It is with great excitement that we announce the hiring of Carly Olufs! Carly has accepted our offer for the position of full-time Dairy Program Specialist in All West’s Petaluma, California area territory.
Carly is no stranger to the dairy producers of Northern California. The community of Petaluma, California blessed Carly with a strong support system at a young age. What started as a Christmas wish come true when her parents, Paula and John Olufs, granted her the purchase of her first heifer in 2008, quickly amounted to an award-winning herd of animals, but not without the assistance of her close community.
“I did not grow up on a dairy farm, so growing my dairy herd from one grade Holstein heifer to a herd of 15+ registered Jersey and Holstein dairy cattle required a tremendous amount of hard work and resources. I was only able to accomplish this with the help of very kind and giving individuals who allowed me to house and milk my cows at their facilities.”
The hard work that Carly was willing to invest in her herd gained her a positive reputation among dairy producers in her area and beyond! Carly started showing in 4-H and FFA and exhibited her first home bred heifer on the colored shavings of World Dairy Expo in 2013 where she has experienced great success. She was even recently featured in California Dairy Magazine, which highlighted her most memorable wins!
When the time came for college, Carly took advantage of the opportunity to step out of her county lines to travel across the country for her education at Oklahoma State University. While keeping up her impressive GPA, Carly had also challenged herself in leadership roles by working on the campus dairy, participating on the collegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Team, being an active member of the Oklahoma State University Dairy Science Club, and even became a founding member of the Sigma Alpha professional agricultural sorority of Oklahoma State. Carly also maintains her membership in All West Territory to organizations such as the California Junior Holstein Association, the California Junior Jersey Association, and the Redwood Empire Junior Holstein Association.
In May 2020, Carly will earn her degree in Animal Science with an emphasis in Business, as well as a minor in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. In the meantime, Carly will be training with our team to prepare for her role.
You may be familiar with Carly as she was our 2018 All West Summer Intern. During her time with us, Carly gained experience filling nitrogen tanks, mating cows, breeding cows, selling semen, and working with our genetic programs such as Optimal Genetic Pathways in both California and Washington. In her initial interview for our internship position, Carly mentioned integrity, teamwork, and commitment to our customers as three values she would bring to our company and she has proved that to be true!
Even at that time, Carly had a clear career goal: “I want to work with dairymen on a daily basis to enhance their genetics and improve efficiency. I enjoy genetics and seeing how picking different bulls affects future generations of cattle.”
Carly took hold of the technology during her summer with us as she learned how to mate cows and complete linear evaluations.
Carly rode along with All West team members as they presented solutions to customers who take advantage of our Optimal Genetic Pathways herd inventory calculator service.
Carly isn’t afraid to get the job done, no matter what the task may be! She spent time with All West professional A.I. trainers to learn proper techniques behind the cow!
In the following summer of 2019, Carly was selected as a Dairy Sire Marketing Intern for Select Sires Inc. in Ohio. This experience allowed her to work closely with our headquarters marketing team, while also spending time clipping and picturing incredible cows throughout our nation.
The All West Family is happy to have Carly back “home” and we are excited to allow her to begin assisting our valued customers this summer.
All West/Select Sires California Sales Manager, Brad Barham commented, “At All West we pride ourselves on having the best people in the industry. Carly Olufs impressed us from day one of her internship interview all the way through her experiences during the internship itself. She brings great knowledge of first-hand dairy experience, great eyes for cows, and an inviting personality to work with in any facet. We are mutually excited about the opportunity for her in the greater Petaluma area as a local looking to support our member/owners in any way she can.”
When Carly is not busy learning her new role with All West and managing Carly-O Jerseys and Holsteins, she can be found helping local 4-H members with their cattle projects or spending time with her family and friends.
“I am excited for this opportunity to serve member/owners in All West territory while continuing to pursue my passion for the dairy cattle industry,” says Carly.
Carly’s strong work ethic, friendly personality, and willingness to learn provides us confidence that she will serve our customers with passion.
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