Who We Are // Your Consultants

Jim Barmore, MSc, PAS is a founding partner of GPS Dairy Consulting, LLC (2009) and has extensive national and international experience providing technical service and management expertise to dairies. In 2003, he started and was owner/operator of Five-Star Dairy Consulting, and later in 2009 a founding partner of GPS Dairy Consulting. Jim provides comprehensive independent nutrition and management consulting to larger dairies, focusing in the areas of forage management, feeding and bunk management, ingredient procurement and inventory management, herd performance monitoring and financial evaluation, cow comfort and facilities expertise, and heifer management. His consulting also involves training, leadership and people development, commercial development and product evaluation, and technical support in the area of nutrition and herd management.

A Wisconsin native, he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from UW-Madison in dairy nutrition. Prior to consulting, he gained extensive experience in technical service and product management dairy industry roles. His training and experience in nutrition is balanced with professional experience in commercial development, product management, business management, and coaching. Jim was an early member and is certified by the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS). One particular award and honor was Jim receiving the American Dairy Science Association Young Animal Science Leader—Outstanding Agribusiness Award. He is a member of American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), Professional Dairy Producers of WI (PDPW), and Dairy Business Association (DBA). He has written several popular press articles, and has broad speaking and consulting experience in numerous states and multiple international countries, including speaking at numerous national conferences. Jim has recently served on the PDPW Board, while also serving on the World Dairy Expo Education Committee, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dairy Science Advisory Committee, and WI Dairy 2020 Initiative. Jim currently works and consults with dairies in the Midwest and Australia.

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Marty Faldet, PhD, PAS, is a founding partner of GPS Dairy Consulting, LLC (2009). Marty has been consulting with Dairy farms in the areas of nutrition and management since 1990. He became owner/operator of Faldet Dairy Consulting, Inc. in 2002. As an independent dairy consultant he provides extensive nutrition and management consultation to dairies, focusing in the areas of feeding and inventory management, feed procurement, record and herd performance analysis, cow comfort, heat abatement, facilities, forage and crop plans, and heifer management.

Dr. Faldet received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, his masters from Oklahoma State University and his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He worked for Purina Mills as a dairy consultant providing technical support to nutritionists in the mid-West from 1989-1999 before being promoted to Operations Manager for Dairy Management Services. During his three years as Operations Manager he gained extensive knowledge on developing operational systems, administering financial services, feed procurement and contracts, personnel leadership, and milk marketing.

He is a member of American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) and Dairy Business Association (DBA). Marty lives in Calmar, IA with his wife Jennifer and three children.

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King Hickman, DVM is a founding partner of GPS Dairy Consulting, LLC (2009). He has been working in the Dairy industry since 1989 and became an owner and partner of Dairy Production Services, Inc. in 2006. Dr. Hickman provides extensive independent nutritional and management consulting including feeding and bunk management, planning and implementation of forage plans, procurement of bids, and sourcing and implementation of growing heifer programs. Other services include review and design of vaccination schedules, biosecurity and herd health protocols as well as review of and advice on cow comfort and facilities and overall monitoring of herd performance.

Dr. Hickman is a graduate of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and holds a certificate from the University of Wisconsin Dairy Health Management Program. He has served the dairy industry for over 30 years as a practicing veterinarian, a Team Business and Development Coach in allied industry and as a nutrition and management consultant. This broad range of experience has provided him with a unique set of technical, business management and coaching skills.

He is an AVMA and IVMA member as well as a member of the National Mastitis Council. As a career-long member of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) he has served as Chairman of the Nutrition Committee and facilitated several educational seminars for veterinarians. He has served as a guest lecturer at multiple animal science and veterinary colleges and has broad national and international speaking experience on topics varying from dairy nutrition and cow comfort to change management and people development. Dr. Hickman lives in Sheldon, IA with his wife Kecia and has four children.

