UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has honored four of its graduates with 2016 Outstanding Alumni Awards. The awards recognize alumni for their achievements and provide opportunities for recipients to interact with the college's faculty, students and other alumni.
Named Outstanding Alumni were Dave Dell, of Milford, Indiana; Barry Flinchbaugh, of Manhattan, Kansas; and Fred Metzger, of State College. Joel Krall, of South Lebanon, was named Outstanding Recent Alumnus, an award that honors alumni who have graduated in the last 10 years.
-- Dave Dell earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural mechanization from Penn State in 1976. He is currently the global marketing and sales director for the Brock Grain Systems division of CTB Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, where he has been responsible for strategic marketing, product development and distribution management initiatives since 2013.
Holding several senior-level agricultural marketing and sales positions throughout his career, Dell has earned a reputation for strong leadership skills and solid business experience, which he has applied in several industry segments. The first 31 years of his career were spent at CNH America LLC in New Holland, where he worked in service, sales and marketing, ultimately serving as senior director of product marketing. Dell also was hired as vice president of Wenger Feeds LLC in 2007, and marketing and business development director for Lebanon Seaboard Corporation in 2011.
Dell is a past director of the Lancaster County Agriculture Council and spent several years serving on the Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce and Industry's agriculture committee and the Lancaster County Penn State Extension board of directors. Dell is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association, has conducted guest lectures for students and has served on the college's Ag Alumni Society board of directors. In recognition of his service and contributions, he was inducted into the college's Armsby Honor Society and was honored as a member of the Penn State President's Club.
-- Barry Flinchbaugh earned a bachelor's degree in animal science in 1964 and a master's degree in agricultural economics in 1967, both from Penn State. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University. In 1971, he joined the faculty of Kansas State University, where he continues to serve as a professor emeritus in the department of agricultural economics.
Flinchbaugh is known as a leading expert on agricultural policy and agricultural economics. He has served on a variety of boards of directors, advisory organizations and national task forces, providing input on domestic food and agriculture policy, and serving as an adviser to industry and government leaders. His contributions include working with leaders on the development of national farm bills and serving as chairman of the Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture formed by the 1996 FAIR Act.
Flinchbaugh receives as many as 100 speaking invitations each year. He also has written more than 100 publications and co-authored an agricultural policy textbook.
Flinchbaugh has received Outstanding Teacher Awards three times from Kansas State University and a Distinguished Service Award from the American Farm Bureau. He also was selected as one of Farm Credit's 100 Fresh Perspectives, a national recognition for agricultural leaders. He is a lifetime member of Penn State's Alumni Association, its Ag Alumni Society and its alumni Stockman's Club.
-- Fred Metzger earned a bachelor's degree in animal bioscience from Penn State in 1981 and graduated from the Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine in 1986. He is the owner of Metzger Animal Hospital in State College and serves there as a doctor of veterinary medicine. Opened in 1992, the practice is now the largest veterinary hospital in central Pennsylvania, employing a staff of 55 and annually serving 30,000 patients. The hospital earned the 2016 North American Veterinary Practice of the Year award from Pet Plan Insurance.
Metzger is an active participant and contributor in the veterinary medicine field, regularly interfacing with fellow practitioners worldwide and authoring numerous publications. He co-authored the textbook, "A Guide to Hematology of the Dog and Cat," and he serves on advisory boards for Veterinary Economics and Veterinary Medicine magazines. He also is the senior international adviser for Idexx Laboratories, the world's largest veterinary diagnostics company.
A board certified veterinary specialist, Metzger has earned the designation of Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the United Kingdom. He frequently speaks to veterinarians on clinical pathology, internal medicine and practice management, and he has presented lectures in 47 countries. A lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association, Metzger also has served as a guest speaker for Penn State classes and often hosts pre-veterinary students for internships at the animal hospital.
-- Joel Krall earned a bachelor's degree in animal science from Penn State in 2006 and went on to purchase his parents' dairy operation in South Lebanon. Today, Krall and his wife, Christine, own and operate Furnace Hill Holsteins, a registered herd of more than 500 Holstein dairy cows, which they manage on the family farm in collaboration with his parents, Tom and Shirley Krall.
Over the past decade, Krall and his family have more than doubled the farm's milk production, expanding and cultivating a premier dairy herd. The farm's acreage is dedicated to forage crop production for the dairy operation, which is managed with a focus on high quality feed, optimized cow comfort and milking efficiency. The genetic quality of the Furnace Hill herd is highly valued, and the farm contributes bulls to stud for other dairy operations.
Krall participates in the dairy industry at a regional and state level. He is treasurer of the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania board, president of the Lebanon County Holstein Association and a member of Lebanon County's Pennsylvania Farm Bureau board. Krall has hosted Penn State agricultural students for tours of the farm, served as a guest speaker for agricultural classes and helped support the student Dairy Science Club's fundraising activities. As a student, Krall received the Graduate Production Award from the National Dairy Shrine and was recognized with the Young Dairy Leader Award by the Dairy Science Club.