List of Approved Dairy Decisions Consultants
Here are individuals who have been approved to serve as Dairy Decisions Consultants for dairy farms enrolled in the DDC program. Please click on the area of expertise where you would like to receive assistance and the consultants that have expertise in that area will come up. If you have another consultant in mind, you must provide that person’s name and information to the Center to get approval to work with them. For more information about any of these individuals, call the Center at (717) 346-0849.
John Black (DDC) is an agricultural business consultant with Farm Credit. John has over sixteen year experience in farm tax accounting and farm business analysis. He grew up on a dairy farm and was a partner in the family business for 25 years.
Wayne Brubaker (DDC) is a consultant with Horizon Farm Credit, where he has 32 years of experience as a farm accountant and 11 years as a farm consultant. He has helped perform more than 100 consultations for farms, mostly centered around feasibility studies.
Bruce Dehm (DDC) (Agricultural Economist) has over 30 year of experience in the Agriculture industry with a MS degree in Economics & Farming Systems from University of Florida, BS in Animal Science from Cornell University, and AAS in Veterinary Technology from SUNY Delhi. Bruce works with producers every day to help guide them through difficult business decisions based on detailed financial analysis through a consulting service called Dairy Dashboard. Dairy Dashboard helps producers improve profitability by gaining more control and understanding the financial health of their business on a monthly basis.
Richard Doak (DDC) is the son of a multi-generational ranch family from Montana and New Mexico. He completed his undergraduate degree at New Mexico State and his doctorate at Colorado State University. During his time at CSU, he developed a passion for the dairy industry. Upon graduation, Richard moved to Phoenix, AZ where he spent 12 years with Dairy Vet Services working with large dry-lot herds. In 2004, he moved to Plain, WI and in 2006, to Maryland where he is currently practicing with Mid-Maryland Dairy Veterinarians. Richard’s areas of interest include calves, transitions cows and dairy animal welfare. Through the practice he helped create Advaca LLC, a veterinary group that manages dairy animal welfare for regional milk cooperatives as well as consulting and 3rd party auditing services. He is a PAACO certified dairy auditor, a FARM Version 4 certified trainer/evaluator and serves on the Animal Care Task Force for NMPF.
Evan Driscoll (DDC) has worked with hundreds of farm and food businesses for over 14 years with a focus on financial viability. At Kitchen Table Consultants, he works with grass-fed dairies on all aspects of financial planning, including long-term budgeting, bookkeeping best practices, cash flow management, capital expense analysis, and dairy herd modeling. He has owned his own farm, directed farmers’ markets, and operated an investment firm specializing in funding local food companies. Evan enjoys the challenges and opportunities of working one-on-one with dairies to assist them in reaching their farm and financial goals.
*Note: Kitchen Table Consultants only do virtual consultations with farms.
Glenn Flickinger (DDC)’s robust background has given him expertise to examine the farm at every level. For more than 30 years, he has owned an independent consulting business, working with dairies of all sizes in several states. He has also worked in all aspects of financial management on the dairy farm, from record-keeping to loan applications and managing expansions. Glenn specializes in dairy herd management, helping clients evaluate their feeding strategies, grouping methods, vaccinations and more. He has experience in all areas of cow nutrition and assists clients with ration balancing and evaluation, forage assessment and determining the ROI of their rations.
Caroline Freeman (DDC) is a business consultant with Kitchen Table Consultants, helping to make food and farm businesses profitable. Her approach is focused on transforming businesses’ financials into organized, informative, and actionable tools that can drive decision-making and get dairies on track to meet their goals. Her direct experience in agriculture for the past ten years, along with a robust network of financial benchmarks for the grass-fed dairy industry, gives her a unique lens through which to approach budgeting and financial planning. Caroline thrives on creating individualized solutions and tools that help farmers have those ‘ah-ha’ moments.
*Note: Kitchen Table Consultants only do virtual consultations with farms.
Charles E. Gardner, DVM, MBA, (DDC) has extensive experience in dairy herd management and finances. He has worked with many farms on expansion projects and ownership transitions. He also has training and experience with family communications and conflict resolution.
Rob Goodling (DDC) is an agricultural business consultant with Horizon Farm Credit in the Susquehanna Valley. Rob has over 18 years’ experience helping producers understand their farm business records and analyses to grow their operations. His specialties include financial business analysis, cost of production analysis, cash flow planning and budgeting, QuickBooks consultation and troubleshooting, dairy record evaluation, and team facilitation.
Mike Hosterman (DDC) is an agricultural business consultant with Farm Credit, based in Chambersburg, Pa. Mike specializes in cash flow and viability analysis, cash flow budgeting and developing cash flow plans, and team and business facilitation.
