Building Better Bovines in Boonsboro
Michael Creek, Trans Ova senior director of operations, grew up on Palmyra Farm in Hagerstown.
Trans Ova Genetics is a global leader in beef and dairy cattle reproductive services
By Rebecca Long Chaney
Trans Ova has been paving the way with dairy and beef cattle genetics for more than 40 years, with the original office opened in 1980 in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was not until 2012 that the livestock reproductive company also opened an office in Maryland in the rolling hills of Washington County.
Dr. David Faber and Dr. Daryl Funk of Iowa founded Trans Ova, and it was initially a veterinarian practice that focused solely on cattle reproduction services.
“Their motivation was to provide the best service to cattleman that would allow them access to cutting-edge technologies to build the quality and performance of their herds,” says Michael Creek, Trans Ova senior director of operations. “Trans Ova started performing IVF (in vitro fertilization) services in the 1990s to amplify the ability for cattleman to gain reproductive and genetic advantages in their respective marketplace.”
Landing a career with Trans Ova Genetics was a dream come true for Creek. He grew up on Palmyra Farm, an Ayrshire farm with international acclaim, just 20 minutes from the Trans Ova Office in Boonsboro. He started at that location in 2015 as the herdsman. Today, Creek is responsible for operational management of the domestic United States for Trans Ova.
“I am one of the very lucky people in this world who get to do, I think, exactly what I was meant to do,” Creek says. “I get to stay involved in a part of the cattle industry that I have always loved. I get to work with great cattleman all over the country and have the opportunity to meet people from Texas and California to New York and Florida who are as passionate as I am.”
Research by the Trans Ova staff will help produce 70,000 IVF cattle embryos this year.
Creek believes Trans Ova not only has changed the lives of employees but has helped clients find great success with their cattle.
“I get to grow with an amazing company that has fantastic values that drive our success,” the Washington County native says. “Most importantly I get to work with great people, and I’m fortunate enough to be a leader of that team. There are over 500 people on our team and every single one of them is vital to the success we have, and it’s a great honor to work with them.”
Trans Ova’s IVF system is renowned for its ability to produce great embryos, but more importantly more healthy calves that will make them more money every generation of cattlemen, according to Creek.
“Trans Ova Genetics will produce over 700,000 IVF cattle embryos this year with 70,000 being produced at the Boonsboro location,” he says. “We work with some of the largest and most famous cattle operations around the world as well as the smallest most specialized farmers like me at my own farm to improve their cattle and add value to their business.”
The Boonsboro Trans Ova facility specializes in embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, donor housing, recipient options, sexed semen, genetic preservation and cloning and lactating and dry cow donor housing.
The genetic specialists operate 10 IVF labs across nine states with two in Texas.
“Trans Ova either operates or has partnered on three additional labs in Australia, Brazil and Canada with the intention of adding more partners and locations in the future,” Creek says.
“A great deal of our embryo export work is performed out of the Boonsboro lab as well as the work that the team does with some of the most influential cattle breeders in the world,” he says. “But I believe that the most unique feature is the culture that is created by the people at the center. The team is incredible and their results are a symptom of that.”
There are about 500 active clients that the Boonsboro facility works with in New York, Pennsylvania, New England, and Ohio as well as doing other regional work in the Middle Atlantic. Maintaining a successful embryo transfer business is no small undertaking. From IVF preparation, careful harvesting, storing, and shipment—all phases must be done with great attention to detail.
In addition to a great team in the Washington County Trans Ova office, Creek says the facility employs a great group of regional couriers and utilize the local logistics and shipping services to assure safe shipment of embryos. Over the years, Trans Ova has expanded its business to include small ruminates and swine in efforts of genetic preservation.
One thing is for sure, Trans Ova Genetics’ mission statement, “To provide opportunity and advantage through genetic acceleration,” will continue to be the driving force behind the company’s global success.