ABOUT US

OUR  MISSION

Together as a team at EDGE Dairy Consulting we work alongside clients to motivate change, while proactively seeking new ideas and providing solutions to improve your overall profitability.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”
Colossians 3:23a

OUR  STORY

Our story starts with all three of us growing up on dairies and being around cows our whole lives. This is something we are proud of. Cows are an important part of each of us. Mike finished his PhD in October of 2004 and opened DeGroot Dairy Consulting the very next day. He started with one client and still consults for him today. Business continued to grow from there and in 2009 Mike hired Jordan to help with our clients. Jordan and Mike worked together for 5 years. In 2014, Mike and Jordan became partners after Jordan received his master’s degree. Together they started what is now called EDGE Dairy Consulting. In 2016, Aaron joined the Edge team after doing nutrition consulting on his own since 2010. Mike, Jordan and Aaron are passionate about helping people strive for excellence in their dairy operations through nutrition and management consulting.

OUR CORE VALUES

Integrity

We strive to conduct our work with honesty and integrity. We commit to transparent communication and respect of privacy.

Teamwork

As part of our team at EDGE and your team on the dairy, we value the idea of working together. We believe every person has a respected role in improving overall operations.

Challenge/Motivate

We proactively seek new ideas and solutions before problems arise and will challenge you to make change. We constantly push you to succeed.

Build Relationships

With a shared passion for the dairy industry, we want to develop long-lasting relationships and enjoy the time working with our clients.

MEET OUR TEAM

Michael DeGroot PhD PAS

Mike DeGroot has been an independent dairy nutrition and management consultant for over 15 years.  He received a B.S. degree in Dairy Science and Agribusiness from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.  His M.S. degree from Fresno State University in ruminant nutrition and his Ph. D. in ruminant nutrition from Oregon State University.  His areas of focus included transition cows and feeding behavior.  Mike consults on over 30 dairies in California and Colorado.  He has been active in the industry through the California ARPAS chapter where he coauthored a paper on the Variability in Chemical Composition and Digestibility of Twelve By-Product Feedstuffs Utilized in the California Dairy Industry. (Professional Animal Scientist 2007 23:148–163). Mike was on the California Animal Nutrition Conference Committee for 7 years and was chair of the conference in 2011.  He has been involved with several on farm trials including working with niacin in transition cows.  He is a member of the IDNC (Independent Dairy Nutritionist Consortium) for over 10 years.  Mike and his wife Sharol were married in 2002 and have two children Karlee and Kolbi. 

Aaron Highstreet MS PAS

Aaron Highstreet learned the value of hard work and an appreciation for the dairy industry while growing up on a dairy farm in California. In high school, dairy nutrition sparked his interest which led him to attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where he graduated with a B.S. degree in Agribusiness.  After a few years in dairy management he attended Fresno State where he graduated with a M.S. degree in ruminant nutrition.  Aaron has been a consulting nutritionist for over 15 years and is passionate about improving efficiency and profitability on dairies through feed and management changes.  Aaron has been a member of the California Registry of Profession Animal Scientists for 10+ years and has been involved in many on farm research trials through U.C. Davis.  Aaron and his wife Tina have been married since 1999 and are blessed with four kids, Grant, Olivia, Elizabeth, and Faith.  Aaron enjoys spending time at the beach with his family, playing basketball, and snow skiing. 

Jordan Van Grouw MS PAS

Jordan Van Grouw grew up in Visalia, California and spent his days on the family dairy. He was taught first hand many different aspects on dairy operations such as; managing the herd, treating sick animals, feeding and milking cows. This led him to pursue a career in the dairy industry. Jordan studied agricultural business and dairy science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where he graduated with a B.S. degree in Agribusiness. Jordan began working with Mike De Groot and decided to carry on his education by attending Fresno State and achieving a M.S. degree in animal science. Jordan studied forage quality and starch digestibility as well as heifer growth and its impact on future milk productivity. Jordan brings new ideas in a practical way and is passionate about motivating dairies to improve and succeed. He specializes in dairy and financial data analytics. Jordan and his wife Lauren have been married since 2011 and love spending time with their four children; Brock, Emmry, Weston, and Connor. Jordan enjoys spending his free time in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and woodworking.

Erin Schoneveld

Erin joined our team in April 2016. She provides administrative support and enjoys working alongside the EDGE team and their clients. She primarily handles our benchmarking reports, production reports, mineral bidding, formula approval, feed sample entry and other various administrative tasks. She was raised on a dairy with 5 older brothers. Her childhood on the farm created her own passion for the industry. She knew she wanted to remain in agriculture and furthered her knowledge at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she earned her B.S. degree in Agricultural Business in June 2016. Once graduated, Erin moved back to her hometown in the heart of the Central Valley where she pursued her career. She has since gained a varied background in business and administrative tasks within the industry. Erin married her husband John in 2018.

Tyler Batchelder MS, PAS

Tyler’s commitment to the dairy industry was inspired by his grandfather who was a dairyman in Pennsylvania. Alongside his grandfather, Tyler learned the fundamentals of working with livestock, including milking cows. Tyler’s appreciation of his grandfather’s passion that drove the family farm eventually led him to pursue a career in the dairy industry. Tyler graduated from Texas Tech University in 2019 where he earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science along with a minor in chemistry. His love and interest for science led him to pursue amaster’s degree in animal biology at the University of California, Davis, where he studied mitochondrial metabolism in dairy cattle with hopes that maternal cytoplasmic inheritance may one day be incorporated in genomic models to better predict lactation performance. Upon completion of his M.S. degree in 2021, Tyler served as a calf specialist for Milk Specialties Global with his main areas of focus being pre-wean calf nutrition and health. Tyler is an active member of the Angus Association, and California American Registry of Applied Animal Scientists. In his free time Tyler enjoys reading, working on old equipment, solving puzzles, and tending to his small herd of beef cows.

DAIRY NUTRITION AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

We provide the service of nutrition and management guidance in an effort to improve our customer’s business and their bottom line.
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Excellence in dairy nutrition consulting.

Address:
P.O. Box 6967 Visalia, CA 93290