TEAM

Amanda is our ‘number cruncher’ has over 12 years of accounting experience in the agriculture and restaurant industries.  She was born and raised on a dairy farm in Abbotsford and now lives in Vancouver.  She is willing to drive the crazy commute for the opportunity to work in a flexible and supportive workplace with a great group of people that provides opportunities for personal and professional growth.  When she is not crunching numbers and balancing budgets, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, being outdoors, and traveling.

It’s not easy having the last name of Vanderkooi when you work at Nutriva Group since sharing a last name with the owner means Annabelle has to work twice as hard to prove she belongs here.  Thankfully she is not short of qualifications having acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design with a minor in marketing. She appreciates working in this upbeat and uplifting environment, the variety of work she is tasked with and the people she works with.  Annabelle is easy going, fun, adventurous, caring, and creative and we are excited for what she brings to the table – no pressure 😊

Try and say his name fast 3 times without getting tongue tied.  Baktebyk is an honest, friendly and hardworking driver.  He has had experience with wide load trucking, long haul cross continent driving and happens to be a World Traveler Extraordinaire – and worked as a mountain tour guide in Kyrgyzstan.  When he is not behind the wheel of a truck or on a service call he likes to spend time with his family sipping Hot Green Tea and is of the belief that ‘It is not our words that define us, it is our actions’.

Bill grew up on a dairy farm in Abbotsford. After finishing high school, he earned a master’s degree in animal science from Michigan State University. Once his schooling was completed, Bill returned to the Fraser Valley and worked in the agricultural industry. In 2009 he established Nutriva Group, which is a group of grassroots businesses with a focus on innovation in the dairy, egg and beef sectors. A short time later, he added Eco-Dairy, a not-for-profit agritourism destination. A father of five active kids, Bill makes time for family, travel, and fitness.

Breanna is the queen of first impressions here at Nutriva Group. Her warm and friendly personality is often the first thing that people encounter when they call us over the phone, connect with us online or stop by in person.

Breanna lives with her husband and their dog and when she is not busy at work keeping things organized and running smoothly, Breanna spends time mountain biking with her husband and hiking with her dog. For Breanna, “The best views come after the hardest climb”.

Builder Bryce has been in agricultural construction for almost 10 years now.  Bryce is a bright young fellow who is a hard worker with a friendly out-going personality, a great attitude, and a big heart.   When he is not wearing a tool belt, spending time in his newly refurbished trailer, or building a barn, he likes to play rugby.  Be careful out on the rugby field, Bryce…we wouldn’t want you to mess up that pretty little face of yours. We are glad to have Bryce as part of our team.

Dayna is our hard-working Lab- Technician who is in the process of earning her Bachelor of Science at UFV which makes her a perfect addition to our lab.  She’s a busy girl but when she is not working or studying, she finds the time to watch Netflix or get outside for some outdoor adventure. Dayna enjoys Nutriva because the friendly staff and interesting work projects.  She has a great work ethic and is easygoing, carefree and witty which makes her a great addition to the team. We are glad you’re here Dayna.

Dimitriy Filyushin – try say that fast 3 times.  His name may be difficult to say and spell but he’s not a difficult guy to like. Originally from Belarus, Dimitriy moved here with his young family.  He is the best-dressed truck driver you ever did see and he loves the peace and quiet he gets to enjoy while driving the truck.  Dimitriy is kind, honest and reliable and we’re glad to have him as part of our team.

Meet Guri, he’s one of our many drivers for Diverse Feed Solutions. We are so thankful to have him as part of our team. When he completes some of the paperwork we will be able to tell you a little bit more about him.

Meet Harp, he’s our helpful, friendly, adventurous, trustworthy, ambitious, and kind commercial driver … one of the many for Diverse Feed Solutions.  He is happy to be here at Nutriva and appreciates the friendly environment.  When he’s not driving truck he enjoys adventures in the  great outdoors and spending time with family and friends.  One of his favorite quotes is ‘Do something creative everyday.’ So the next time you see Harp ask him what ‘creative’ thing he’s been up to.

