Thank You, Bill!

Admiration, sincere admiration – that’s what can be heard in people’s voices as they speak about Bill Ziese, a Genex Territory Sales Manager from California, who retired this fall after dedicating 49 years to the dairy cattle industry. Bill may be best known by some for marketing more than 3.3 million units of semen in his lifetime. According to the National Association of Animal Breeders, that number ranks him among the industry’s elite for total units sold. In fact, it places him second for total sales throughout history. Yet, that number is not why others admire Bill.

As CRI CEO Doug Wilson acknowledges, “That is only the beginning of his story.”

He went on to explain, “I first met Bill at Flo’s Cafe. It was where all the Chino Valley, California, dairy industry gathered for breakfast. As I walked up, someone said to me, ‘that fancy pickup over there is owned by the king of this area named Ziese.’”

Over the coming years, Doug learned just what it was that made Bill the king. “When the dairy rush in the Chino Valley began, Bill seized the opportunity and did so with an incredibly professional approach. He did not just sell semen. He was ahead of his time in large herd consulting. He mated cows, organized the semen inventory, interpreted DHIA data, and shared herd management tips he observed.”

Bill dedicated his time to improving the dairy industry and dairy cattle. While a fan of both commercial and registered cows, during his career Bill saw one opportunity in particular and seized it. As Doug describes, “During the breeder bull era, Bill organized a sampling structure for registered breeders. He distributed the semen, collected data and evaluated the daughters. Genex predecessors benefited from this program when we leased the bull 21HO990 Big Al.”

Back to that incredibly professional approach Doug referred to; Bill demonstrated that professionalism throughout his career. Art Marquez of Marquez Dairy alluded to it during a recent celebration of Bill’s record-setting 3 million unit sales. Art stated, “In the many years of doing business with Bill, I never once questioned the bulls he recommended; nor did I ever need to query an invoice; nor did I ever have to count the semen that was delivered; nor did I have to check on the mating recommendations.”

Josh Davis, Genex regional Director of Dairy Marketing, worked with Bill for several years. In answering what has made Bill such an admired leader, he states, “It’s Bill’s personality. Bill has always placed his customers and team before himself, and for that reason they put complete trust in him. He also has a great work ethic, working every day until his retirement at age 75.”

Thank you, Bill, for the example you have set - not only through your sales achievements, but through your professionalism, your innovative spirit, your foresight and your dedication. Along with the dairy producers of California, with sincere admiration we say “thank you” and wish you the best in retirement.