Dr. Rob Stables
DVM, General Manager
Daryl Leppa
Reproductive Solutions Manager
Helen Bateman-Jackson
Semen Lab Manager
Justin Glessman
Donor Manager
Maxine Chizik
General Assistant
Marianne Janzen
Export and Distribution Coordinator
Roxy Gentis
Embryo/IVF Lab Manager
Krista Johnston
Embryo Technician
Rae-Lynn Armstrong
Collections Manager
Jacques Du Toit
General Operations Manager Sire Care / Maintenance
Cody Allison
Herdsman
Peter Rollheiser
Herdsman
Laurie Morasch
Herdsman
Blu Hale
Herdsman
Krista Scherger
Collections
Candace Woods
Sire Health Manager / Laboratory Technician
Sam Schuh
Office Manager / Executive Assistant
Erin Culligan
Centre Veterinarian
Kadin Mortensen
Laboratory Technician
Fernando Rivera Acuna
Herdsman
Larissa Lupul
Semen Lab Technician
Farren Moss
Madison Janzen
Dr. Rob Stables
DVM, General Manager
Dr. Rob Stables was born and raised with purebred Black Angus in Rosetown, Saskatchewan. He was an active member in 4-H and enjoyed his time on the cattle show circuit. He entered the University of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture in 1989 and was accepted into Veterinary Medicine in 1992. After graduating with his DVM in 1996, he went to work at Davis-Rairdan Embryo Transplants in Crossfield, AB following his interest in genetics and reproductive technology. He specialized in bovine embryo transfer for 8 years and perfected his bovine reproductive skills. In 2004 he joined Bow Valley Veterinary Clinic and purchased the clinic with his wife Candy in September of 2004. Over the next few years he grew the embryo transfer side of the practice to the point that it has become a fulltime commitment with the expansion of embryo transfer services and then into semen production and the construction of an export qualified bull stud.
Phone
587-887-1934 ext. 1
Daryl Leppa
Reproductive Solutions Manager
Daryl grew up in West Central Saskatchewan on a mixed farming operation consisting of a small purebred herd, a commercial herd, and a grain farm. Through his childhood years he was involved in 4H and various junior beef programs. Through the following years, Daryl was very fortunate to work for many astute cattlemen and beef leading operations across North America with show and sale preparation. In 2008, he took on a position at Six Mile Angus, a prominent purebred operation in Saskatchewan. There, his role involved many facets of the business, including show and sell cattle, marketing, and genetics. During the fall of 2015, Daryl’s career path brought him to the Bow Valley Genetics team. He started with the position of Sire Manager, then in 2019 he assumed the role of Reproductive Solutions Manager.
Phone
587-887-1934 Ext. 2
Helen Bateman-Jackson
Semen Lab Manager
Helen grew up in small town near Hamilton, Ontario. She graduated with a BSc in biomedical science from the University of Guelph followed by an MSc in Reproductive Physiology from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in conjunction with the Toronto Zoo. Helen’s Master’s thesis research was investigating and establishing semen cryopreservation protocols in domestic Dogs as a model for the Red Wolf. This lead to a position as a research Associate at the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife at the Cincinnati Zoo in the US, where she researched semen cryopreservation, in-vitro fertilization, and embryo culture and transfer in a wide range of species – predominately feline, rhino and mustelid species. Helen has a large number of scientific publications in the animal reproductive field including publications in Theriogenology, Animal Reproductive Science, Biology of Reproduction, and Zoo Biology journals. After moving her family back to Canada, Helen joined the BVG team in November 2016, applying her reproductive, cryopreservation and research skills to Bovine semen production and freezing. As Lab Director, Helen aims to ensure semen frozen at Bow Valley meets and exceeds a high standard of quality whether used for AI, embryo flushing, or IVF.
Justin Glessman
Donor Manager
Justin grew up in Saskatchewan with 4-H being a big part of his up bringing. Justin attended the University of Saskatchewan and Lakeland College to obtain his Diploma in Animal Science Technology in Purebred Beef. He was on the Lakeland College Purebred Beef Team where he was in charge of Herd Health. Justin also attended the fall and spring shows that the Purebred Team promotes every year and helped with the Beef Day Bull Sale Lakeland College put on every spring. He became the Donor Manager in May 2016 to be responsible for donor health, injections, records, and other day-to-day jobs at the E.T. Barn. Justin is looking forward to helping you with any of your donor questions.
