Get the Edge! | Management Tools for Poultry Farmers

Meet The Leading Edge Team

We are a team of qualified poultry scientists with 50 years of joint on-farm practical and industry experience.

Shelley Johnston

PhD Agric

Shelley holds a PhD in Agriculture in the discipline of Animal Science and Poultry Science. She has worked for an animal feeds manufacturer and as a technical services manager for a national integrated egg producer. Shelley is the founder of Leading Edge Poultry Software.

Nicky

PhD Poultry Science

Nicky holds a PhD in Poultry Science. She was at UKZN for 20 years lecturing and conducting research in various aspects of poultry science. She joined Leading Edge in 2025. She is involved in the Poultry Industry in various roles, including Secretary of the SA branch of the World’s Poultry Science Association.

Justine de Winnaar

MSc Agric

Justine has an MSc Agric, majoring in Poultry Science.  Following a part-time lecturing post at the University, Justine managed a broiler breeder operation for practical experience.  She then moved to the feed industry as a technical advisor until taking on the position of an Operational Nutritionist.  Justine joined Leading Edge in 2015.

IT Support

Mark Wiercx
BSc Agric (Hons) and Diploma in Datametrics

Mark has been in various development roles since 1992, from Information Systems Manager to Developer Team Lead to Consultant, in industries from agriculture to yacht building.

Mark enjoys the creative aspect of development, and his background in agriculture coupled with his wealth of experience in IT make him a welcome addition to the Leading Edge team. 

In addition to development of EGGonomics, Mark co-manages our cloud server and provides technical support.