Joe Nave carries more than 225 bulls around in his pickup truck. He’s got Holsteins and Angus, Jerseys, Guernseys and milking short horns - all on ice. Nave is a breeding program specialist for Genex, a subsidiary of CRI Cooperative Resources International. As a breeding specialist he travels the tri-state are inseminating cows for area farmers with sperm collected and frozen from tested bulls. A majority of modern farmers don’t keep a bull - artificial insemination specialists such as Nave have taken their place, allowing farmers to have a variety of bulls and bloodlines available without the problems associated with keeping a bull. This Friends Cove native and 1990 Bedford High School graduate of Bedford High School grew up on a farm and entered the Marine Corps after high school, learning to operate heavy equipment. After he was discharged he spent four years at JLG Industries in Bedford, but discovered that “inside work is not for me.” He left JLG and went back to farming - working for a neighboring dairy farmer. It was during that time that he began inseminating cows. “I took courses to become certified, and enjoyed it,” he said. A Genex sales manager approached him in 1999 about taking over the territory that includes Bedford County. He was sent for additional training in both artificial insemination and embryo transfer and began a new career.

His experience on the farm and milking gave him a good basis for one part of his job that he finds both enjoyable and challenging - he is often asked to choose the bull to use on farmers’ cows. “I look at the cow’s conformation and the improvements she needs and choose a bull based on traits he’s proven pass on to his offspring,” he said. Much of his time on the job is spent traveling through his large territory. “I don’t punch a time clock and don’t have a set schedule every day,” he said. Farmers call him in the morning to let him know they need an insemination and Nave works his way around the territory making his calls. Driving has become one aspect of his job that he doesn’t enjoy, and it’s gotten worse over the years with the trend toward small farmers selling out to be replaced by larger herds spread farther apart. Despite that, Nave said the opportunity to work with farmers makes up for the travel. “In my opinion you’ll never find a nicer, easier group of people of people to work with than farmers,” he said. “They know I’m trying to give them a good service as efficiently as I can and help them make good decisions that will benefit their bottom line - we’re all in this together.”

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