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Master Breeder Eric Iverson of Innislake Dairy Passes


On behalf of everyone here at the Bullvine our thoughts and sincere condolences to the family and friends of Eric. A major contributor in the dairy industry, he will be greatly missed by many.

Below has been provided by Westgen.

It is with a profound sadness that we announce the passing of our President, Eric Iversen, after a brief but, brave fight against an aggressive cancer. Eric’s tenure as a board member has helped steer WestGen through a period of enormous growth and change. With his boundless energetic and optimistic outlook on life, friendly demeanor and quick wit, he embodied much of what we aspire to be at WestGen.

Eric L Iversen and his brother John own the 500-acre Master Breeder Innislake Dairy Farm in Olds, AB. After years as a director and going through the Holstein Canada chair while Eric stayed home, John returned the favour making way for his brother Eric to join the WestGen board in 2015. After serving as Vice President in 2016 he was acclaimed as President in 2017 and served in that capacity until recently, relinquishing that role only as his health began to rapidly decline just over a month ago.

Eric was a people person and a leader. He was at his best helping to find consensus among diverging thought as he steered a group of farmers to make big decisions. He was decisive and comfortable with decision-making and confident in representing the WestGen board’s thinking at the national level. Through his tenure WestGen moved from its long-held home in Milner to Abbotsford. New initiatives
like Proventus, partnership in Bow Valley Genetics and the launch of the Advanced Reproductive Centre all moved forward with Eric as President. Most recently, Eric also served as a WestGen representative on the Semex board. Through his years in the chair, WestGen flourished and matching Eric’s bold stride and confident air – best demonstrated by the silver-belly cowboy hat he wore nearly everywhere – the company began to reflect that confidence too.

We extend our heart-felt condolences to the Iversen family, including to Eric’s son Lars who is a WestGen Genetic Advisor in Alberta. Our loss pales by comparison to theirs. We will honour and celebrate Eric’s contributions on behalf of his fellow producers by staying the course and staying true to the vision he had for WestGen.

He will be deeply missed.


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