Dr. Steve Hull, who retired from the industry as a turkey nutritionist, was named the 2012 Turkey Man of the Year by the Turkey Committee at their annual meeting held in Branson on September 14.

When Dr. Hull retired in 2006, he was the director of nutrition at Butterball Turkey Company/ConAgra Inc.  He has held several positions with Butterball Turkey Co/CongAgra, in Carthage, MO, and El Dorado, AR.  Prior to working for Butterball/ConAgra, he was the poultry feeds director at Central Soya in Decatur, IL, and the regional manager -research at Campbell Soup.  He received his B.S. in Poultry Science from the University of Arkansas, his M.S. in Poultry Nutrition from the University of Arkansas, and his Ph.D in Poultry Nutrition from Cornell University.

The award presentation was made by Gerald Duncan of Cargill, who provided a description of Dr. Hull from the people that worked with him.

Commitment:  26 years with ConAgra, during which he was the go to guy on anything involving Turkey nutrition for a company that would evolve into the largest turkey company in the world.

Respect:   Recognized by many of his peers as one of the top 5 avian nutritionists in the country, having  35 years of experience in broiler, broiler breeder, commercial turkey and turkey breeder nutrition.

Mentor:  He always took the time to visit with you, listen to your opinions and questions then either agree, disagree or present a new way of looking at a problem- there was no mincing of words.  He was always willing to coach you if he felt you needed or wanted it.   "As a young Growout Manager and later as a Live Production Manager. in the business, I valued his opinion and direction on the challenging issues," said Duncan.

Tough Negotiator:  If you were an allied industry person and calling on him, it was a good time to be in command of your product knowledge if you wanted to walk away with a sale- if he thought that your product did or did not work he would tell you but also take the time to explain his position.  If you walked into his office with a wild idea, it was best to have given some deep thought to the idea and have the data to back it up if you expected to get his buy in.

Family Man:   His work station was a considerable distance from his home.  Driving time and home time were sacrificed to allow his wife Sue to finish her career in education and for his children to finish school in an area in which they felt comfortable.  Many times he would make the 7 hour drive to attend his children’s baseball games and school functions- whatever the distance he would be there for them.

Congratulations Dr. Hull!

Dr. Steve Hull, 2012 Turkey Man of the Year, speaks to the group after receiving his award.