Neville McNaughton (DDC) is a recognized expert in cheese making, dairy foods processing, and dairy facility and systems design. He brings 40+ years of informal education in cheese technology and hands-on cheese making to the artisanal cheese industry. He has worked with hundreds of dairy farmers during his 40+ years in the Dairy Industry and has a wealth of knowledge in the care & nutrition of dairy animals.
Cory Meyers, DVM (DDC) has been practicing at Mid-Maryland Dairy Veterinarians since graduating from the Virginia – Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech in 2002. Practice consulting interests include dairy farm management, transition cows, and evaluating key performance indicators. In 2016, practice partners Cory Meyers, DVM and Richard Doak, DVM established ADVACA, a veterinary advocacy team for cows providing FARM 4.0 evaluations and evaluator training. As certified FARM 4.0 Trainers and Evaluators, Drs Meyers and Doak work for several milk cooperatives, provide dairy producer and veterinarian FARM 4.0 training, assist with protocol development, and provide farm employee animal handling training. Dr. Meyers grew up on the family dairy farm, Meyers Brothers Dairy, in St. Thomas, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a Dairy and Animal Science degree from Penn State and still bleeds blue and white.
Noah Munro (DDC) helps dairy farmers create the business of their dreams with smart financial and marketing strategies. After growing a specialty fudge and ice cream brand to national prominence, he earned his MBA from Babson College, the #1 school for entrepreneurship in the U.S. He is Co-CEO of Taste Profit Marketing and Kitchen Table Consultants, sister companies helping farm and food businesses become profitable for good. Noah has helped dozens of dairy farmers with business and farm planning, budgeting, and opportunity assessments to help them achieve financial well-being.
*Note: Kitchen Table Consultants only do virtual consultations with farms.
Kenny Nearhoof (DDC) resides in Tyrone, PA and is the sole proprietor of Nearhoof Consulting, LLC. He grew up on a dairy farm and has worked 10 years in the business services sector of agriculture – as a lender, tax preparer, and advisor for many dairy producers in central PA. He holds a degree in Dairy Management from Morrisville State College and is an IRS Enrolled Agent.
Brian Reed, DVM, MBA (DDC) has been a dairy veterinarian with Agricultural Veterinary Associates, LLC in Lititz, PA since he graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in 1987. In 2001, he received his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Lebanon Valley College. Since that time, he has provided dairy business consulting services to complement traditional veterinary services offered to veterinary clients and non-clients in the Mid-Atlantic region. He has experience in generational transfer planning, renovation and expansion planning, strategic planning services and performing feasibility studies.
Jill Smith (DDC) has over 20 years of experience in the Human Resources field, working with businesses of all sizes across various industries. Jill is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources through the Society for Human Resources Management and has a degree in business from Central Pennsylvania College. Her company, Cornerstone HR & Management Consulting, Inc., is committed to helping employers be great places to work by gaining an understanding of business strategy and core values then ensuring all areas of the employee experience align with both strategy and values. As a consultant, Jill provides hands-on and strategic support to businesses in the areas of culture management, management coaching, leadership development, training, HR business processes, recruiting and hiring, employee relations coaching, performance management as well as policy development.
Greg Squires is with Dairy Enterprise Services and has consulted with hundreds of dairy operations in 30 states in areas including expansion planning, business planning and financial projection, procuring bridge and primary financing, production audits, labor management and succession planning. He has been a consultant for over 30 years for businesses across the dairy sector.
Rich Stup, PHD (DDC) (DDCe) Rich’s focus is on the people side of business. He coaches business owners and senior managers to become more effective as leaders, to develop middle managers, and to build teams that enjoy success together. He also consults in team facilitation, business strategy, change management, succession planning, and human resource management. His 20 years of diverse experience as a business owner, consultant, educator, leader, and financial advisor help him to understand clients and design practical, human solutions.
Phil Taylor, M.S., (DDC) has been a farm business consultant with Farm Credit in western Pennsylvania for ten years. He has more than 35 years of agriculture industry experience, specializing in accounting, financial business analysis, farm succession and transition, feasibility investigations, and team facilitation. He helps farm families understand the importance of complete and accurate financial and production records for making the best management decisions for future success.
David C. Welch, VMD, MBA, (DDC, DDCe) is a veterinary and dairy business consultant from White Oak Consulting in Berlin, Pa. Dr. Welch’s experience is in developing and writing feasibility and business plan relative to expansions and startups. Dr. Welch’s approach is to tie the biology to the business plan, to ensure that cattle management practices support feasibility of the plan.
Lee Wenger (DDC) is a consultant with Horizon Farm Credit who has 32 years of experience as a farm accountant and 11 years of experience as a farm consultant. Lee also grew up on a dairy farm.