institute was an excellent opportunity to continue working in the area of dairy cattle nutrition from a research and practical application point of view.

What are your new responsibilities?
My new responsibilities include providing technical support to current and potential customers in order to demonstrate product effectiveness and to establish long-term relationships with customers. My primary focus is in the dairy industry.

What territory will you cover?
My area of responsibility is North America.

What excites you most about working in your new role?
I am very excited to make the transition from academia to industry. I really enjoyed dairy nutrition research, but I am very excited to be on the industry side of the fence now. I look forward to applying dairy nutrition research and new developments to the field.

How will you be of most help to producers in your region or area of expertise?
I will be of most help to producers by providing technical support to our line of products, which can help improve efficiency, productivity, overall health, and profitability of the dairy herd.

What’s your best story from the first day on the job?
What I remember most from my first day on the job was the amount of people I met and the amount of information that was presented to me. I think by the end of the day my head was spinning trying to keep everything straight. It was a good introduction though for what was to come, as there is never a dull moment here at Kemin.

Why did you choose this company?
There are several reasons I made the choice to come to Kemin. Recently, Kemin has acquired a new line of encapsulated amino acid products. My area of focus has been amino acid nutrition of lactating cows. By balancing dairy rations for amino acids we can improve the efficiency of use of dietary protein, improve milk and milk component yields, decrease animal nitrogen excretion, decrease ration costs, and increase herd profitability. I am very excited to be on board and aid nutritionists in amino acid formulation of dairy rations. I also chose Kemin because of the vast amount of knowledge and scientific data that the company has for each of the products. I felt very comfortable supporting all of our products from day one because our products have sound research that support their application and return on investment for the dairy industry.

What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
I would like to help dairy producers become more profitable by supporting products that provide for healthier, more productive, and more efficient dairy animals. PD