Holstein Canada has turned to Midwestern Ontario for its next leader.
Mildmay dairy producer and genetics specialist Greg Dietrich has been named the new chief executive officer of Holstein Canada, ending a months-long search for a permanent head of the national breed association. He will officially step into the role on December 9, 2025.
The organization has been without a CEO since May, when Sartaj Sarkaria left the position. In the interim, longtime staff members Linda Markle and Chris Bartels have been serving as co-chief operating officers.
Dietrich, who operates Character Dairy Genetics and a custom calf-raising business near Mildmay with his family, says the appointment feels a bit like coming home. After graduating from the University of Guelph with a degree in animal science, his first job was with Holstein Canada. "Holsteins have been my passion and love since I was a kid," he said in an interview with CKNXNewsToday.ca. "I grew up on a dairy farm, and my parents were very involved not just in dairy but in the ag community. After university, I actually worked at Holstein Canada for two years as business development rep, travelling from Ontario right out to B.C. and Newfoundland visiting farms and helping problem solve. In a way, this is kind of coming back home to my very first job."
Following that early stint at Holstein Canada, Dietrich spent several years with Semex, working in product support and then international sales across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia. He later co-founded Progenesis, a dairy genetics company that supplied bulls and females back into the Semex system for future generations.
About four years ago, Dietrich returned full-time to the home operation near Mildmay, completing a succession plan with his parents and working alongside his sister Janelle and brother-in-law Andrew on two dairy farms and a calf-raising business.
Holstein Canada serves as the national registrar and classifier for Holstein cattle, a breed that now accounts for more than 97 per cent of Canada’s dairy herd. The association has been around for more than 140 years, and Dietrich says his focus is on ensuring it remains just as relevant for the next 140.
He notes the dairy sector is in the midst of rapid change, driven by robotic milking, farm automation, advanced software and genetic tools, and Holstein Canada needs to keep pace with those developments. "Every organization is a bit different than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago," he said. "We’ve gone through, or are going through, a bit of a revolution with AI, technology and robotics. Those have been well received by the dairy community, especially robot milking. The question now is: how do we integrate all of that into Holstein Canada so we continue to be relevant in the future?"
A big part of the answer, he says, lies in data.
Modern dairy farms are generating huge volumes of information on milk production, health, reproduction and cow behaviour. Dietrich sees an opportunity for Holstein Canada to help turn that data into practical tools that improve breeding and herd management. "In this area, we’ve seen a lot of transition from tie-stalls into robots and a lot of modernization," he said. "There’s farm software, robotics in the barn, health data, milk production data, repro data, it’s all in those computer systems. How can we use that data and integrate it into Holstein Canada’s functions? That’s one of the things I think we’ll really be working on."
Looking ahead, Dietrich says another priority will be keeping Holstein Canada relevant to younger generations of dairy producers and ag professionals. "It’s nice to see young families involved, that’s important," he said. "The question is, how do we keep things interesting and relevant for younger generations, like that 16-year-old who’s just getting started and maybe hopes to play a role in the industry down the road?"
On top of his dairy and genetics background, Dietrich also serves on the Ontario Federation of Agriculture board, giving him another avenue to stay connected to broader farm policy and grassroots concerns.
