Russell grew up in Visalia, CA surrounded by the dairy industry. Knowing at a young age he wanted to be involved in the dairy industry, Russell would work on dairies during the summertime. Russell’s love for the industry paved his road to pursue a degree in Animal Science with a minor in Dairy Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While attending Cal Poly, Russell interned with Alpha Dairy in the summer of 2013 and participated on the Dairy Challenge Team. Both experiences fueled his desire to become a dairy nutritionist. After graduating Russell worked for South Valley Trading shortly before getting married and moving to Champaign, IL to pursue his PhD in Dairy Nutrition from the University of Illinois. During his time at University of Illinois Russell studied how different types of stress affect the dairy cattle performance and health and how nutrition can minimize the negative impacts of stress.

Knowing they wanted to be back home with family Russell and his wife Briauna along with their son Merrick moved back to the Central Valley. Russell loves spending time with his family and their yellow lab. In his spare time, you can find him out on the water wakeboarding, surfing or fishing and cheering on the Los Angeles Angels baseball team!