She’s the CFO, the F is for FUN.  Helinda and Bill started the company some time ago; while he was busy running the business, she was busy holding down the home front and their 5 active kids.  As the kids are all now of school age she has more time to dedicate to the business and heads up the Culture Club, acts as a marketing assistant and spends time at EcoDairy with various programs and events as well as ‘Cow School’.  At Nutriva Group we like to call her Big Mama…but we mean it in the nicest way.

Oh Jesse he’s so fine, he’s so fine he blows our mind – Yeah Jesse!

We love having Jesse as part of the group because look at his job-titles, he clearly does most of the work around here. Jesse is a good-humoured, hard-working team leader. When he’s not building barns and overseeing the farm and all the herds, flocks, fields and farmhands you can be sure to find him watching and cheering his daughters on or spending time ticking items off on his ‘Honey Dew’ ‘Honey Do’ list.

Meet JP – or Jon Junior. We wanted to make a clone out of Jon Senior (Joao) but when we found out he had a son – we thought that was the next best thing. JP is part of the hard working farm team that keeps this place up and running. He keeps his head down with his ear buds plugged in his ears and gets the job done. He is easy-going with a friendly smile and we are so glad he tolerates working with his dad. We will be able to tell you a little bit more about JP when he completes his paperwork.

Bem-vindo Jon! We are excited to have Jon on our farm. With his experience as a farmer in Brazil and background in veterinary medicine we know our animals are in good hands. Jon is a funny and caring guy and when he is not on the farm he enjoys spending time with his beautiful family and fishing with his kids. Obrigado Jon, thanks for all you do here on the farm.

Got milk? Jonathan does. Jonathon, also known as Jono is one of our most honest, loyal, patient, and organized milk haulers. He was born and raised in Brazil before moving to Canada to be closer to his family. When he is not driving the truck, he is happy to spend time with his beautiful family, working on his house or in his yard.  One of his favorite sayings is from Philippians in the Bible, which reads: ‘For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’ And Jono, we have no doubt you can do it all!

Meet Joel. Joel is part of the AgriBuilders team. He has been with Nutriva Group since he was a wee lad…and we like to think we taught him everything he knows…but that’s not true 😊 Joel is all grown up and working towards his Red Seal – impressive! When Joel is not working construction or going to school he will be training for an ironman or some other athletic event or travelling to and exploring a foreign land. We love Joel’s sense of adventure and are excited for his future.

Jordan is one of the AgriBuilders and always seems to have a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He has been with us for many years and is ready and willing to lend a helping hand. While he is very capable with tools he is not so keen on paperwork and putting pen to paper so we took the liberty of writing this bio without his input. Jordan loves being part of the building team and his favourite thing about Nutriva is the people and the happy hours … maybe that’s why he’s always smiling. Thankful to have you Jordan!

Kent is one of our BMT-certified Bulk Milk Tank Graders. He’s been proudly driving truck for over 30 years including long haul, short haul and bulk materials.

Outside of work, you can often find Kent composing music, playing one of a number of musical instruments or spending time in the great outdoors. Kent’s approach to most things is based on one of his favourite quotes: “Never take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyways.”

Without Kylie, nobody would get paid, so we like having her around. She loves Nutriva’s positive team atmosphere and the flexibility with her schedule, and we love her big smile, her great attitude, and that she is reliable, loyal & kind.  When she’s not at the office, she can be found exploring nature with her two young adventurous daughters, her husband, and her dog or listening to and writing music.

Armed with her Bachelor of Science degree, Lara spends her days running the Nutriva lab. Her many important tasks include analyzing feed, ensuring optimal animal nutrition, coordinating research studies, ensuring quality control on food products and conducting water testing.

On Friday afternoons, you can usually find Lara doing her ‘Friday Happy Dance’ in preparation for a weekend that will be spent with her grumpy cat, baking cakes, hiking, brunching and hanging out with family and friends.