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Robb Bender, PhD, PAS is owner of Bender Dairy Innovations, LLC and is a consultant and partner in GPS Dairy Consulting LLC. Robb provides independent nutrition and whole-farm management consulting to dairies in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Dr. Bender received his Bachelor of Science in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He also obtained his Master of Science in Dairy Science Reproductive Physiology in the laboratory of Dr. Milo Wiltbank. His Master’s work was focused on reproduction and nutrition interactions in dairy cattle, with an emphasis on applying varying reproductive protocols on commercial farms. Following his Master’s, Robb continued at Madison and obtained a PhD in Dairy Nutrition with Dr. David Combs, focusing on integration of nutritional data on dairy farms and methods to quantify and improve fiber digestibility in forages. Robb is a member of the American Dairy Science Association and American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists, and was involved in the National Dairy Challenge as a student and coach throughout graduate school.

Robb and his wife, Christine, reside in Watertown, WI where they are partners in her family’s dairy farm.

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Trent Dado, MSc, is owner of Dado Dairy Consulting, LLC serving dairies as an independent dairy nutrition and management consultant in the southern and western Wisconsin regions. He has years of on-farm and feed industry experience which grant him the ability to provide a holistic approach to farm-specific goals.

Trent completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Animal Science and Ruminant Nutrition, respectively, at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. His research focused on rumen fermentation and how feed additives and corn by-products may impact cow health and production. He also was involved in beef cattle research which focused on manipulating the growth patterns of cattle to optimize feed efficiency and profitability. Upon graduating, Trent worked as a Technical Specialist providing support to feed mills and nutritionists in the area of protein and amino acid balancing.

Trent’s expertise in forage production, feed management, cow comfort, and facility design stem from his time as an assistant farm manager at his family’s farm in Amery, WI. Both Trent’s and his wife’s, Mickie, family still farm in northwest WI. They currently reside in Fitchburg, WI.

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Don Deetz, PhD, PAS is owner of GW Dairy Consulting, LLC. A native of west central Wisconsin, Don offers greater than twenty years of experience in providing dairy nutrition and management counsel to dairy operators, primarily in the upper midwest and northeast regions of the United States. Don provides exclusive, independent counsel in the areas of nutrition and management programs, featuring evaluations of herd production, health and reproductive performance records; forage inventory evaluations; planning and implementation of forage plans; and implementation of programs for growing dairy heifers.

Early in his career, Don was engaged in Extension dairy and livestock education with the University of Wisconsin, an experience during which he began to gain proficiency in farmstead organization and long-term facility design. Following completion of graduate degrees in the area of ruminant nutrition, Don has pursued his interest in dairy nutrition while performing in roles with feed and nutrition companies ranging from territory and field market sales; division sales leadership to field-based technical support. For nearly a decade, Don also conducted business with dairy families located in the central plains region on behalf of the animal productivity enterprises of Monsanto Dairy Business and Elanco Animal Health. These diverse experiences have gained Don a working knowledge in performance leadership allowing him to coach his clients toward achievement of key performance indicators, direction of long-range decisions and definition of business and production goals.

Don received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls; a Master of Science degree from Washington State University; and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Don is a member of the American Dairy Science Association and maintains accreditation with the American Society of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS). Don and his wife, Teri have three children and live near Sioux Falls, SD.

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Paul Dyk, MSc, PAS is owner of Forward Dairy Consulting, LLC. He provides independent nutrition and management consulting to his dairy clients with a focus on listening to and meeting his client’s goals.

Paul received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dordt College (now Dordt University) with a double major in Animal Science and Biology. He obtained his Master of Science in Dairy Nutrition from Michigan State University with Dr. Mike VandeHaar. His Master’s work included a landmark field study looking at the relationship of precalving nutrition and management to metabolic health issues.

Paul has a diverse work background that has developed skills in dairy nutrition and management, teaching, and practical farm solutions. He worked for 5 years in the UW Extension service and 1.5 years in the Michigan State Extension service with a focus on developing materials for employee training, pioneering an employee newsletter, and organizing events around animal welfare and manure management. Paul and his wife owned and managed a dairy for 4 years that included both Holsteins and Jerseys. Paul was involved in the dry feed business for 6 years with two different companies focused on ration formulation and on-farm dairy consulting. For the last 8 years, Paul was involved in the liquid feed business as technical support for nutritionists in the Midwest. In this last role, Paul developed a TMR quality control program that has been applied across the US with a focus on objective lab analyses of TMRs, bunk management scoring, and the use of visual technology to identify opportunities in feeding systems. Paul’s focus has been to connect research to field application to measured economic results through production and animal health.

