Popular Pig

Popular Pig


The Founding Story of NutriQuest | Steve Weiss

January 11, 2024
About the Guest

Steve Weiss – Mr. Weiss is founder and President of NutriQuest and a partner in 21 st Century Strategic Forums. He also serves as a Board member for several enterprises in the U.S. swine industry and non-profit sectors.


At NutriQuest, Steve leads a team which has developed technologies to improve animal performance and help solve key industry problems like humane euthanasia and improving bacon quality, among others. He has also been an active and outspoken industry leader in his role with 21 st Century Strategic Forums and in leading industry efforts and dialogue around animal rights activists, preserving antibiotics, fake meat and other industry challenges.



Mr. Weiss was previously a founder and CFO at Iowa Select Farms, which today is the fourth largest swine producer in the U.S. He has also served as a turnaround specialist for several companies, including serving as court-Appointed Receiver for a South Dakota based 7,000-cow dairy, Interim CEO for a 50,000-sow Nebraska based swine producer, Chief Restructuring Officer for a 17,000-sow North Carolina operation, and a consultant to numerous distressed production agriculture businesses, in each case accomplishing successful restructurings or the sale and continuity of those businesses. Mr. Weiss, a CPA, was a founding partner of Roth & Company, a Des Moines, Iowa based CPA firm, and Manager of Middle Market Services for Deloitte from 1985 to 1990.


Steve Weiss


What can you expect to learn from this episode of Popular Pig?
  • Steve’s Background: Learn how Steve Weiss got started in the pork industry, including what drew him to this field and his early experiences.
  • Experiences at Iowa Select: Hear about Weiss’s time as CFO of Iowa Select, including the challenges he faced, the lessons he learned, and how he helped the company grow.
  • Founding NutriQuest: Find out why and how Weiss founded NutriQuest and the journey he went through to make it successful.
  • Role in the National Pork Industry Conference (NPIC): Weiss talks about his involvement in this important industry event and why it matters for people in the pork industry.
  • Future Plans: Weiss shares what he’s looking forward to in his own future and what he’s planning next.
  • Outlook on the Swine Industry: Get Weiss’s take on where the swine industry is heading, including potential challenges and opportunities he sees on the horizon.
  • Steve Weiss’s “Golden Nugget”