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Leading with Heart: The Story of Hoosierland Pork’s Jennifer Romero

It started off as a minor inconvenience: Who doesn’t have back pain when they work on a farm all day?

Jennifer Romero brushed it off because she didn’t have time for it. As the Hoosierland Pork sow farm manager for Martin Family Farms, she knew her team needed her to be strong. But as spring turned to summer, the pain continued to escalate.

After multiple doctor visits, tests with no answers and excruciating pain, she knew something was wrong. A trip to the emergency room followed by hospital admission finally resulted in a diagnosis: cancer.

Romero immediately went to Indianapolis where she underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer had progressed and spread throughout her body. When she came out of anesthesia, doctors told her they couldn’t get it all.

“I remember when I was little, and we were under a tornado warning,” says her daughter, Alyssa Wyatt, who is also part of the Hoosierland Pork team. “My mom had the front door open — cleaning and listening to music. She had no fear of the storm and told me, ‘When it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go.’”

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Trending Video

Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim



In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.