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Within the dairy industry, one does not have to look far to come across an AC grad. From farmers to technicians, commodity representatives to nutritionists, Aggies are everywhere.

And that’s certainly the case at Lely North America, who currently count Mark Rose (Class of ‘06 and ‘09), Amanda Greaves (Class of ‘10), and Jakob Vogel (Class of ‘14) as part of their team.

Although none had concrete plans to work in the dairy industry, Mark, Amanda and Jakob all knew they wanted to work with animals, ideally in agriculture.

“Like many, I wanted to be a vet,” says Mark, who grew up in Change Islands, NL, but now calls Lantz, NS home. “But a summer working at the Ruminant Animal Centre got me hooked on dairy cows.”

He hasn’t looked back since. After doing a Master of Science with Dr. Alan Fredeen, Mark went on to work directly in the dairy industry and has been with Lely for the better part of a decade. In his current role as Regional Development Manager, he manages the development of Lely Centres across English-speaking Canada, as well as managing activities with the regional Lely team, which consists of farm management support, a technical specialist, a milk quality specialist, and two salespeople.

“The Canadian Lely team is exceptional,” says Mark. “When farmers invest in a Lely robot, they’re not just buying a piece of equipment – they're buying a whole team of people to support them.”

Established in 1948, Lely specializes in automated milking and feeding technology for the dairy industry. There are currently over 2000 Lely robots in operation across Canada, milking just shy of 200,000 cows.

“It’s simultaneously exciting and challenging to work in innovation in agriculture,” says Amanda, a Truro resident originally from Albert Bridge, NS. “Technology and innovation in agriculture is constantly evolving, and although it can be quite difficult to keep up with that, it’s a fascinating and rewarding field to be in.”

Amanda started her journey in the dairy industry with Shur-Gain in 2012, after a stint as a research and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Agriculture following the completion of her animal science degree. She’s been working in dairy ever since, starting with Lely as a Milk Quality Specialist in March of 2022. In her role she works solely with Quebec farms, which host almost half of the Lely milking and feeding robots within Canada.

“My role is to make sure the cleaning processes are done efficiently and accurately to ensure quality milk is being produced,” she says. “A big part of my job is milk optimization – making sure each cow goes through a quick, gentle, complete milking process.”

Jakob grew up in Apple Hill, ON, and returned there after completing his joint animal and plant science degree at the Faculty of Agriculture. He has been working in the dairy industry ever since, but only recently joined Lely as a Senior Farm Management Support Advisor in 2023. In his role, he provides coaching to Lely Centre farm management support teams on how to better improve the overall efficiency, productivity, and profitability of the farms they service.

“There is so much diversity in needs and expectations within the dairy industry in Canada,” says Jakob. “The reality of dairy farming in BC is vastly different from the reality of dairy farming in southern Ontario or PEI, for example. It’s not a one size fits all situation. The farm management support team understands this and is passionate about working for and with farmers to get them to the overall goal of being profitable, sustainable and successful.”

It is a universal truth that innovation in agriculture is vital for the industry to thrive. Mark, Amanda and Jakob are proud to be part of that progress.

“Any innovation in agriculture makes it easier for a new generation to come on board and keep farms running,” says Mark. “In many situations, we are helping to keep lights on in dairy farms longer than they would have been able to without automation.”

Jakob agrees. “Seeing the results of automation in action is my favourite part of my job,” he says. “To know we had a part in that, whether it’s being right on the farm moving or grouping cows, fine-tuning settings, or having conversations with vets and nutritionists and getting everyone on the same page, just being a part of that success is awesome.”

Their work also provides them with the opportunity to gain a broad understanding of the dairy industry across North America and beyond.

“I love having the opportunity to learn new things,” says Amanda. “We have a way of doing things here based on our resources, our climate, availability of the workforce, etc. But how we do our jobs here is a lot different than how they do it in Texas, for example. So seeing the on-farm results is incredible, but seeing the bigger picture is also pretty great.”

All three are grateful for the work they get to do, and grateful to the Faculty of Agriculture for providing them with a solid foundation from which to start.

“The knowledge I acquired in my animal science courses fully prepared me for my career,” says Jakob. “The fundamental understanding of cow behaviour and physiology is crucial to the day-to-day work I do now.”

On top of academics, Mark says that the network provided by the Faculty of Agriculture continues to amaze him. “You can go anywhere in this world and find someone who went to the AC. The number of people we meet in our sector that went to the AC or have some kind of connection to campus is amazing.”

Mark, Amanda, and Jakob see a bright future for agriculture, and are proud to be part of that future.

“At the end of the day, we have a lot of people to feed,” Mark shares. “More and more people to feed all the time, and fewer and fewer resources with which to feed them. That’s where innovation and automation come in. We need to be innovative with the resources we have, and we all need to work together to get there.”