Paul is a member of the American Dairy Science Association and the American Registry of Professional Animals Scientists.

Paul and his wife, Neva, live near Fond du Lac, WI with their four daughters.

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Jordan is owner of Hunt Dairy Consulting, LLC. His full-service dairy nutrition consulting firm serves dairies in Iowa, southeast Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin.

Helping his clients achieve maximum production while managing input costs and promoting animal health and sustainability are the fundamentals that drive Jordan’s business. He specializes in feeding and inventory management; forage and commodity procurement; record and herd performance analysis; calf and heifer management; forage and crop plans; feed center layout and efficiency; and team building.

Jordan also has cultivated in-depth understanding of advanced dairy technologies, including automated milking systems. Through continuing education and independent research, he has amassed a wide breadth of knowledge about these systems, which he shares to support his own customers and the entire GPS client base.

Prior to joining GPS and starting his own consultancy, Jordan worked as both a dairy nutrition intern and dairy specialist for a regional feed company. In his five years of serving herds as a dairy specialist, he expanded his client base and quickly was called upon to train his colleagues in utilizing dairy ration software technology. He also conducted calf nutrition research and calf management audits.

An honors graduate of Iowa State University with majors in Dairy Science and Agricultural Business, Jordan was active in the Student Affiliate Division of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), and has continued his involvement in ADSA as a professional member. He and his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Payton, reside in northeast Iowa, less than a mile from the family dairy farm on which he grew up.

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Bob James, PhD., PAS is the owner of Down Home Heifer Solutions, Inc. Bob established his consulting business upon “retiring” from the Virginia Tech Dept. of Dairy Science where he had a productive career in extension, teaching and research. The majority of his research over the last 10 years of his career was conducted on dairies in the eastern and western US with a focus on improving feed management on whole farm nutrient balance and on calf facilities and management of on farm pasteurizers and automatic calf feeders. He taught applied dairy nutrition and dairy herd management courses and was the co-coach of Virginia Tech Dairy Challenge team.

Bob provides comprehensive management consulting directed towards development of programs which optimize health, welfare and growth of calves and heifers based upon the unique resources available to dairies and custom calf and heifer growers. Dr. James consulting efforts focus on achieving the essentials for success which include:

• management of the close-up dry cow
• excellent colostrum management
• provision of a high-quality diet to enable achieving the heifer’s biological potential for growth at an economical cost/unit of gain
• development of housing systems which optimize performance of heifers and the people caring for them
• development of KPI’s and calf management teams involving farm personnel, the herd veterinarian, key industry partners and the GPS consultant

Bob received his B.S. degree at the University of Delaware and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Virginia Tech. He was an Assistant Professor at West Virginia University for two years with diverse responsibilities in extension and conducted applied research in reproduction. While at Virginia Tech, Bob had a dairy nutrition consulting business and raised elite pedigreed Jersey heifers. He is a founding member of the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association. He is a member of the planning committee for the Western Dairy Management Conference. Bob has been a speaker at producer and veterinary conferences across North America and internationally and has provided consulting advice to dairies and calf and heifer growers in the US, Mexico, Canada, South America, Asia and Europe. His training and work experiences have enabled him to work with innovative producers and industry leaders in calf and heifer management.

He resides in Blacksburg, Virginia with his wife, Ann, who recently retired as a Professor in the Animal and Poultry Science Department. They have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.

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Edwin J. Kreykes DVM owner of Dairy Health Services, located in Sanborn, Iowa since 1990 has been a respected dairy consultant for over 30 years. Before starting his dairy production medicine practice Dr. Kreykes was in a general mixed practice in Hartley, Iowa. He currently provides quality independent nutrition, reproduction, record analysis, biosecurity programs, milk quality, and other production medicine services for dairy herds in western and central Iowa and South Dakota. Other areas of interest include general management consulting, protocol development, employee training, and continuous improvement within the whole dairy enterprise. Extensive use is made of dairy records software programs PCDART and Dairy Comp 305 for monitoring of herd performance.

