Holstein Association USA, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting
Knoxville, Tennessee, June 22-23, 2007
Brattleboro, Vermont (June 29, 2007)….The Board of Directors of the Holstein Association USA met in Knoxville, Tenn. on June 22-23. The meeting marked the last for President Randy Gross as his two-year term as President expired at the end of the annual meeting on June 26 th.
The well-respected leader from Washington was complimented for the outstanding leadership provided as the Association’s highest officer.
Management staff provided updates to the Board on the 2007 Business Plan. Some highlights include:
- Registrations through June 2 nd totaled 135,109, up 1,290 from the same time frame last year which represented the highest level in the past five years.
- Transfers for the same time period were also at the highest level in the past five years at 32,853, up 3% from last year’s levels.
- The number of cows and herds enrolled in Holstein Complete are both up 5%.
During the two-day session, the following committee reports were provided. Key points of each report included:
Milk Marketing Committee
The major discussion of the Board relating to the Milk Marketing Committee report revolved around the proposed inclusion, in the 2007 Farm Bill, of a permanent forward contracting program for producers who sell milk in Classes II, III, and IV.
The Milk Marketing Committee went on record to ask the House Agriculture Committee to remove the permanent forward contracting program from the Farm Bill because:
Dairy forward contracting is not like forward contracting of other agricultural commodities.
Many of our elected officials in Washington misunderstand dairy forward contracting to be a risk management tool for producers. The key difference between forward contracting of corn, wheat, beef, etc. and forward contracting of milk is that the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system was established more than 70 years ago to guarantee producers a minimum price for their perishable product. The goal of processors and proponents of forward contracting is to pay the producer less than the minimum price established in the FMMO.
Today, dairy processors and producers have the ability to utilize futures contracts and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), without violating the minimum producer price requirements.
Proponents of this policy change are not concerned with what will happen if forward contracting regulated milk is allowed. Increased consolidation of the dairy industry, lower prices paid to producers, and significant numbers of producers going out of business will be the consequences if Section 102 is carried through the House of Representatives 2007 Farm Bill.
The Board also discussed during the Committee report the possibility of proposing the formation of a Political Action Committee (PAC) to the delegates. Subsequently, the delegates approved a resolution during the Annual Meeting to support the formation of a PAC as follows:
“Be it resolved that the Holstein Association USA Board of Directors establish a political action committee to advocate for the best interests of all dairy producers in the development of federal laws and regulations. The political action committee is to be funded by contributions from the Association and dairy producers.”
Show Committee
- The Board adopted the recommendation of the Committee not to change to showing heifers by height, but that the Association should encourage any interested local, state, or regional shows to do so.
- The Board adopted the Committee’s recommendation to amend the National Show Ring Policy by including uniform premier breeder and premier exhibitor rules and by requiring a maximum length of 1 1/2” of topline hair for show animals.
During the meeting, the Board approved the following actions:
- To fund $50,000 to participate in a genome selection project at USDA by submitting, with the oversight of the Genetic Advancement Committee, DNA on Holstein cows for the study.
- To contribute up to $150,000 from reserve fund earnings to the operating funds of the Holstein Foundation for fiscal year 2007.
- To support the organization “Voices for Choices”, a grassroots producer coalition to safeguard the image of all milk and dairy products as pure and wholesome and to protect producers’ opportunities to use safe and approved technologies.
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Barbara Casna presented to the Directors the Association’s consolidated financial statements as of May 31, 2007 and reviewed the reserve fund report for the same time period.
The Association and its subsidiaries showed year-to-date profit on operations of $481,000 which is $60,000 more than May 2006. Through the end of May, operating revenues have increased 12% to $7,420,000 compared to the previous year. For the same period, total operating expenses increased 13% over the same time last year to $6,864,000.
As of May 31, the reserve fund was valued at $26,328,000.
The next meeting of the Holstein Association USA Board of Directors will be held November 15-16, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.
Holstein Association USA Announces Robert H. Rumler Scholarship Recipient
Brattleboro, Vermont (June 12, 2007)….Holstein Association USA has announced that Nikolaus Sutter of Madison, Wisconsin is the recipient of the 2007 Robert H. Rumler Scholarship. Sutter received his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and plans to enroll in the MBA Program at the UW-Madison in the near future.
Sutter is currently a marketing executive for Filament Marketing in Madison. In his role, Sutter has led Web site development and a public relations campaign for a bovine reproductive research and services company. He has conducted market research for a European dairy supply company and worked on promotion and sales for an online livestock and dairy management photography resource company.
Previously, Sutter was senior loan processor and assistant vice president of an independent mortgage corporation. Of his responsibilities there, Sutter said, “It taught me how an effective leader provides teammates with the most well rounded education possible to ensure they are able to successfully achieve both individual and team goals.”
