Derek Balk

Director of High Protein Ingredients & Business Development at POET

Derek brings a passion and curiosity of agriculture production, specifically the animal feed and nutrition industry, cultivated by his family feed and grain milling business. He joined the bioethanol industry in 2017, to aid in leading the development, launch and growth of co-product diversification within the industry. Prior to his current role, he held roles in soybean processing, commodity trading and bypass protein sales, providing opportunities to be involved in animal nutrition research, food safety and quality programs, and supply chain management/negotiation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business, commodity price risk analysis from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville.