The Egg Industry Center will recognize Dr. Dennis Casey with the 2022 Leggacy Maker Award for his commitment and achievements in advancing the egg industry and the mission of the Egg Industry Center.
“Dr. Casey was not only committed to advancing the egg industry, he went above and beyond the call of duty impacting not only the U.S. egg industry, but the worldwide egg industry,” said Pete Block, President of Hy-Line North America. Casey, a geneticist, and eventual president of Hy-Line International, aided Hy-Line’s worldwide distribution of laying hen genetics. These genetic lines impacted the entire world’s ability to produce the eggs needed to feed a growing population.
Throughout his career, Casey served the egg industry in many other ways. Casey sat on the boards of the Southeastern Poultry and Egg Association (now US Poultry & Egg Association) and the United Egg Producers Allied Industry Council. He is a former chairman of the Midwest Poultry Consortium, which he helped found. Casey also served as the allied industry advisor to the American Egg Board.
Casey’s contributions to the Egg Industry Center have been significant. He was a founding board member in 2008 and served as chairman of the Egg Industry Center advisory board from 2011 - 2017. During his time with the center’s advisory board he helped raise substantial funds for the Egg Industry Center’s research endowment fund. This effort has ensured research, that can be applied at the farm level, would continue to occur for the industry for decades to come. To date 14 institutions across North America have received EIC funds to provide the industry with scientific information on a host of important topics.
After contributing 36 years of service to Hy-Line, Casey retired in 2007. Even after his official retirement, Casey continued to work as a consultant and maintained his industry involvement finishing his final term with the Egg Industry Center advisory board in 2020. Casey will receive this well-deserved honor award at the 2022 Egg Industry Issues Forum.
