DAIRYLAND SEED CO., INC.
P.O. Box 958 // West Bend, Wisconsin // 53095-0958
Phone: 262.626.3080 // Fax: 262.626.2281 // 1.800.236.0163
P.O. Box 958 // West Bend, Wisconsin // 53095-0958
Phone: 262.626.3080 // Fax: 262.626.2281 // 1.800.236.0163
Our people are the key to our business—they always have been and they always will be. We believe the right people can make as much of an impact as the right seed.
We’d like you to meet a few of the people on the Dairyland Seed team.
Chris Pritchett serves as General Manager for Dairyland Seed. As General Manager, Chris is responsible for leading the Dairyland Seed Leadership Team, overseeing all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the company as well as working closely with the Corteva U.S. Seeds Business. Chris provides direction and support in ensuring Dairyland Seed continues operating under its core principles of putting farmers first and ensuring the company is strategically poised for future growth.
Chris started his career selling herbicides in the industrial vegetation and forestry market in Texas and Oklahoma, followed by a move to Indianapolis where he led the Corteva US Soybean herbicide business. Prior to joining Dairyland Seed, Chris served as the PhytoGen District Sales Leader in Texas.
Chris was raised in northern Georgia on a diversified farm consisting of commercial cattle, commercial poultry, hay, and apple production. He showed livestock growing up (cattle, hogs, and lambs) which led him into livestock judging. He leveraged this experience into judging livestock collegiately at University of Georgia, where he received degrees in Animal Science and Agribusiness.
He currently resides in Sussex, WI, with his wife Morgan.
Boyd Hoffmann, Sales Leader, is responsible for managing the sales of Dairyland Seed through its dealer network in the upper Midwest. He currently holds a seat on the Dairyland Seed Leadership Team and has worked for the company since 2006 as both a District Manager and Regional Manager.
With 30+ years of seed sales experience, Boyd previously worked for Croplan Genetics and Pioneer Hi-Bred, before joining the Dairyland Seed Team. He also has experience as a Crop Production Specialist and a Certified Custom Applicator.
Boyd was born and raised on a dairy/grain farm in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture from UW-River Falls, with a Minor in Agronomy. He currently resides in Oostburg, WI with his wife Laura. Together they have three adult children and two grandchildren.
Kim Mayne serves as Operations Leader for Dairyland Seed. He has full responsibility over all hybrid seed corn inventory and quality assurance. He also serves as Chairman of the Supply Chain committee and is the site leader at the Mount Hope operations facility. Kim is a member of Dairyland Seed’s Leadership Team.
Kim joined Dairyland Seed the warehouse staff in 1981 and since that time has served in a variety of roles from Warehouse and Shipping Manager, District Sales Manager and Corn Production Manager.
He began his career in the seed industry in 1973 working for Kussmaul Hybrids, in Mt. Hope, WI and served as warehouse manager, conditioning room supervisor and distribution manager in addition to various district sales manager responsibilities.
Kim and his wife Tanya reside in Mt. Hope, Wisconsin.
Deb Backhaus started with Dairyland Seed in 1983. From 1983 until 1988, she was employed as an order entry clerk, distribution manager for West Bend, and also in a sales administrative role. In 1988, she was promoted to Office Manager.
As Administrative and IT Leader, she is in charge of the Customer Service department and is responsible for IT project management along with the IT staff. She is also a member of Dairyland Seed’s Leadership Team.
Deb was born and raised on a dairy farm near Kewaskum, Wis. She and her husband Dennis have three adult children, and four grandchildren. She is actively involved in their farm operation.
Ryan Mueller is the Product Portfolio and Agronomy Leader for Dairyland Seed. His primary responsibilities include corn hybrid evaluation and recommendations, but he is also involved with marketing and the corn production plan. Ryan also oversees the Dairyland Agronomy Team and works to provide strategic direction on field sales support and product education.
Ryan has been with Dairyland Seed since 1995 and has been involved in product development and selection for much of his career working in both research and most recently with the commercial side of our business over the past 10 years. While in research, Ryan was instrumental in the development of Dairyland’s highly successful HiDF corn silage research program. He also established Dairyland’s HiDF on-farm strip plot testing program.
Ryan is a Wisconsin native and currently resides in Beloit, Wisconsin with his wife Tammy and two sons. He received his B.A. degrees in History and Psychology from Carroll University in Waukesha, WI.
Denise Stahl is the Senior Accountant for Dairyland Seed and serves on its Leadership Team. She leads our financial services department and the accounts payable group. Her main duties include reporting on and analyzing sales and expenses, calculating commissions, and providing monthly financial reports.
A Dairyland Seed employee for more than 30 years, Denise is well-equipped to help Dairyland Seed employees, dealers and customers. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She started her career with Dairyland Seed as an accounts payable associate and worked her way up to her current position. Her favorite part of her job is delivering actionable information to people and seeing the dollars and cents align.
In her spare time, Denise likes to spend time outside with her family. They enjoy watching their kids’ and grandchildren’s activities, going for walks with their dog and rooting for Wisconsin professional sports teams like the Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Denise lives in Kewaskum, WI with her husband John. Together, they have four children, three grandchildren and a dog named Baylee.
In his role, Branden focuses on the improvement of our sales organization with a strategic lens. He facilitates district planning, sales resource development, and identifies high-level growth opportunities. He ensures that we align with our local, customer-first values, while also tapping into the strength of the Corteva US Seed Business. As the former Northern Region Agronomist, he stays plugged into the agronomy and product development teams as well.
Branden grew up on a family dairy and cash crop farm in southern Wisconsin where they grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and tobacco. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from UW-Platteville and master’s degree from UW-Madison, he started his career as a corn breeding research biologist with Dow AgroSciences, Dairyland Seed’s parent company at the time. He was soon promoted as the Research Center Operations Leader, a position he held until joining the commercial side of the business as regional agronomist at Dairyland Seed.
Branden currently lives in Deforest, WI with his wife, Kailee, and their two young daughters.