Partner Profile
Brian Stevens grew up on a diversified livestock farm in Eastern Nebraska. He has a BS degree in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska. He spent 19 years with Hormel Foods including managing a hog buying station, Austin plant head buyer and the last 11 years as Director of Hog Procurement overseeing all activities related to hog procurement, carcass evaluation and Hormel’s hog production. In 2010, he became President of a newly formed company, Big Stone Marketing, LLC, working with independent producers to help them stay competitive from a revenue standpoint including packer contracts, open market sales, risk management and overall marketing opportunities. He believes that understanding both the packer processor and production sides of the business are imperative to forging long-term agreements and relationships that work for all parties and is confident that Legacy Marketing Partners, LLC can do just that.
Shane Johnson started in the hog business in 1994. He answered an ad in the newspaper, “Hog Buyer Wanted – No Experience Necessary”. His involvement in the industry since then includes hog procurement, swine genetics, meat quality research, international sales, packer contract negotiations, managing marketing companies, grain merchandising, starting and managing finishing groups, market analysis and risk management. Shane enjoys helping bridge the gap between the packer and the producer.
Christine Colemer grew up on a grain farm in Southwest Minnesota and currently resides in Pipestone, MN with her husband Shannon. She has a BS in Recreation Administration from South Dakota State University. She has spent the last 13 years with Big Stone Marketing working with independent hog producers by providing them with long-term contract management services, market load scheduling and overall customer services. She works hard to understand both unique packer plants and individual producer needs to build relationships between them doing everything she can to align those needs. She is excited for the opportunity to continuing those relationships through Legacy Marketing Partners, LLC.
Chris McCulloh grew up on a diversified livestock farm in Eastern Iowa where he resides with his wife Lindsay and their four kids. He has a BS degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. He spent 5 years with Cargill Meat Solutions in pork procurement working both at the plant and directly with producers in the field. In 2012, he started with Big Stone Marketing, LLC as the Eastern Regional Manager. As a pig owner himself now, he understands all aspects of marketing along with production and can provide his own expertise to help producers stay competitive while looking for ways to maximize all opportunities within their operations. He is extremely excited to continue the venture of helping producers.
Ashley Jasper grew up on a small dairy, hog, and grain farm in southwest Minnesota and currently lives in Pipestone, MN with her husband Mike and their two daughters where her family owns and operates a corn and soybean farm. She started working with Big Stone Marketing, LLC in 2010 as an Accounting Specialist where she processes producer payments, risk management distributions and maintains all aspects of record keeping. She is excited to continue providing these detailed services through Legacy Marketing Partners, LLC.
Eric Hogle graduated from South Dakota State University with a BS degree in Animal Science and began his swine industry career with Hormel Foods in Fremont, Nebraska. During his 10 years with Hormel Foods, he spent extensive time both in Production as well as the Livestock Procurement Division. In 2017, Eric became the Director of Procurement for Prestage Foods of Iowa during the construction process, the initial startup of operations and final ramp up to full capacity. There he was responsible for hog procurement, contract negotiations, and scheduling for the facility. Eric then joined Livestock Equity in 2021 for a short stint as a livestock broker working with producers across Iowa and Minnesota finding marketing options that best fit the individual needs of each client. He firmly believes that a wide range of experience across multiple segments of the swine industry is a crucial step in forming and maintaining long term relationships with all parties.