A new recruit has joined the ProCROSS team!

Amy Hazel Loeschke, Ph.D
As ProCROSS Product Consultant
Creative Genetics of California and ProCROSS International
Oakdale, California
A.Loeschke@procross.info
(651) 895-9676

What education do you bring with you to the position?

I graduated in 2005 with a B.S. in Animal Science and minor in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  I then pursued my Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in dairy breeding and genetics.  My research focused on phenotypic comparisons of rotational crossbreds with their Holstein herdmates.  I had the opportunity to investigate feed efficiency in the U of MN campus herds as well as profitability, survival, and health in commercial herds.

What is your agricultural background?

I was raised on a dairy and crop farm in Lanesboro, Minnesota, and I especially enjoyed developing and showing our Registered Holsteins in 4-H, FFA, and open shows, as well as competing in dairy judging.  My parents entrusted me with many responsibilities of our 300-cow dairy herd from a young age. I especially enjoy managing A.I. bull selection and matings for our herd.  In college, I had the opportunity to work in the U of MN campus dairy herd, and that experience piqued my interest in crossbreeding and also in pursuing advanced degrees with a focus on applied research.

What are your new responsibilities?

I will collaborate with dairy producers as a technical expert to develop innovative, data-driven solutions regarding the breeding programs of their herds.  This includes resolving bottlenecks of data wrangling, reporting, and data visualization. 

Also, I will spearhead collection and compilation of data across ProCROSS markets in order to provide herd owners with genetic and phenotypic benchmarking tools.

What positions have you previously held?

For the past 12 years, I have worked as a Researcher at the University of Minnesota.  My primary responsibility was to coordinate a long-term research study that compared the first three generations of ProCROSS cows with their Holstein herdmates in seven Minnesota dairy herds.  Our study demonstrated more profitability, longer herd life, less health treatment cost, and superior fertility for the ProCROSS cows compared with their Holstein herdmates in high-performance herd environments.  My efforts included development of working relationships with the herd owners, data collection and analysis, and authorship of both scientific and producer-focused publications.

How will you be of most help to producers in your region or area of expertise?

My focus is to identify opportunities for dairy producers to increase their profit by partnering with ProCROSS for their genetic services.  There has never been a more important time in our volatile industry for dairy producers to stabilize profit with healthy, feed efficient cows.  I hope to provide producers with a recipe for genetic success that will help create sustainability for the future of their businesses.

Why did you choose this company?

Both Creative Genetics and ProCROSS International have been innovative thinkers and early adopters in developing a unique genetic approach to improve the health, efficiency, welfare, and profitability of dairy cows.  I am excited to join these young companies because they already serve many highly profitable herds and are poised for substantial growth among customers focused on commercial milk production.  I also view this position as an opportunity to challenge myself professionally.

What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?

My goal in this position is to be viewed as a trusted resource by dairy producers because of my education and experience in the industry.  I look forward to achieving this through collaborations with ProCROSS colleagues that will expand our knowledge base and resources on crossbreeding.  I hope to translate this knowledge into usable inputs and informed decisions in order to improve the businesses of the dairy producers we serve.

Amy lives in Burnsville in the southern suburbs of the Minneapolis, Minnesota metro area with her husband, Nick, and 5-month-old son, Ethan.