Leighton is one of our young and skilled farmers here on the farm. He grew up on a grain farm in Alberta and decided to make the trek over the Rockies to the best place on earth; welcome to the Fraser Valley. He has earned a diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology which comes in handy when the robot milker acts up or some other piece of farm equipment is on the fritz. Leighton is hard working, curious and enthusiastic and that makes us enthusiastic to have him as part of our team.

Everybody likes Misty here at Nutriva Group. And we’re not just saying that because she’s the one that makes sure we all get paid. All kidding aside though, Misty is a great addition to the team: helpful, organized, hardworking and positive.

She grew up in Abbotsford and still calls it home, where she lives with her husband and two very active children. You can often find Misty running, hiking or cheering on her kids in one of the many sports they’re involved in.

When it comes to being MOOtivated and MOOvolous – Nikki is our girl. Nikki manages the EcoDairy and her winning personality, her drive and organizational prowess, along with her experience in science as well as customer relations make her the perfect fit as the fearless leader of the EcoDairy team.  Nikki loves working alongside the people at EcoDairy and showcasing the farm and what we are all about to our visitors.  She appreciates the opportunity to explore agriculture, spend time on the farm and she really gets a kick out of ticking off items on her ‘To Do’ list. When shes’s not busy keeping the EcoDairy organized she’s busy organizing adventures for her and her friends or spending time with her two cats Gendry and Benelli.

Ola Rodrigo. Oh, I’m sorry I am slipping into the Portugese language since we have so many Brazilians working at Nutriva. Meet Rodrigo – he is our most recent hire from Brazil and we are so glad to have him on the farm team. He comes with extensive experience and expertise and as a result this farm is in capable hands. If you see him out and about on the farm be sure to say ‘Oi’ (Hi) or ‘Ola’ (Hello). We will be able to tell you a little bit more about JP when he completes his paperwork.

Born and raised in England, Ruth lives by the motto: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  Warm, caring, reliable, organized and fun-loving are just a few of the words that best describe Ruth.

She finds Nutriva a friendly and positive workplace. We think she’s one of the reasons why it is that way. “Toodle Pips Me Lovely” is a favourite phrase of hers. We don’t know what it means but it sure makes us feel good.

Meet Ryan – he’s one of our truck drivers and we are grateful to have him. Here at Nutriva Group we have more than one Ryan driving truck, but we think Ryan Amero is one of the best Ryans – in the top two for sure 😊. Ryans friends would describe him as funny, sarcastic & loyal and when he’s not driving truck he’s playing with his kids or out walking his dog Cooper.

You could say Ryan is the strong silent type. When asked about his personality he said quiet and when asked about what he likes to do when he’s not working he said working out/body building. Hence, Ryan really is the strong silent type. Ryan is a quick learner and drives truck for Nutriva. He has 8 years of driving experience and enjoys the opportunity to haul all sorts of loads and do different things working in the agricultural industry.  Ryan is probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and is willing to help anyone out which makes us very grateful to have him on our team.

Meet Sam, he’s one of our many drivers for Diverse Feed Solutions. We are so thankful to have him as part of our team. When he completes some of the paperwork we will be able to tell you a little bit more about him  .

Steve is a man of few words. But if you catch him at the right time, the conversation comes easily as he likes to express his opinions. He also happens to be fiercely loyal when it comes to the people he loves. We are grateful to Steve for being part of the Nutriva Group.

Tanish is one of our friendly neighbourhood lab technicians at FAS. He has been with us for a few years now and he conducts routine feed sample testing with precision and accuracy.  He is an international student studying Computer Information Systems at UFV and his tech focused analytics come in handy. He is smart, consistent and reliable and we are thankful to have him on the team. When he is not in the lab or at school he might be at the gym, gaming or coding web sites.

Creative and passionate are a few words to describe Vanessa. She coordinates programs, runs camps, gives tours, sets up workshops, writes newsletters, plans events, oversees social media and is often the friendly face that greets people when they walk in the front doors. We honestly don’t know what we’d do without her.

If EcoDairy was a kingdom, Vanessa would be our queen. In other words, we consider Vanessa our “dairy queen”.  (Yeah, we just went there.)