Dr Matthew Sumners comes to VVI with a ton of practical experience!

Originally from Georgia, I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Animal and Dairy Science from University of Georgia. I completed my DVM at Tuskegee University CVM and graduated in 2013. Following graduation, I moved to CA and practiced in Tulare for 9.5 years before joining Valley Veterinarians in 2024.

Growing up on my family’s farm, I developed my love of cattle from my grandfather and have many fond memories working cattle with him. I enjoy working with dairymen and being a part of the team that keeps their herd healthy and profitable. My professional interests include reproductive management, heifer development, and recently embryo transfer.

My wife, Jamie and I have two kids, Luke and Madeline. We enjoy the many outdoor activities that CA has to offer.

Dairy Veterinarian Alden West joins the practice.

Alden hales from the forests of Maine where opportunities on local beef, dairy and goat farms solidified his passion for livestock and the people who work with them. He pursued and then earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Maine in 2012. He then emigrated to Canada to study veterinary medicine at the Atlantic Veterinary College of Prince Edward Island, graduating in 2016. Throughout his academic career he worked on a variety of cattle operations from Alberta to Maine, and learning techniques from artificial insemination to milking. He moved to Tulare and began practicing dairy medicine upon graduation, and the balmy weather, gracious colleagues, and excellent dairies have made it home.

His professional interests include farm economics and advanced reproductive technology. In his free time he enjoys smoking beef, reading, news podcasts, and activities with his church community.

Chilling in his sandles.

Gina Stoll brings beef cattle experience to VVI

Gina grew up in a small town in northwest Missouri, on a farm that had beef cattle and row crops. She attended Northwest Missouri State University for her undergraduate degree and then graduated from the University of Missouri with her DVM. As a student, she spent time at Valley Vets and fell in love with the rural atmosphere of the valley and the vast agriculture it contains. Upon graduation, she returned home to work in a mixed animal practice that had an emphasis on cattle. 

Gina grew up helping her dad AI their beef herd, and fell in love with genetics and the study of bovine reproduction. That opened her up to exploring and enjoying the world of embryo transfer. She and her husband Brad are very excited to get to know the community and the area.

Experienced vet Rachael Crouse joins Valley Vets

Rachael was raised in Bellflower, California. She earned her B.S. in Animal Science and DVM from Colorado State University. During her time in Colorado she was the office manager for a 3,000 cow dairy, and was a member of the CSU Dairy Judging Team. These experiences during her undergraduate degree influenced her to focus on dairy production medicine when she entered veterinary school. Throughout her education she rode with a dairy practice in Colorado, where she continued to expand her knowledge of dairy medicine. Outside of the classroom, Rachael served as the AABP chapter President for CSU, where she helped to create opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience at dairies and ranches. She traveled across the US for externships at dairy practices during her final year of veterinary school and attended the Summer Dairy Institute at Cornell, in order to learn more about regional differences in dairy management. After graduation, she moved to Michigan for a year and worked as a dairy veterinarian. 

In her time off from work, Rachael enjoys hiking, fishing, hunting and shooting archery.

Rachael does an excellent job removing a cancerous eye.

Trey Cook, our newest vet, is enthusiastic about the future.

Dr. Trey Cook comes to us from North Carolina, where he recently graduated from
veterinary school at North Carolina State University. He was born in Concord, a small town outside Charlotte, but lived in various parts of the state while growing up. As early as 7 years old, he was saying he wanted to become a veterinarian, and after graduating from East Carolina University in 2017 with a B.S. in biochemistry, that childhood dream finally started to be realized.

While in veterinary school, experience on the school dairy, influence from a few key professors, and a mission trip to a small dairy outside of Nairobi, Kenya cemented his passion for dairy cows, the dairy industry and its producers. He also gained a great appreciation for the powerful impact that food-producing operations have both in America and throughout the world. During his time at NCSU, Trey dove into as many dairy and food animal opportunities as he could find, and grew to love the medical, economical, food safety and relational aspects of dairy medicine. He is excited and enthusiastic to do his part in helping producers maximize the efficiency of their operations to the benefit of farming families and consumers alike.

When not on the dairy or at the office, you can probably find him hiking in the mountains and enjoying California’s legendary national parks, trying to set up a game of sand volleyball, or barbecuing with friends.

Amanda Aker comes to VVI with a lot of experience.

Amanda was born and raised on a dairy farm in central New York State. She earned a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cobleskill in Dairy Science, and spent several years as a herdsman before attending veterinary school at the University of Illinois.

During her vet school tenure, Amanda did multiple internships including respiratory disease research, spending a summer at Select Sires headquarters in Ohio, learning OPU in Oregon, and attending Wisconsin’s Dairy Production Management Rotation; a six-week course designed to teach herd based approaches to cattle health and production.

After graduating in 2020, Amanda joined a small mixed animal practice in south-eastern South Dakota, and worked predominantly with dairy and beef cattle. She joins us to follow her passions in the dairy industry, including reproductive technologies, genetics and calf health.

Amanda has two travel-loving cats, Kitty and Muffin, as well as a small herd of Ayreshire cattle that reside on the family farm. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, running and baking.

New office building open for business!

116 West Cedar Ave
Tulare, CA 93274

Valley Veterinarians, Inc has moved our offices to 116 W Cedar Ave. This location is just north of Bardsley Ave, and only 1.5 miles from our old offices on South K St. The new building offers a lot more parking, as well as more internal square footage, which has allowed our milk quality laboratory to expand, as well as provide more room for other projects and offices.

Please come visit us soon, and get some milk.

Milk Quality Laboratory

We Welcome Ben Schmidt to Valley Vets

Ben Schmidt grew up on a beef and cropping farm near Delmar, IA. He attended undergraduate and veterinary school at Iowa State during which time he completed a preceptorship with Valley Vets in his final year. After graduation he joined a small mixed animal clinic in northeast Iowa working with predominantly dairy and beef clients but also dogs, cats, horses, chickens, pigs, goats, and as well as some rabbits.
From there he and his wife and fellow veterinarian, Erica, decided to have an adventure together. They ended up in southwest Victoria, Australia where Ben worked mainly with dairy cattle while Erica did mixed animal work. The list of animals worked on then grew adding koalas, penguins and even a kangaroo. Dairy work in Australia was very different from dairy work in Iowa or the central valley as all the herds are managed in grazing systems. This led Ben to develop a keen interest in dairy cattle lameness treatment and prevention.
Their daughter, Adeline, was born in September and prompted the move back to the valley to be near family (Erica is an Atwater, CA native). The whole family is excited to be here and look forward to getting to know everyone in the area!

Valley Vets New Laboratory Website is Here

Valleyvetslab.com is our new website developed to report results to clients, their employees, and their veterinarians.  It is a searchable online database that will allow for contemporary and historical analysis of what organisms are cultured from the samples you submit to our milk quality lab.  Dairy owners are able to control who has access to the results, and results are reported either via email, text message, or both.  It is also possible to import results from our laboratory website directly into individual cowcards in DairyComp, allowing for culture-based treatment decisions, or other culture-based protocols to be made within your dairy management software. All of our veterinarians are proficient with the website and can help owners set up their dairy to ensure that results get where they need to be.  We are currently signing up dairies, and in the process of transitioning from our old system that was labor intensive and somewhat cumbersome.  Should you need any assistance on your end, either in signing up your dairy, accessing results, or interpreting the results, please have a conversation with your herd veterinarian, or contact us.