Dr. Kreykes is a 1975 graduate of Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa and a 1979 graduate of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He has been a record analysis workshop instructor with the American Association of Bovine Practitioners and Dairy Records Management Systems (DRMS, Raleigh, NC) and he has served as a judge for the Collegiate Dairy Challenge program at both the Midwest Regional and the National contest level.

Dr. Kreykes is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, National Mastitis Council, Dairy Calf and Heifer Association and other regional and national organizations. He has served on advisory boards to various groups in the dairy industry as well as teaching nutrition and production medicine classes at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Kreykes lives in Sanborn, IA with his wife Sandra. They have 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren.

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Erin Mosley, PhD – As owner of Mosley Dairy Consulting, LLC, Dr. Mosley provides independent dairy nutrition consultation focusing on the utilization of currently available software and technology to aid in the evaluation of feed and cow health related data to help identify key areas of opportunity for production, health, and financial improvement. She got her start working as a nutrition manager for a large dairy operation in Idaho where her role focused on quality control for feed inventory, handling, and usage as well as data management, including preparation of routine financial feed related information, and monitoring cow health related data. Furthermore, she has worked with dairy personnel and industry professionals to monitor indicators of the ration’s effect on cow health and production.

Dr. Mosley is originally from Athens, Tennessee and received her Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Animal Science/Science and Technology in 1999 from the University of Tennessee. She then attended Clemson University where she received her Master of Science degree in Nutrition specializing in dairy cattle. Erin earned her Doctorate of Philosophy degree in May 2006 at the University of Idaho, where her research focused on nutrition and lactation physiology.

Dr. Mosley lives in Canal Winchester, OH with her husband and children.

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Kristy Pagel, owner of Leading Edge Consulting, LLC works directly with dairies and agri-business delivering personal and professional development coaching through her expert knowledge, industry experience and relentless passion. With over 15 years of proven experience, she has gained the role as “trusted advisor” with many dairies throughout the industry. Kristy focuses on strategic evaluation of organizational structures, individual leadership coaching to build teams and a winning culture. She also provides professional meeting facilitation and trains on critical communication techniques.

In addition, she serves as the Director of Business Development and Strategic Leadership for GPS Dairy Consulting LLC, as leader of the education and people development platform offered to their clients.

Kristy is a graduate of University of Wisconsin Green Bay, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources and Marketing. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Dairy Girl Network and actively maintains leadership roles with multiple boards and organizations. She resides in Eastern Wisconsin with her family and enjoys many outdoor activities, volunteering and doing freelance floral design.

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Jesse Randall is General Manager of GPS and focuses on people development, business development, brand management, strategy, and financial management.

Prior to working for GPS, Jesse spent seven years in sales consulting and sales management roles with dairies as well as five years in risk management and grain trading. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Animal Science, Purdue University with an M.S. in Applied Economics, and Indiana University with an MBA. During his studies he travelled to South America and is fluent in Spanish. He also is a partner in a cattle business and his family farm.

Jesse met his wife, Diana, while working in Colombia. As a couple they enjoy traveling, reading, exploring, and discussing business concepts. When not working or spending time with his wife, Jesse also enjoys running, basketball, hiking, cooking, and economic modelling.

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Bonnie Tapp grew up on a small dairy farm in Northeast Iowa. As our Office Administrator Bonnie provides support in accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial reports, payroll, invoicing, and assists with event coordination.

Bonnie brings GPS Dairy Consulting proficiency in all areas of office operations with more than 25 years experience. Early in her career she was co-owner of Ooodles Restaurant in Calmar IA and Elms Motel in West Union IA actively involved in every aspect of the business; also worked in banking for over five years. She was more recently employed as a bookkeeper and secretary for Mihm Transportation in Fort Atkinson IA; and office manager and financial secretary for two local parishes in Calmar IA and Postville IA.

Bonnie currently resides in Austin, MN with her husband Bryon.

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