BILL HILLIER
Bill actively enjoys his work and it is because he is truly passionate about cattle, genetics, and protecting, preserving, and advancing the dairy industry. With his extensive agricultural, farming, and dairy backgrounds, Bill has actively taken part in improving the industry and helping the dairyman and farmer with sincere advice and integrity.
Born and raised on a dairy farm in Central Minnesota, Bill was always active and dedicated to the intensive work life on a farm entailed. At the young age of 5, Bill even started driving a team of horses!
His love of animals and working with them led him to pursue other avenues of involvement outside of the farm such as, FFA in High School and showing cattle (where he won exemplary awards at the Minnesota State Fair).
Bill then studied Agriculture and received a Bachelor’s in Farm Operations from Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, he was in an Ag Travel Course where he travelled the USA and studied its agricultural abundance and the variety of U.S. farmland.
After graduating, Bill continued to gain experience in multiple facets of agriculture on and off of the farm where he began to focus on breeding cows.
Obtaining large breeding routes through his work ethic and focus on quality genetics to advance the industry, Bill thrived in the bovine genetic niche with his natural eye for cattle and his belief in well-balanced genetics.
Going on to work for large A.I. companies, starting with Mid-West Breeders which became 21st Century, Bill became District Sales Manager in Wisconsin and Minnesota when it was still 21st Century.
In 1980, Bill moved to California where he was a genetic consultant and distributor for A.I. companies and then became an independent distributor in 1986 with the founding of his own company Southwest Genetics.
In 1999, after building a strong national clientele and continuing to work with prominent US breeders to select the most exquisite and well-balanced genetics, Bill co-founded El Toro Genetics (now known as El Toro Sires) with his wife Zoila. The ‘El Toro’ philosophy and dedication continue, to this day, to be beneficial for the dairyman and the industry as a whole.
Bill’s meticulous genetic selection made El Toro become known internationally, as we gained presence at global agriculture and dairy conferences and expositions and in world-wide publications.
Bill continues to be a trusted International Genetic Consultant with real bovine genetic background and a life-time of valuable knowledge putting the dairyman, cattleman, and animal first for the success of our industry.
Read more about El Toro and Bill Hillier on our ‘About’ page under ‘Our History.’