Phone
403-362-1934
Maxine Chizik
General Assistant
Maxine was born in Bassano, AB and raised on her parent’s cattle ranch just east of there. She now resides on her own property not far from where she was raised. Maxine enjoys working for BVG. Her responsibilities are the cleaning, sterilization, and assembly of lab equipment. She enjoys gardening, outdoor sports, her western heritage, and spending time with her friends and family.
Marianne Janzen
Export and Distribution Coordinator
Marianne was born and raised on a farm in Rainier, Alberta. She was a member of 4-H for several years. After finishing high school at Brooks Composite she went onto Olds College to take her Animal Health Technology course. After completing post secondary school she worked at Bow Valley Vet Clinic for a few years until starting a family in Rosemary, where she currently still lives with her husband, Matt, and their three children. She has been with Bow Valley Genetics since 2013 as our Shipping and Distribution Manager.
Phone
587-887-1934 Ext. 0
Roxy Gentis
Embryo/IVF Lab Manager
Roxy has had the role of IVF & Embryo Lab Manager at Bow Valley Genetics since January 2018. She is originally from Cape Town, South Africa where she obtained her Master’s degree in Human Reproductive Biology in 2012. She has worked in fertility clinics for 6 years, including starting up & running an IVF lab before joining BVGL. Roxy has started our very own in-house IVF laboratory at BVG whereby we can offer many innovative techniques to our clients. She is always eager to learn and trying to improve our labs to get the best possible results for clients. Roxy shares her embryology knowledge with the other 'gamete-gals' (lab techs) who assist in all lab procedures.
Krista Johnston
Embryo Technician
Krista was raised near Priddis, Alberta. She grew up riding horses and competed in show jumping. Krista attended Olds College and graduated from the Veterinary Technical Assistant program. After college, Krista spent a year at an equine veterinary practice assisting the veterinarians with appointments. Now at BVG, she works in the Embryo, IVF and Semen labs, while also assisting on road trips to client farms.
Rae-Lynn Armstrong
Collections Manager
Rae-Lynn is Bow Valley Genetics’ semen collections manager. She grew up on a family ranch just outside of Bassano. Proud mother of three, she has been a professional trick rider and stunt woman for the last 22 years. Rae-Lynn has also performed across North America entertaining audiences.
Jacques Du Toit
General Operations Manager Sire Care / Maintenance
Jacques is originally from South Africa and has been at Bow Valley Genetics since March 2018. Jacques is the Operations Manager and manages the teams that care for all of the client’s bulls, donors, and recipients. He is always around to lend a helping hand, whether it be to the vets, staff or clients, and always finds a way to make everything run smoothly around BVG.
Cody Allison
Herdsman
Cody was born in Kamloops, BC and moved to Alberta at the age of 5. Cody has worked in agriculture his whole life, from working in a feedlot to ranching, and now at Bow Valley Genetics. In his spare time, Cody enjoys team roping in rodeos and jackpots all over BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
Peter Rollheiser
Herdsman
Peter was born and raised in Alberta and attended school at University of Alberta taking Animal Health. Peter started working for Bow Valley Genetics in the beginning of 2019 as a herdsman, assisting with collections, bedding pens, feeding the animals, and general outdoor maintenance of the facility.
Laurie Morasch
Herdsman
Laurie is a graduate of Lakeland College studying Beef Production. She has been involved in the industry from a very young age showing her cattle at Junior Shows all over Canada and the USA. She currently works for Bow Valley Genetics, Lazy MC Angus and spends her free time keeping her barrel racing and roping horses in shape to compete in rodeos all over western Canada.
Blu Hale
Herdsman
Blu grew up right close to Bow Valley Genetics on his family’s ranch, just outside of Bassano. He spent 6 years in 4H and recently graduated from Olds College with a diploma for Agriculture Management. Blu has been a part of the Bow Valley crew for over a year now as a herdsman and most recently assisting our Donor Manager at the Embryo Transfer barn.
Krista Scherger
Collections
Krista grew up in Seven Persons, AB and moved to an acreage just outside of Bassano in 2017 with her husband and 2 children. Krista has been a herdsman here at Bow Valley Genetics since 2018 and is always eager to help with whatever needs to get done, always with a smile.
