Joe Houser

General Manager

Joe Houser is Dairyland Seed's General Manager and is responsible for establishing the vision and strategy for Dairyland and overseeing daily operations across all departments. He joined the team at the beginning of 2025.

Joe grew up in the seed industry in central Iowa and is a graduate of Iowa State University, with a degree in Agricultural Business. He has been with Corteva for 12 years holding various roles across North America in sales, production, digital, and marketing. He has a passion for farmer success and his diverse background paired with demonstrated seed leadership makes him an excellent fit at Dairyland Seed.

Joe currently resides in Cedarburg, Wisconsin with his wife, Mary, and their two daughters. Outside of work, Joe enjoys traveling with friends and family, cheering on the Cyclones and Packers, and spending time outdoors on the lake or in the woods.

Boyd Hoffmann

Sales Leader

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

Operations Leader

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

Administrative And IT Leader

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

Product Portfolio and Agronomy Leader

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

Financial Services and Accounts Payable Lead

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.