A3O-Lancaster Fanning. Saturday, February 18, 1995 Atlantic Breeders VERNON ACHENBACH JR. in Intercourse for members of Dis- Lancaster Farming Staff trict f - P ave Zimmerman, mana- INTERCOURSE (Lancaster ge«’for the cooperatives Region 1 Co.)-A possible merger told the group that, at the behest of between Atlantic Breeders directors, about 73 Cooperative and two other artifi- <pstions were posed by coopera cial insemination cooperatives was Uv ® directors, re^ource managers discussed to some extent during and employees about a proposed the cooperative’s annual banquet- |" er | er Lancas A l^ meetings, though final details are headquartered ABC, Eastern AIC not completed. based in Ithaca - N - Y - and lhe The last of the cooperative’s Louisiana Animal Breeders annual banquet-meetings were Cooperative, in New Orleans, held this week, several after press- diree die p o °pemtives time. However, the nature of the currently cooperate in business annual meetings is to inform through Federated Genetics. The cooperators directly with informa- merger would create one coopera tion about their association, to tive, as of yet, unamed (ideas are elect representatives, and to dis- being welcomed), cuss issues of relevance to mem- Using a prepared slide program bers well-being. The financial out- to present the questions and an out line and management message is bne the answers, Zimmerman usually repeated at each meeting, said he didn’t intend to go ovpr all The meetings are also held to 73, but highlighted what most peo recognize high producing pie had asked concerning the prop member-herds that exceed the osed- merger, state’s average breed production Of the highlights of his presen by 10 percent or more, and of tation, Zimmerman said that vot which at least 65 percent have been ing on the merger wasn't ready bred by sires owned by the until more details could be worked cooperative. out by the board of directors At a Tuesday afternoon meeting between the cooperatives. Howev- From the left, Pat Arnold, Atlantic Breeders Cooperative technician presents production awards to Curvin Good (for himself and wife Dawn), Nelson Sensenig (for his Meadow Spring Farm), and Aden Carper (for Jay Good). From the left, recipients of Atlantic Breeders Cooperative production awards are Tom Krall (for himself and his wife Shirley), Eric Williams (for Mike Arnold), Lamar and his father Ezra Martin, and Raymond Martin, while Pat Arnold, technician, presents the awards. From the left, receiving production awarde from Atlantic Breeders Cooperative are Charlotte Clowney, Tom Clowney, Charlotte's husband Bob Clowney, and JoAnn Clowney, and from Jo-Jen Holsteins, Jo Hess Risser, John Hess, Joy Hess, and Bon nie Hess, and technician Robert Stratton. Not present are representatives from Roy Weaver Farm. , Cooperative Considers Merger From the left, in the front row, Atlantic Breedere Cooperative technician Naaman Stoltzfus present* production awards to Carl Landis, Charles Neff, and Joe Garber. In the back row, from the left, are award recipients Harry Ranck Jr., Parke Ranch Jr., Nevin Hershey, and technician Glenn Geib. er, Zimmerman said that members were assured of a one-member, one-vote procedure in the eventual decision. The amount of member ship vote necessary to carry a referendum one way or the other wasn’t discussed, but should be contained within the cooperative’s bylaws. Prior to giving the full presenta tion, however, Dave Landis, direc tor for District 4, gave a report on the cooperative’s financial state of affairs, which was very good, he said. According to Landis, the cooperative met or exceeded income goals in every area except in member sales because of last year’s severe winter storms. How ever, the budgeted income from member sales was met, and all other sales incomes were strong. At the same time, less was spent on conducting business than was projected and the cooperative experienced additional income from savings. Given that good report, Zim merman said members may be questioning the need for a merger at this time. The answer, Zimmer man said, is that the merger is to position the members of the cooperative for the future, so that the benefits of belonging to a breeding cooperative would not diminish. All three artificial insemination cooperatives have been working together under Federated Gene tics. After talks and discussions about assets and member goals, it more or less has become apparent to some that a merger could well position members from all three From the left, Steve Pallis, Atlantic Breeders Cooperative Unit 7 technician, presents a herd production award to Neil Moyer of Moyers Village Farm, in Dublin, while Todd Gulick, technician coordinator, helps with the presentation. Mr. and Mrs. Ty Long and son receive a production award from Bob Keen, Atlantic Breeders Cooperative technician. cooperatives to continue to do good business, rising sales of cooperative-owned semen to reduce the member-cost of using artificial insemination, allowing competitive operating costs for dairymen and other breeders. “We are looking down the road to compete in an ever-changing dairy industry and AI industry,” Zimmerman said. He said some of the reasons for a merger are to spread the cost of maintaining an adequate AI prog ram, including semen collection, bull aquisitiOn, proving, and mem ber services; maintain existing programs; make it easier to adapt to new technologies; and reduce the overhead of unecessary employees. On this last matter, Zimmerman said that he really didn’t see much of a change for employees of ABC, except that there could be more opportunity to reward outstanding work. Efficiencies in decision-making and operations are also a goal of the merger, however Zimmerman said that ABC is not guilty of duplication of effort within its own organization, but some duplication of effort that occurs between the now-partners under Federated could be eliminated and result in savings. Control of member-business within the proposed merged cooperative would remain with members, as well as would mem bers continue to control coopera tive business with non-members. In explaining how the merger could better position ABC’s mem bers for the future, Zimmerman said that in light of a changing industry and a changing world, and with a trend toward increased herd sizes and a decrease in total cow numbers, along with pressure from sales df imported semen, the mem bers of cooperatives would be bet ter able to remain viable dairy farms. Zimmerman said that the new cooperative would be divided into six major divisions; genetics; semen production; sales and ser vice; member relations, communi cations; finance; and research. (Turn to Pag* AM)
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