Spence Driver is the Vita Plus dairy technical services manager. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and his master’s degree from UW-Madison. He has been a Vita Plus employee owner for the past 25 years. Driver works with the dairy technical services team to bring the latest research and product innovation to the farm level and help producers optimize performance through dairy nutrition and management. Read Driver’s most recent article.
Randy Greenfield is a Vita Plus dairy specialist. For the past 13 years, he has worked with dairy producers to help them strengthen their nutrition and management programs. Greenfield grew up on his family’s dairy farm near Waupun, Wis. and attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to earn his bachelor’s degree. He went on to receive his master’s degree from Purdue University. In addition to nutrition, Greenfield has taken a special interest in dairy records and business consulting. Read Greenfield’s most recent article.
Dr. John Goeser is a part of the Vita Plus dairy nutrition and technical services team. He grew up on his family’s 1,200-cow dairy in eastern Wisconsin. He earned master’s degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in both plant breeding and genetics and dairy nutrition. His researched produced a better understanding of how corn silage genetics influence dairy cattle productivity. He went on to earn his PhD in dairy nutrition and spent five years in research at the university. His doctorate research developed an improved method for measuring fiber digestibility, which UW-Madison patented and is now being used commercially. At Vita Plus, Goeser focuses his time on helping dairy customers understand the relationship between forage quality and dairy production, and provides technical support for the Vita Plus team. Read Goeser’s most recent article.
Al Gunderson is the Vita Plus vice president of sales and marketing. He has served as the general sales manager since 1987 and added purchasing to his responsibilities in 1999. Gunderson first came to Vita Plus in 1979 as the swine product manager after he earned a bachelor’s degree in meat and animal sciences and master’s degree in ag business management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the American Registry of Professional Animal Sciences (ARPAS) and the American Society of Animal Sciences (ASAS). Gunderson is the chair-elect of the board of directors of the American Feed Industry Association and chairman of the board of trustees for the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER). Read Gunderson’s most recent article. Read Gunderson’s most recent article.
Bob Hagenow is a sales manager with Vita Plus and has been an employee owner for about 25 years. He grew up in eastern Wisconsin on a registered Holstein dairy farm and actively participated in 4-H and FFA. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned his bachelor’s degree in dairy science in 1985. In addition to his nutrition and farm consultation responsibilities, Hagenow is involved in training and recruiting at Vita Plus. He is actively involved in numerous organizations and is well networked throughout the dairy industry. Read Hagenow’s most recent article.
Ann Hoskins is the Vita Plus calf products manager. She grew up on a dairy farm in DeForest, Wis., which she says is instrumental to where she is today. “The lessons and values I gained growing up in this industry have given me the passion to stay involved and continue to learn more every day.” Hoskins earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has spent that last five years at Vita Plus, working with producers to improve performance and help them reach the goals of their calf operations. Read Hoskins’ most recent article.
Dr. Neil Michael is the Vita Plus director of dairy initiatives. He grew up on a dairy and swine farm in northeast Indiana and attended Purdue University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in food science, his DVM degree from the School of Veterinary Medicine and his MBA from the Kranert Business School. Michael joined the Vita Plus team in 2010 with a special interest in helping producers with transition cow health and economics, reproductive management, and data management related to animal performance and employees. Read Michael’s most recent article.
Jon Rasmussen is a dairy technology specialist on the Vita Plus team. He grew up on a small dairy farm in northeast Wisconsin. Rasmussen attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a bachelor’s degree in dairy science. For the past six years, he’s specialized in records analysis for the Vita Plus dairy team. He works with dairy producers and consultants to help them evaluate data for improved dairy business management. Read Rasmussen’s most recent article.
Dr. Eric Schwab grew up in a rural town in New Hampshire. He attended the University of New Hampshire – Durham, where he received bachelor’s degrees in dairy management and environmental and resource economics in 1998. While working in northeast Wisconsin, he met Dr. Randy Shaver and returned to academia at the University of Wisconsin – Madison to pursue his graduate degrees. In Shaver’s lab, Schwab’s master’s degree research focused on kernel processing and chop length in BMR corn silage. His Ph.D. dissertation focused on B vitamin nutrition and ruminal B vitamin synthesis in lactating dairy cows. In September 2005, Schwab joined Vita Plus on the dairy nutrition and technical services team. He lives in Rice Lake, Wis. with his wife and their two sons. Read Schwab’s most recent article.
Gary Sipiorski is the Vita Plus dairy development manager. He grew up on his family’s dairy farm in eastern Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Sipiorski spent 17 years with Citizens State Bank of Loyal and worked his way up to president and CEO. In 2008, he transitioned to his current role at Vita Plus and continues to serve on the CSB board of directors. In addition, he served on the advisory committee on agriculture and industry for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He is also an advisor for the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin and a regular contributor to Hoard’s Dairyman and other agricultural publications. Read Sipiorski’s most recent article.
Jon Urness is the Vita Plus national forage specialist. He grew up on his family’s five-generation homestead dairy near Black Earth, Wis. and still lives there today. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism. Since 1992, Urness has provided on-farm dairy nutrition consulting in southwest Wisconsin as a Vita Plus employee owner. He has also taken on the forage marketing responsibilities outside of the traditional Vita Plus market. Read Urness’ most recent article.
Chris Wacek-Driver is the Vita Plus forage program manager. She grew up on a farm outside of Denmark, Wis. and attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where she earned her bachelor’s degree in dairy science with an ag business minor. She went on to receive her master’s degree from UW-Madison. She conducted her research focusing on forage quality at the USDA Forage Center under Dr. Larry Satter. In particular, she studied forage fermentation, the role of microbial and enzyme additives, and their effects on dairy animal performance. Wacek-Driver has been a Vita Plus employee owner for the past 21 years and worked in dairy technical services prior to her current role. She has a passion for working with dairy producers to help them with on-farm feed inventory, feed management, forage fermentation and production, and dairy nutrition. She resides on a 240-acre farm along the bluffs of the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin. Read Wacek-Driver’s most recent article.
Cody Yanzick is a Vita Plus dairy specialist. He grew up on a cattle ranch near Billings, Mont. and attended Montana State University in Bozeman to earn a bachelor’s degree in animal science and nutrition. For more than 13 years, Yanzick has worked with progressive dairy producers in eastern Wisconsin, focusing on total dairy herd health, including calves and heifers. In addition, Yanzick and his wife, Sherry, own and operate a special fed veal operation. Yanzick has passed down his interest in science to his three daughters. Melanie is in her fifth year of pharmacy school at Drake University, Alyssa will graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire this year and pursue a graduate degree in speech pathology, and Olivia is in her first year of college at UW-La Crosse with plans to major in clinical lab science or nursing. Cody enjoys spending time with his family, riding ATVs, hunting and fly fishing. Read Yanzick’s most recent article.
The Vita Plus Loyal Dairy Team includes Kim Bremmer, Eliza Ruzic, Josh Braman, Kristan Noeldner, Steve Radsek and Darci O’Brien. With more than 30 years of experience, the Loyal team is proud to work with central Wisconsin dairy producers and offer cutting edge, nutrition, technology and management expertise. Consultants join your team to get an in-depth understanding of your farm and goals and design customized solutions to meet your needs. As employee owners, their actions are guided by the Vita Plus Values of safety, teamwork, commitment, quality, communication, attitude and performance. They understand their success depends on the success of your farm and they’re excited to work with you every step of the way.