Lighthouse Agri-Solutions Founder Lesley Nernberg took an uncommon path from the Canadian prairies to Bangkok, Thailand, where he now helps connect U.S. soybean stakeholders with animal feed customers across Asia.

 “For me, Bangkok is really a hub,” Nernberg said. “I do some work in Thailand but it also gives me access to much of Asia.”

An animal nutrition and business development consultant supporting feed ingredient and feed additive companies across Asia and beyond, Nernberg works with Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) to communicate the value of northern-grown soybeans and soymeal in Asian feed markets. 

“It’s been a very natural fit,” Nernberg said. “What Lighthouse offers aligns quite well with NSM’s mission. I help clients with their product messaging, how to position products and highlight their advantages to get their products to the end user, which is ultimately feed mills or integrated animal production systems. I tend to work with smaller, medium-sized companies because they tend to not have that technical support within their company, so I work to fill that gap.” 

Nernberg grew up on a grain and livestock farm between Winnipeg and Saskatoon before attending the University of Manitoba, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in animal nutrition, focusing on poultry. 

“I thought about becoming a veterinarian, but animal science felt like the better fit,” Nernberg said. “During the summers of my agriculture degree, I worked in the poultry research facilities, and that experience led me to continue on for a Masters in poultry nutrition.”

From there, Nernberg worked for a local feed mill across Western Canada, Landmark Feeds, selling poultry feed. After the company was acquired by Maple Leaf Foods in 2001, Nernberg moved into a poultry nutritionist role, giving him direct experience with feed formulation, quality control, research and development, on-farm troubleshooting and technical sales training.  

“I was with Maple Leaf Animal Nutrition for 12 years,” Nernberg said. “Over that time, I moved from poultry nutrition to swine nutrition and eventually worked across both species, which gave me a broader perspective than many people in the industry have.”

In 2010, Nernberg pivoted from feed manufacturing into ingredient market development.

“I decided to make a bit of a move out of feed manufacturing but still be within the industry,” Nernberg said. “I joined the Canola Council of Canada, where I served as the canola meal manager.” 

That work eventually brought Nernberg to Thailand, where he has now lived for 14 years and built a deep familiarity of the region’s feed and livestock industries.

“Long story short on a work trip to Thailand, I met my now wife,” Nernberg said. “Around that same time, Wilbur-Ellis and its sister company, Connell Bros, were expanding  into Asia and looking for technical support to grow beyond commodities into other feed ingredients and additives. That opportunity brought me to Bangkok in 2012.”

Seeing the Lighthouse 

After nearly a decade of working with feed ingredient and additive companies in Asia, Nernberg launched Lighthouse Agri-Solutions in 2021. A few years later, Lighthouse and NSM joined forces to promote the quality, consistency and nutritional value of of northern-grown soybeans and soybean meal. 

“Lighthouse is well positioned to support NSM’s efforts to explain the nutritional and economic value of northern-grown soybeans and soybean meal,” Nernberg said. “My background in vegetable protein meals, ingredient evaluation and feed formulation helps me show nutritionists and buyers that value goes beyond simple crude protein alone and into practical feeding cost and performance parameters.”

For Nernberg, one of the most rewarding parts of the NSM work is  helping to link both ends of the soybean value chain.

“Part of the enjoyment is that we are connecting the growers who produce soybeans with the people who ultimately use that product as soybean meal,” Nernberg said. “Many soybean farmers do not get to see what happens after the crop leaves the farm,  so part of the role is helping connect that story all the way to the end user.”

Supported by soybean checkoff dollars, NSM is dedicated to expanding export markets for Minnesota and South Dakota producers. Nernberg’s role adds technical insight and regional perspective to that long-term effort.

“Southeast Asia is an important region to consider, especially when export markets need to be diversified,” Nernberg said. “My role is to provide regional insight and help translate technical details into information feed mills and integrators can apply in a practical way for the mutual benefit to both ends of the protein value chain.”