Press Releases: Holstein Association USA

Brattleboro, Vermont (November 20, 2007) - The Board of Directors of Holstein Association USA, Inc. held its meeting November 15-16, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois. President Doug Maddox presided.

Update on 2007 Business Plan and Presentation of 2008 Plan

During the meeting, staff presented updates on the 2007 Management-by-Objective Business Plan, year-to-date financials, and the 2008 Business Plan and budget. Some highlights include:

Confidence in U.S. Registered Holsteins^SM remains high as evidenced by a 6 percent increase in registrations through November 10th which totaled 272,712, up from 257,249 in 2006; this represents the highest level in the past six years.
Participation in the Association’s Holstein COMPLETE Program is growing at an impressive pace, as the number of cows and herds enrolled were both up through October from 2006 levels by 13.2 percent and 14.2 percent respectively, with 1,674 herds and 194,379 animals enrolled.

The Association’s 2008 Business Plan, as presented by management staff, was adopted by the Board. Some of the objectives included:

Registrations are expected to increase in 2008 by 2 percent over 2007 totals.
Transfers in 2008 will be similar to 2007 levels.
Member participation in the Association’s Holstein COMPLETE program is anticipated to increase by 17 percent over 2007.
The Association will do a thorough analysis of the current Holstein type evaluation scorecard.
The Association will develop a new web tag ordering system that will allow tag customers to order tags online in 2008.

The Board received reports of the following committees:

Audit Committee
Genetic Advancement Committee
Junior Advisory Committee
Milk Marketing Committee
Show Committee

Committee recommendations accepted by the Board include the following:

From the Genetic Advancement Committee, the recording of thurl position will be discontinued as a research trait and replaced with locomotion.
The Show Committee recommended that the spring show in Stillwater, Oklahoma be designated the Southern National Spring Holstein Show and that the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts be designated the Northeast National Fall Holstein Show, which the Board approved. The Show Committee is planning to hold a judges’ workshop in the U.S. next year and some members of the committee will attend a judges’ workshop in Canada in 2008.
The Junior Advisory Committee recommended, and the Board approved, four junior shows be designated as National Junior Holstein Shows in 2008; these will be held in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Additional junior Holstein shows will be held in Ohio, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah, and Wisconsin next year. The Board approved that every junior member, upon reaching the age of 21, will be given a complimentary adult membership for the remainder of the calendar year, and that individual will be allowed to participate in junior activities until December 31 of the same calendar year.

In an unprecedented show of support for the future of youth in the dairy industry and for the Holstein Foundation, the Holstein Association Board of Directors approved a contribution of $2 million, which would be withdrawn from the Association’s reserve fund, to be donated to the Holstein Foundation’s endowment fund. This will allow the popular Young Dairy Leaders Institute to continue holding classes well into the future.

The Board voted to support the Farm Credit System’s Horizon’s project that would enlarge and enhance Farm Credit’s scope of current financial services and encourage legislators to allow those services in communities of 2,500 and larger.

Upcoming Meetings

The Board approved the schedule for future meetings:

Spring Board meeting in Brattleboro, Vt., March 27-28, 2008.
Summer Board meeting in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., June 22-23, 2008.

For more information, contact Karen Albrecht at 802-451-4242 or via email.