Customer Service Experts

John Goeser grew up in the dairy industry as his family’s dairy near Plymouth, Wis.  expanded from 60 head in the 1980’s to over 1,000 cows. After earning Bachelor of Science degrees in Dairy Science and Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Goeser earned a Master of Science degree in Plant Breeding & Genetics as well as a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He gained experience as a nutritionist in graduate school, and moved to a technical nutrition and support position within the feed industry. Goeser started his tenure with Rock River Laboratory in 2012. In his current role, he oversees animal nutrition, technical support, and research, specifically centering his focus on carbohydrate digestion, READ MORE forage management and trends, and more recently, feed hygiene. Goeser is a Professional Animal Scientist (PAS) and is certified by the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) as a technical service provider (TSP) for feed management planning (592). Through an adjunct asst. professor appointment with the University of Wisconsin- Madison Dairy and Animal Science Department, Goeser contributes lectures discussing carbohydrate digestion, rumen metabolism, and forage preservation to the future of the dairy industry. 

John can be reached at: johngoeser@rockriverlab.com

Growing up on a small dairy farm in south central Pennsylvania, Cliff Ocker’s roots in animal agriculture run deep. After earning his Associates degree in Agriculture Business Management from Penn State University in 1991, Ocker took on a dairy nutritionist role with a prominent feed company. Ocker spent 17 years in the field as a nutritionist with various feed companies, then translated his field experience to building and supporting customer relationships at a forage laboratory. Most recently, Ocker held a business manager position, selling a feed additive to improve fiber digestion. Ocker joined Rock River Laboratory as the director of sales and client relations in 2018. In his current role, he forges relationships and shares expert insights, Read More from his vast experience, with customers and partners across the regional areas surrounding Rock River Laboratory’s five domestic labs in California, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Outside of his customer support work, Ocker enjoys hunting, spending time with his two daughters and son, and coaching and playing softball and volleyball. 

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Cliff can be reached at: cliff_ocker@rockriverlab.com

Hailing from Eau Galle, Wis., Larry McRoberts spent his early years working on his family’s livestock and crops farm. His work with everything from hogs, poultry and dairy cows, to beans and alfalfa, instilled a love of all agriculture and drew him to an agricultural college. McRoberts earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1968. Since that time, McRobert’s earned experience has included roles as district sales representative - with sales in feed, agronomy, fuel and general ag products from hardware to animal health, district feed sales manager, and state manager of a retail sales force, which involved recruiting and leading training in products and sales. McRoberts joined the Rock River Laboratory team as a customer service representative in 2012, and has continued building relationships around Wisconsin and Minnesota ever since. Read More His inspiration and guiding rule to treat others as you would like to be treated has afforded him many lasting relationships, and no industry event passes without someone sharing their acquaintance with McRoberts. When he isn’t meeting new people or visiting old industry friends, McRoberts can be found outside – getting back to his roots of gardening, hunting, fishing, trapping and teaching this all to the next generation, his grandsons. 

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Larry can be reached at: larry_mcroberts@rockriverlab.com

Born and raised in Eureka, Illinois, Katie Raver grew up enjoying rural and small-town living. Raver’s grandparents exposed her to their family farm - complete with sheep, horses, and crops. Running around that farm instilled a passion for agriculture at an early age. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in animal science and ruminant nutrition, with a specialty in dairy at the University of Illinois, that passion grew through her work on the university dairy, participation on the Dairy Challenge team, and numerous dairy courses. Raver joined Rock River Laboratory as an intern in 2013, assisting in the launch of the FeedScan sample submission app. 

After graduating, Raver’s desire to help producers and interest in nutrition drove her to pursue a Master’s degree focusing on forage quality, also at the University of Illinois. READ MORE She completed her second degree in 2015 and took on a dairy field technical specialist role while also gaining experience in both agronomy and beef nutrition. In 2020 Raver joined the Rock River Laboratory team again  - this time as animal nutrition and field support specialist helping Southern and Western US-based nutritionists in advancing analysis opportunities for their dairy and beef operations as well as troubleshooting nutrition challenges. On weekends, you can find Raver outdoors horseback riding, hiking, and spending time on her hobby farm.

Born and raised in Watertown, Wis., Tabitha Kumbier spent her youth raising and showing sheep and beef cattle at the local, state, and national levels. A long-time 4-H and FFA member, Kumbier credits her agriculture passion to her heavy involvement in judging competitions, speaking contests and assisting other youth at local education events through these agriculture organizations. She followed her agriculture roots to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Business with a Marketing and Communications emphasis and an Animal Science minor in 2013. Before joining the Rock River Laboratory team, Kumbier held roles as a calf feeder at a local dairy, an intern with the Wisconsin Beef Council, and an intern with an artificial insemination company. In her role as the forage data and customer support manager for Rock River Laboratory, Kumbier is a liaison between the laboratory analysis team and agronomy and nutrition customers Read More - providing information, answering questions, problem-solving, and entering data for successful results. In her free time, Kumbier enjoys hunting and fishing, snowmobiling, and crafting, and has competed in turkey calling contests at the State and National Wild Turkey Federation Conventions. 

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Tabitha can be reached at: tabitha_kumbier@rockriverlab.com