Hayden graduated from South Dakota State University in 2018 with his B.S. in Animal Science and completed his M.S. in Swine Nutrition at Kansas State University in 2020.

He grew up on a “funny” farm with sheep, ducks, mini Herfords, horses and show pigs. However, some of his favorite memories as a kid include walking the commercial pig barns with his dad.

Hayden believes working with Dr. Bob Thaler and Dr. Crystal Levesque on nutrition trials as an undergraduate student, and interning with New Fashion Pork as the nutrition/research intern, furthered his desire to be a part of the swine industry and become a Nutritionist.

Hayden currently lives in Baltic, SD with his wife, McKayla Kerkaert and their new puppy, Oakley. In his free time, Hayden enjoys fishing, pheasant hunting and working with the animals at home.