2025 CDCB Industry Meeting

Raised on a dairy farm in central Minnesota, Katie Schmitt began with CDCB in spring 2023 as Outreach Specialist. Previously, Katie worked at World Dairy Expo in various communication and marketing roles including Communications Manager. She received a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science with an emphasis in Industry and Business at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities along with minors in Communication Studies and Agricultural Food Business Management. In 2022, she was recognized as a “35 under 35” by Wisconsin Farm Bureau for her work with The Dairy Show podcast.

João Dürr is currently in his 11th year of service as CDCB Chief Executive Officer. Before CDCB, João worked as the Executive Director of Interbull based in Sweden, Professor at Universidade de Passo Fundo in Brazil, and President of the Brazilian Council of Milk Quality (CBQL). A native of Brazil, João received his Bachelor’s degree in agriculture at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; followed by master’s and doctorate degrees from McGill University, Montreal, in animal breeding and genetics.

Kristen has served as Geneticist at CDCB since October 2016. She studied at North Carolina State University, where she received her Bachelor’s and Doctorate degree in animal science and quantitative genetics. Her Ph.D. research focused on utilization of producer-recorded cow health information to improve understanding of the genetics behind disease resistance, analysis of the health data, and estimation of traditional and genomic breeding values of dairy animals for common health traits. Kristen conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Florida and USDA AGIL involving fertility and reproductive technology traits, along with continued work on development of health trait evaluations.

John serves as Chief Research and Development Officer. Before coming to CDCB in March 2024, he spent three years as the Senior Vice President, Research and Development, for PEAK Genetics, where he oversaw genetics and reproductive biology research for the largest producer of cattle genetics in the world. Prior to joining PEAK, he spent 17 years as a Research Geneticist (Animals) and Acting Research Leader for USDA’s Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory (formerly the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory).

John has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed research articles, mentored many postdoctoral scientists and graduate students, and is a frequent speaker at industry and scientific meetings. His research has been recognized with the Jay L. Lush Award in Breeding and Genetics from the American Dairy Science Association, the Distinguished Service Award from the National Dairy Herd Information Association, and the Peer Research Award from the National Association of Animal Breeders.

A native of south Louisiana, he holds a Ph.D. in animal breeding and genetics from Louisiana State University and is a graduate of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. His research interests include genetic improvement of fertility, health, and fitness traits in dairy cattle; development of economic selection indices; pedigree analysis; biological mechanisms underlying fertility; and recessive genetic defects. He’s also a Life Member of the Bowie, Md., Volunteer Fire Department and is a founding member of the Lethal Recessives. John, his wife Misty, and their sons Ellery and Henry live in Sun Prairie, Wis., with two cats of dubious origin.

Ashley joined CDCB in June 2024 as Support Scientist, a new position to provide scientific and technical assistance in various research projects and ensure successful execution, reporting, and implementation of priorities in the CDCB strategic plan.

For the previous two years, Ashley worked as Research Geneticist at USDA. Her work included building efficient pipelines for analysis of genomic data, investigation of genetic variation and genotype-by-environment interactions for body condition score in beef cattle, evaluation of statistical models for analysis of longevity data, and a variety of additional projects.

Ashley’s training is from the University of Georgia, where she earned a Ph.D. in animal breeding and genetics under Dr. Romdhane Rekaya and a B.S. A. in animal science. While a graduate research assistant at UGA, she was engaged in research on statistical challenges to preselection of SNP markers, data collection and BLUP analysis to characterize heritability of hornfly tolerance in beef cattle, collection of beef and poultry phenotype data, and research documentation in manuscripts and peer-reviewed journals.

Taylor M. McWhorter, Ph.D., joined CDCB as a Geneticist in February 2023. Taylor studied at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA), where she received her bachelor’s degree in animal science and doctoral degree in quantitative genetics. Her Ph.D. research consisted of developing phenotypic and genomic selection tools for U.S. dairy producers. Taylor’s dissertation evaluated beef bull fertility in beef-on-dairy matings, heat tolerance of dairy cattle, and the genomic evaluation theory: single-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP). During her graduate studies, Taylor interned with CDCB and USDA Animal Genomics and Improvement Lab in 2019, as well as, Select Sires, Inc. in 2021-2022.

Albert De Vries is a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. He grew up on a dairy and swine farm in the Netherlands. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Animal Science with a minor in agricultural economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.  In 1995, he came to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in Animal Sciences at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul with a focus on dairy science, applied economics, operations research, and statistics. In 2001, Albert accepted a faculty position at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He currently teaches two undergraduate dairy courses and advises undergraduate dairy students and graduate students. His research interests are in optimization of cattle replacement strategies, statistical process control, economics of reproduction and genetics, and precision dairy farming. In his extension role, he works with the allied dairy industry and dairy farmers on farm financial management and to apply the results of dairy systems management research. Albert is married to Kim who is a small animal veterinarian. Together they have two daughters and four cats. They live near Newberry, Florida.

Kristen Metcalf farms alongside her husband, Corey, daughter, Olivia, and in-laws, Terry and Jane, at Glacier Edge Dairy in Milton, Wisconsin. Glacier Edge Dairy is home to 750 Registered Jerseys, a few Holsteins, and 1,000 acres of crops. On the farm, Kristen oversees the youngstock, employee management, and assists with herd health. The farm has been able to market high genomic Jersey individuals to bull studs and international customers. Their small herd of Holsteins has also been a Top Holstein USA herd for BAA in Wisconsin. Kristen is a 2018 graduate of the UW-Madison Dairy Science program and has held previous roles in marketing at various agriculture companies. Kristen enjoys being the Rock County Holstein Junior advisor, coaching the Rock County Dairy Judging team, volunteering on the Rock County Dairy Promotion Board and the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin board.

Glenn Kline and his wife Laurie, together with their sons Chad and Travis, own and operate Y Run Farms, a progressive dairy and crop enterprise in Troy, Pennsylvania. The operation includes 1,200 dairy cows supported by 1,700 acres of corn, 500 acres of soybeans, and 800 acres of forage. The Kline family has incorporated genomic testing into herd management for the past 13 years, providing a strong foundation for genetic advancement. Over the last eight years, their focus has expanded to elite genetics, complemented by the use of IVF on select high-ranking heifers. This strategic approach has positioned their herd at the forefront of genetic progress, productivity, and sustainability.

Eric Grotegut lives in northeast Wisconsin where he farms with his wife Rosario and his uncle’s family at Grotegut Dairy Farm Inc. This year, the team was named Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year by the International Dairy Foods Association. Eric and the crew at home like to try new technology and try to find better and easier ways to dairy. A conversation with Eric makes it clear, he is a “cow guy” and knows his herd very well, even while managing a large herd of cows.