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Former farm girl heading up marketing for Kentucky firm
 
By BOB RIGGS
Indiana Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After the third weekend in February, Andi Branstetter settled into her office chair only long enough to send an email message – which is descriptive of her career at Neogen Corp. in Lexington.

“All is well this way,” Branstetter wrote. “I had a long work trip with a trade show in Reno and the World Ag Expo in California.”
Then, just a couple of days later the she was off to Iowa for meetings and another show. “Busy times!” said Branstetter.
Neogen is an animal health company selling products that benefit farmers and animal health experts. Branstetter is the marketing manager of its dairy and beef products division. A well-educated farm girl, she admits to taking pride in bringing new and innovative products to market.

Having grown up on a successful dairy farm, Branstetter is no stranger to dairy and beef in Kentucky. Taking the family’s dairy cows to the fair was always a big part of her life before and after college. She attended Eastern Kentucky University for a B.S. degree in agriculture, with a minor in business. Then, she attended the University of Kentucky (UK) for an M.S. in agriculture economics.
While there, she interned at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture as a UK dairy show judging coach.

Upon graduation, Branstetter was hired at the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Milk, where she worked as a mobile dairy classroom coordinator. “I took a real cow to school and milked her for the kids,” she enthused.

Further, “It was rewarding for me promoting milk and dairy products, agriculture education and awareness.”

In 2008, after five years with the Commission, she came back to Kentucky. “Being a small company,” she said of her job at Neogen, “we have to be resourceful and we learned to do a lot with a little. We wear different hats on a daily basis. My colleagues and myself are more than willing to help each other out. When one of us is in a crunch, we know the others will be there.”

True to her major, she has become a leader in agricultural business. With the help of EKU professor and board member Dr. Laurie Rincker, Bran-stetter accepted the challenge of the Kentucky Agricultural Leadership Program (KALP) in 2010. KALP is an 18-month program designed to refine the leadership skills of active farmers, agribusiness professionals and others employed in the ag sector who want to be on the cutting edge of decisions that will affect agriculture and rural communities in the 21st century.
Branstetter completed KALP in July 2011. The program for her group included trips to Frankfort, Ky., Washington, D.C., and an international trip to New Zealand. “There were 22 of us in the program,” Branstetter explained, “and I was elected alumni director of my class.”

Dr. William Snell from the UK Department of Agricultural Economics is co-director of the independent leadership program. “Andi is the class rep for Class IX and vice presentiment for the entire program’s alumni board, where she assists the president and the other board members in setting up meetings, trips and trainings for the alumni,” he said.

“Andi symbolizes the perfect individual who we seek to be a part of this program – someone who has a passion for agriculture, is excited to work with others to learn new skills and share her knowledge, thoughts and experiences and is dedicated to improve the future of agriculture for our farmers, our ag businesses and our rural communities.”

Branstetter still farms with her brother, Kevin, and her father at the family’s Style Crest Farm dairy in Edmonton, Ky. As a team they all purchase animals and embryos, and her parents run the farm. She and Kevin help out, especially during cattle show season.
3/15/2012