About Colleen

Colleen has spent the last 31 years raising calves. Starting in the veal industry and buying stockyard calves to currently raising heifer calves for a single source farm and everything in between. She has seen many changes in her career, including 3 barn renovations to building a new indoor facility in 2017. She knows what it is like to have the air in the barn be less than ideal and using what she had to make calf pens. 

The facility she and her daughter currently raise calves in has worked the best for them. She keeps the employees happy and out of the elements and the calves nice and warm and cool in the summer. She continues to educate herself on calves and to produce the best future cow she can along with sharing that with other producers.  She knows what goes into having a successful program with efficiency put into place to save time and money on the best quality products she feels gives them the best adg and calf health without jeopardizing the calf or the financial profitability of the business. She has also seen over the years the importance of the maternity area, colostrum, naval dipping and employees treating a newborn like a baby. Factors she is very adamant about sharing with the dairy industry. 

Raising calves can be a very stressful job at times and she wants to share her knowledge with the industry to make that job just a little easier for you.

About Brooke

Brooke grew up raising calves alongside her mom and sister, developing her life-long passion for the industry.

Brooke loves being in the barn and sharing her knowledge by writing articles and demonstrating her day to day activities with the calves on many social media platforms. While she can’t be out and about regularly, she does a great job of helping other farmers with questions via the phone or email. Her B.S. degree in Dairy Science and continued education has given her extra experience for the technical parts of the products we offer.

In 2019, Brooke and Colleen suffered a major salmonella outbreak which forced them to re-evaluate all of their practices and products. That disaster further motivated the pair to always align with the very best practices and innovations in calf health and performance.

Colleen and Brooke also manage webinars and continuing education opportunities for other calf raisers, and are continually upgrading their knowledge through classes and courses.

The team at AVA Group, Inc. is also committed to helping calf raisers improve their mental well-being while working in a challenging field.