Candace Woods
Sire Health Manager / Laboratory Technician
Candace grew up in Nelson, British Columbia. She graduated with a BSc in Biology from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC. Candace started her career at Wildlife Genetics in Nelson, BC, as Senior Project Manager for 10 years, conducting population studies on various species, including grizzly and black bear, wolverine, and caribou. She started at BVGL in 2019 as a Semen Laboratory Assistant, and has recently taken on the additional roll of Sire Health Manager. She is excited about continuing to expand her knowledge of bovine reproduction and cryopreservation.
Sam Schuh
Office Manager / Executive Assistant
Samantha was born and raised in Brooks, AB and spent her childhood years growing up on an acreage just outside of town. She graduated from high school in Duchess and currently resides there today with her two children. In her spare time Sam enjoys the outdoors, camping, exploring new cities, and wine. BVGL is a whole new world for Sam, she learns something new every day and couldn’t be happier to be a part of the team as the Office Manager!
Erin Culligan
Centre Veterinarian
Erin grew up in Brule, Alberta in an outfitting family. She currently lives in Duchess, Alberta with her husband, Ryan, runs a commercial cow/calf operation and raises horses. With their son, Kagan, they enjoy ranching and spending their time roping and working with their horses. Erin graduated with DVM from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. She has spent her career in wildlife medicine, large animal practice and with the CFIA. In January of 2020, she joined the team at Bow Valley Genetics as the Centre Veterinarian and is enjoying working in bovine reproduction.
Kadin Mortensen
Laboratory Technician
After graduating from high school in Brooks, AB; Kadin moved to Saskatoon, SK and completed his Bachelor's in Animal Bioscience at the University of Saskatchewan. While attending post-secondary, he was employed by the U of S College of Agriculture in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science, assisting in multiple poultry welfare research projects. Now back and close to home at Bow Valley Genetics, Kadin is working in the Semen Lab as a technician. Affectionately known as "The Captain", Kadin always seems to be suspiciously close by when operations deteriorate into less-than-smooth sailing.
Fernando Rivera Acuna
Herdsman
Fernando was born and grew up on a family farm of dual-purpose cattle system (Beef/Milk-production) in Sonora, Mexico. In 1997 he graduated in Veterinary Medicine at Instituto Tecnologico de Sonora. He has also completed a master’s and doctoral studies at Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, under a special scientific research program with the University of California in Davis-VMTRC-Tulare, Ca., focused on the reproductive improvement of dairy cattle, developing in collaboration, artificial insemination and superovulation protocols in combination with strategies to reduce heat stress. In 2009 he obtained a position as a full-time professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine-ITSON, in the area of reproductive physiology and production of dairy cattle. In 2017 he was accepted for a one-year stay at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine-USASK to collaborate on research projects focused on reproductive improvement in bulls and beef cattle, (Semen, embryo and oocyte quality). Fernando joined Bow Valley Genetics Ltd. in April 2019
Larissa Lupul
Semen Lab Technician
Larissa grew up near Foisy, AB and graduated from the Ag Management program at Olds College. She has travelled across the country showing cattle at Canadian Junior Hereford Bonanzas and various open shows. Larissa has met many people at cattle events and at her previous job as the herdsman for Wascana Cattle Company, and she enjoys seeing those familiar faces while working at BVG.
Farren Moss
Farren is BVG’s trusty summer student who has returned every year since 2019. She is in her second year at the University of Saskatchewan pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science. At BVGL, Farren enjoys collection days and wrecking the lawn mower. Not to mention all of the hands on experience and knowledge she is acquiring from working in the cattle industry.
Madison Janzen
Madison lives on a farm/ranch outside of Rosemary, AB where her family raises purebred Red angus, and Simmentals. Madison has been in 4-H since she was 9 and has been showing her Red angus herd ever since. Madison is graduating from Rosemary High School this year with plans to attend Medicine Hat College in the Fall to pursue her goal of becoming an Elementary teacher. She started at Bow Valley in March of 2020 as a summer student and is helping with shipping and distribution. At Bow Valley you may see her assisting customers when picking up semen or embryos, or getting daily shipments organized and packed to be sent to customers.