Dr. John Sonderman, PhD, PAS

Director of Technical Services for DNA Genetics, a provider of swine genetics to the commercial swine industry in North America, Spain, and Brazil. His duties include oversight of technical support to commercial customers and multipliers in North America, the North American nucleus herds and boar studs, and collaboration on research. He also provides consulting and research support for Pillen Family Farms, a 70,000-sow commercial producer located in Nebraska and South Dakota and is a past member of the National Pork Board’s Sow Lifetime Productivity Task Force. John’s experience includes three years in extension and over ten years working in the US feed industry in nutrition and reproductive management.

He has B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and a PhD from Colorado State University in Reproductive Physiology. He currently serves on the External Advisory Board for the Animal Science Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is currently serving as the President of the board for the American Shorthorn Association. He resides with his wife on a small ranch near Columbus, Nebraska, where they raise purebred Beef Shorthorn cattle.

• Nurse sow utilization is becoming an important management consideration in the swine industry.
• Experts are evaluating current nurse sow strategies being used in the industry.
• DNA/Pillen Family Farms looked into nurse sow strategies to improve their production processes.
• Research and trials were conducted to answer the nurse sow question and revealed significant takeaways.
• John Sonderman’s “Golden Nugget”