Staff Category: FARM Workforce Development Leadership

Lindsay Reames

Lindsay is the Manager of Animal Care and Sustainability for Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative. She is responsible for the development, coordination and execution of Maryland & Virginia’s Animal Care and Sustainability programs which foster continuous improvement throughout the supply chain, from the farm to the consumer.

In 2017, Lindsay was appointed by Governor McAuliffe to serve in his administration as the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this role she led several significant, high-profile policy and programmatic initiatives within the Secretariat focusing on new crop development, environmental challenges and economic incentives. Prior to this position she served as the Assistant Director of Governmental Relations for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

Lindsay holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and applied economics from Virginia Tech. She is among the tenth generation to grow up on her family’s farm in Loudoun County.

Robert Hagevoort

Dr. Robert Hagevoort, a native of The Netherlands, is an Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist at New Mexico State University. Prior to joining NMSU in November of 2005, Dr. Hagevoort served for over 10 years as an independent dairy management consultant primarily in California’s southern and central Valley. As an Extension Specialist, he has been working closely with the dairy industry in New Mexico and across the West regarding many regulatory and environmental issues. In an effort to rebuild a dairy program, Hagevoort is one of the co-founders of the U.S. Dairy Education & Training Consortium, which provided the incentive for a re-establishment of a minor in dairy at NMSU. A key component of his current program is the development and implementation of a comprehensive dairy workforce training & safety program. A great deal of time is spent working individually with dairies and collectively with producer associations on implementing and evaluating comprehensive workforce training programs in dairy safety, animal handling, parlor performance, calf care, feeder performance, and hospital and maternity care. A recent direction, because of expressed producer needs, is a focus on the development of effective middle-manager training programs.

Thomas Maloney

Thomas Maloney is a senior extension associate in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. He spent the first 10 years of his career as a Cooperative Extension farm management agent in Cortland County, New York. In 1985 he joined AEM, where he has been responsible for extension programs in human resource management, multicultural workforce management, and agricultural labor policy. He has conducted numerous workshops, written a variety of bulletins, and conducted applied research on a range of human resource topics related to farm businesses. His primary areas of interest include employee recruitment, compensation, performance appraisal, motivation. In recent years his extension program has focused on Hispanic workforce and immigration policy issues affecting agricultural employers in New York.

Mike McCloskey

Mike McCloskey is Co-Founder and CEO of Select Milk Producers, the sixth largest milk cooperative in the country.  He is also Chairman of the Board for Fair Oaks Farms, the nation’s largest agritourism attraction located in Northwest Indiana. Dr. McCloskey’s home dairy is Prairies Edge Dairy Farms, also in Northwest Indiana, which milks 15,000 cows living in free-stall barns and is recognized as being the leading dairy in the U.S. from many perspectives. Prairies Edge Dairy Farms harvest their cow manure and through digesters create electricity to power their farms as well as creating bio-based CNG to fuel 42 milk trucks and thus displacing 2 million gallons of diesel use annually.

Maureen Torrey

Maureen is a member of a 12th generation family farm located in Western New York which encompasses fresh market and processing vegetables, grain farm and dairy operations. She also operates a trucking company with her husband Paul Marshall.

She has served and participates in numerous organizations. She is past chairperson of United Fresh, past director of the Produce Marketing Association, First chairperson of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Advisory Committee, former seven year Director of NY Federal Reserve – Buffalo. Currently she is a trustee at Genesee Community College. She serves as Director on the Board of National Council Agricultural Employees, Erie Niagara Insurance, Summit Insurance, NYS Vegetable Growers, Ag Affiliates, and NYS Agri Business Child Care Board; and numerous other community organizations. She participates in many local, state and national conferences as a speaker and informational education source every year.

Antone Mickelson

Antone is the director of farm practices for Northwest Dairy Assoc., directing second- and third-party animal care evaluations. In addition to his duties at Northwest, he serves on the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shippers’ Executive Board, Council III Committee, and the Liaison and Third Party Certification Committee. He is a member of the National Milk Producers Federation’s Animal Health and Well-Being Committee and chairs NMPF’s Regulatory Advisory Committee. He is also a member of U.S. Animal Health Association’s Animal Welfare Committee, the Washington State Dairy Industry Producer Advisory Committee and the Oregon Department of Agriculture Regulatory Advisory Committee. 

Antone grew up on a dairy farm in Idaho. He holds two bachelors of science degrees in ag economics and animal science from Brigham Young University, as well as an MBA from the City University of Seattle. He is actively involved with his brothers on the home farm growing alfalfa, oats and barley, and running a small cow calf operation. 

Brandon Treichler, DVM

Brandon is the quality control veterinarian with Select Milk Producers. In that role, Brandon’s practice focuses on consulting in the areas of Milk Quality, Animal Care, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Food Safety and Worker Safety. 

Dr. Brandon Treichler grew up on a family dairy farm in eastern Pennsylvania. Prior to veterinary school, Dr. Treichler worked for a major milking equipment manufacturer, troubleshooting milk quality concerns and developing training and monitoring programs on dairies. After graduating from veterinary school, he joined a 13 doctor all dairy practice in Eastern Wisconsin, where he specialized in Milk Quality consulting within veterinary practice. He joined Select Milk Producers in 2015. 

Brandon is active in the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) AALC where he serves as the Vice Chair, the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) where he serves on the board of directors. Brandon also serves on the NMC (formerly the National Mastitis Council) board of directors. Dr. Treichler is very active in the National Milk Producers Federation, where he represents NMPF on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Animal Agriculture Liaison Committee.