Geno appoints Robert Jan Poessé as Country Manager, Benelux for Xsires

Geno, the breeding organization for Norwegian Red genetics has recently appointed Robert Jan Poessé as Country Manager - Benelux, a leadership role that includes the responsibilities of General Manager for Xsires, Geno’s subsidiary company in the Netherlands. Xsires has been a part of Geno's company portfolio as a daughter company since 2013 and has since been leading in the market for providing crossbreeding solutions with Norwegian Red for dairy farmers in the Benelux region.

“We are thrilled to kick-start 2023 by welcoming Robert to the Geno family. With his extensive experience and vast commercial knowledge within dairy cattle, farming, and livestock technology, Robert will lead the outstanding team of Xsires in The Netherlands and continue their success in helping dairy farmers achieve greater results through crossbreeding with Norwegian Red genetics,” expressed Kate Stai, Chief Executive Officer of Geno Global.

A Dutch national, Robert has gained a broad commercial position within global companies most recently with Alltech, a leading animal health company operating in 120 countries. Robert successfully held the position of Sales Manager B2B for the Benelux area for the company Since 2019. From 2016 – 2019 Robert was the Account Manager at Nedap Livestock – Dairy, responsible for account management of their ‘Cow Control’ for heat and health monitoring in Chile (Cooprinsem), Ecuador, and Costa Rica. At the same time, supporting sales operations in Argentina and Brazil. Prior to Nedap Livestock - Dairy, Robert worked for more than five years since 2010 as Area Sales Manager for a young animal nutrition company, Denkavit, following his three years working in Brazil for Sloten do Brazil, an animal nutrition company, where he was responsible for the local Sales organization from 2007 to 2010.

After graduating from The International Agricultural High School Larenstein in Deventer majoring in International Dairy Management, in 1992, Robert also completed his thesis for a feasibility study about the production of Dutch cheese on the farmers' level in Venezuela. After obtaining his diploma, Robert lived and worked in farm/cattle management in Venezuela for almost five years.

The dairy industry in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is home to approximately 1.5 million dairy cows with annual milk production accounting for just below 14 billion kg. The Netherlands is also taking the top place in the global top-5 dairy exports (by value) together with New Zealand, Germany, the US, and France. For the country, cheese is the most exported dairy product with Germany as their most important trading partner.

The country’s strict regulation has limited the industry’s growth opportunities since 2017 and has decreased the total number of dairy farms yet increased the size of the herds. This situation has also forced dairy farmers to think outside their traditional farming, and for this, we have seen a positive trend of crossbreeding and farmers taking advantage of the benefit of Norwegian Red crosses. In addition, Dutch regulations have mandated dairy farmers to pay attention to critical factors such as animal welfare and veterinary medicines and have since successfully reduced the use of antibiotics in dairy cows.

“We are aware of the increased challenges facing the Dutch dairy industry including the pressure to limit nitrogen emission, and therefore, we are joining the other industry leaders to stay focused on sustainability, which has been part of Geno and Norwegian Red’s company DNA. Animal health and welfare will continue to be our top priority,” added Stai.

About Xsires

Xsires is the daughter company of Geno, the breeding organization for Norwegian Red. Established in 2013 with Geno, Xsires is a pioneer in providing the crossbreeding solution for dairy farmers in the Benelux region. With a reliable and knowledgeable team of experts, Xsires helps customers achieve sustainable and profitable breeding solutions focusing on healthy and productive herds.