1. What is your name and where are you from?

Name: Brian Nelson
Hometown: Turlock, CA  

  1. When did you start working for All West, what is your current title, and where do you work?

Start Date: July 1, 2017 (Employed by Accelerated Genetics prior to joining forces with Select Sires since February 2012)
Title: Dairy Program Specialist   
Location: Northern California

  1. How did you get involved in the AI industry?

“I was born and raised in the dairy industry. My grandparents on both my mother and my father’s sides of our family have dairy background. I grew up on my Grandpa Joe and Grandma Mary’s dairy, Duarte Acres, for the first ten years of my life. This is where I first started helping my grandma feed grain and fill bottles and water for the calves. In 1994, my grandpa sold my parents some land across the road from his dairy where they started a dairy of their own called Nelson Farms. There I started feeding cows, milking cows, treating sick cows, and more!”

“I got very involved in showing dairy cattle in 4-H and FFA. We showed competitively at both county fairs and national shows. In 2004, we won Junior Champion of the World Dairy Expo with our heifer, Nelsons Estimate Liz. She was also one of the first All-American cloned animals, being named All-American Spring Calf in 2003 and Spring Yearling in 2004, as well as being voted the People’s Choice Heifer in 2004. I began competing in dairy judging at Turlock High School. One of my first coaches was All West’s Tony DeMello. When I first started judging, I always had my notebook in front of me to look at while giving reasons. Tony helped me put down the notebook and really improve my reasons and dairy judging skills in general. I went on to Modesto Junior College where I majored in Dairy Science. I lived on the dairy there where I worked with Bill Hobby as my supervisor and Mark Anglin as my dairy judging coach. While competing on the Modesto Junior College Dairy Judging team, we won first place at the national contest at World Dairy Expo and I was 4th in reasons and 8th high individual. We went on to compete at the international competition in Scotland and Stephen Mast and I won first place out of the top 4-H and FFA teams. Then, I transferred to Cal Poly, where I also worked on the dairy unit, competed on the judging team and earned my Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science.”

“After graduating from Cal Poly, I got a job working for a competitor company in the A.I. industry. For three years, I worked with the young sire program, hosted tours, assisted with daughter photography, and helped classifiers. Then, I got a call from today’s All West team member, Geneva McCall, asking if I was interested in working for Accelerated Genetics. I took the job and worked for them for a little over five years doing the same line of work as my previous position, including more matings and sales duties. I really enjoyed that and found my passion for mating cows and improving genetics.”

“When Select Sires and Accelerated Genetics joined forces, I got a call from All West General Manager Jim Wells asking if I would like to join the All West Family. I knew All West was one of the biggest and best companies. I was treated really well during the interview process by Jim Wells and Bill Genasci and I knew I had found a good home at All West/Select Sires. I have been with them ever since and I’m glad they found me.” 

  1. Describe a typical day in your life on the job.

“Every day is new, different, and exciting and that’s what I like about this job. I run my sales route, count inventory, fill nitrogen tanks, complete linear and pedigree matings, do consulting, schedule communication, and answer questions for dairy producers. It’s a really busy schedule and I’m happy to be a part of helping dairymen.” 

  1. What do you enjoy doing when you are not at work?

“I enjoy traveling and vacationing with my wife and three young daughters, preferably somewhere near the ocean. I also enjoy hiking, fishing, visiting historical sites and museums, and watching San Francisco Giants baseball, San Francisco 49ers football, and Sacramento Kings basketball.” 

  1. If it was your choice, what unique name would you give our next best-selling bull?

CHECKMATE

  1. What is your favorite part of your job?

“My favorite part of my job is helping our customers and servicing their needs whether it be mating their cows, giving them a good bull recommendation, and or seeing their results. When a customer shows me a group of daughters and enjoys how their looking and milking, I really get a kick out of that. I enjoy interacting with them the most.”

“It’s really cool to work in the dairy industry, not only to help improve genetics in herds, but also to help feed the world by increasing milk production and butterfat percentages. Dairy farmers are some of the most resilient and hardest working people out there and I really enjoy teaming up with them as a partnership to help with that.”

“I like working for All West because of the people. Everyone gets along and helps each other. I really enjoy working with a great group of managers and coworkers. If I ever need assistance or have a question, they are always here to help. I feel like my voice is heard working for a coop and at All West I am treated like family.”

 

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