Sutter is the 2007 recipient of the Brian Howell Memorial Scholarship, awarded to the outstanding agricultural journalism and communications student at UW-Madison. In 1999, he was chosen the U.S. student representative for the Semex Royal Winter Fair “Walk of Fame” and, in 1998, he received the gold medal in the Wisconsin State FFA Dairy Proficiency. In 1996, Sutter was the Wisconsin State 4-H Dairy Judging Champion, placing first overall and in oral reasons.
Among his activities and hobbies, Sutter enjoys his role as assistant youth basketball coach, feeding heifers at the 450-cow family dairy operation, and attending real estate investment and dairy production seminars. Sutter is convinced that his childhood-instilled work ethic, positive attitude, desire to learn from his peers will light his path to success in the UW-Madison MBA Program.
One of Sutter’s professors, Larry Meiller of Life Sciences Communication at UW-Madison wrote, “Nik approaches his coursework with a zeal I find extraordinary. He is a pleasure to teach.” Sutter said whenever his full-time career and full-time school schedule got tough, he drew on a saying his grandfather told him a few years before he died, “There’s no easy road to any place worth going.”
The Robert H. Rumler scholarship is presented in honor of Robert H. Rumler, who led the Association as Executive Secretary for 25 years. The scholarship was established in 1984 by Holstein Association USA to encourage deserving and qualified individuals with a bachelor’s degree in dairy production to obtain a master’s degree in Business Administration. Rumler believed U.S. agribusiness needed and deserved the best trained, most highly qualified leaders the nation’s educational system and practical experience could provide.
Plans Finalized for National Holstein Convention
Brattleboro, Vermont (June 5, 2007)…Plans are now final for the 122nd annual meeting of Holstein Association USA, Inc. Hosted by the Tennessee Holstein Association, the meeting will be held in Knoxville, Tenn. on Monday, June 25 and Tuesday, June 26.
In addition to hearing reports from President Randy Gross and Chief Executive Officer John M. Meyer, official delegates will elect officers and directors for the Association. Running unopposed for president is Doug Maddox, Riverdale, Calif. Candidates for a two-year term as vice president are Larry Tande, Medford, Minn. and Elmo Wendorf, Jr., Ixonia, Wis.
Running for three-year terms on the board of directors are: Region 1-William H. Peck, Schuylerville, N.Y., Region 4-John C. Kalmey, Shelbyville, Ky., Region 6- Harlan Bohn, Twin Brooks, S.D. and Leroy C. Eggink, Sibley, Iowa, and for director-at-large Gordon M. Cook, Jr., Hadley, Mass.
Prior to convening the annual meeting on Monday, June 25, a 7:30 a.m. Early Bird session will be held featuring Dr. Chad Dechow. Dechow, Assistant Professor of Dairy Genetics at Penn State University and a member of the Association’s Genetic Advancement Committee, will present “Challenges and Opportunities for Selecting a Healthier Cow.”
During the Monday, June 25 business session, the first annual Distinguished Leadership Award will be presented to William T. McKarns, Hanoverton, Ohio, and the first annual Elite Breeder Award to Marvin L. Nunes, Ocean View Farms, Windsor, Calif.
The guest speaker on Monday at 1:30 p.m. will be Dr. Nate Zwald, Senior Sales Manager for Alta Genetics, Inc., whose presentation is entitled, “The Future of the Dairy Industry from an Artificial Insemination Perspective.” Following Dr. Zwald will be a presentation of the Voices for Choices initiative designed to create industry support for producers’ opportunities to use safe and approved technologies and safeguard milk’s image as a natural and wholesome product.
New 40-year members of the Association will be presented, and regional member meetings will be held.
During the Tuesday business session, the annual Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder award will be presented to Bruce and Brenda Long, New London, Wis. Officer and director elections will also be held.
The National Convention Sale will be held on Monday evening at the University of Tennessee Brehm Animal Science Arena starting at 6:00 p.m. The convention will conclude on Tuesday evening with the convention banquet starting at 7:00 p.m.
Running concurrently with the adult convention will be a full schedule of activities for junior Holstein members. Activities will include a Dairy Bowl contest, Dairy Jeopardy, Prepared Public Speaking competition and selection of the Distinguished Junior Members.
For complete information on all convention activities, go to the Holstein Association USA Web site, www.holsteinusa.com.
Holstein Association USA, Inc., www.holsteinusa.com, provides products and services to dairy producers to enhance genetics and improve profitability–ranging from registry processing to identification programs to consulting services. The Association, headquartered in Brattleboro, Vt., maintains the records for Registered HolsteinsSM and represents more than 30,000 members throughout the United States. The Association is also leading the initiative for national animal identification through the National FAIR program.