A2O-Lancister Farming, Saturday, March 2,1996
AI Cooperatives Approve Merger Proposal
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) —Directors of Atlantic
Breeden Cooperative (ABC) of
Lancaster and Eastern A.I.
Cooperative of Ithaca. N.Y.
announced recently that members
and delegates overwhelmingly
approved a proposal to merge
Atlantic. Eastner. and Louisiana
Animal Breeders Cooperative
(LABC) of Baton Rouge, La., into
a new organization called Cenex
Cooperative, effective April 1.
The proposal also makes Cenex
a subsidiary of Cooperative
Resources International (CRI), a
holding cooperative based on Sha
wano, Wis.
The announcement follows spe
cial votes by members and dele
gates this month.
Atlantic members voted over 85
percent approval at 37 local annu
al meetings held February 5-15.
Eastern delegates met February 26
in Syracuse, N.Y. and voted over
97 percent approval of the propos
al. CRI delegates voted 96 percent
favorable to admit Cenex as a new
subsidiary at recent meetings.
Results of
LABC member voting
will be announced in
March following their
series of special
meetings.
Atlantic. Eastern, and
LABC have worked
together since 1986
through a partnership
known as Federated
Genetics. Federated
markets AI products and
services outside the
partners’ membership
areas to several states
and foreign countries.
CRI is comprised of
subsidiary member
organizations. 21st Cen
tury Genetics at Shawa
no. Noba at Tiffin,
Ohio, and AgSource
Cooperative Services
(formelry Wisconsin
DHI Cooperative) at
Verona, Wis. Federated
partners and CRI sub
sidiaries have been busi
ness associates for more
than a decade. They
offer a combined sire
lineup and jointly
sample color breeds
young sires. In 1995,
Federated partners and
AI subsidiaries of CRI
served some 50,000
dairy and beef farmer
members and an addi
tional 10,000 domestic
customers. Sales totaled
$62.5 million. The com
bined sire programs of
the AI subsidiaries
include nearly 2,000
bulls housed at nine
locations.
“While bigger isn’t
always better, in mature
businesses like those
currently in CRI and the
Cenex partners, CRI has
proven that centralizing
certain functions can
bring about operating
efficiencies,” said Ken
neth Leick, chairman of
the CRI board. “These
efficiencies will be real
ized in several impor
tant areas without sac
rificing product quality
In announcing approval of the
merger plan, the directors said this
decision caps more than three
years of work by a long-range
planning committee of Federated
partners. This committee looked
at ways to meet the cooperative’s
missions for the future in provid
ing members with quality genetics
and service. Their resulting prop
osal keyed on four goals:
• Develop adequate business
size to finance member needs and
research
• Gain better efficiencies in
operations and decision-making
• Tighten control on nonmem
ber marketing to build revenue
• Position the organization to
readily adapt to future changes.
The directors agreed that
actions to form Cenex Coopera
tive and join CRI meet these
goals.
“This restructing is necessary in
today’s changing dairy service
industry to focus on future bene
fits for producers,” said Donald
“Skip” Jensen, Eastern’s board
president and chairman of the
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H FORCE R H
long-range planning committee.
“It’s a bold step that builds on
longstanding relationships to pro
vide a base for further develop
ment and improvement of a broad
range of products and services for
dairymen. We have a healthy mix
of unity and diversity that speaks
of innovation and leadership.”
These actions also offer the
advantages of maintaining current
service personnel and programs,
providing a strong system of local
member representation, and pre
serving members’ equities. Mem
bers of Atlantic, Eastern, and
LABC automatically become
members of Cenex and CRI, and
will elect delegates to serve as loc
al representatives. The delegates
will elect directors for the
13-member Cenex board who, in
turn, will elect four representa
tives to the 11-member CRI board.
Farm services for members will
remain unchanged, the directors
said. Atlantic and Eastern profes
sional AI technicians provide
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reproductive service and manage
ment programs for more than
20,000 dairy and beef fanners in
the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast
states.
The merger plan calls for
Cenex adminstrative offices and
primary production facilities to be
located at Eastern headquarters in
Ithaca. Atlantic’s Lancaster facili
ties will continue to provide sire
housing.
The directors said a transition
period will follow the April 1
effective date to allow for organi
zational changes to be carried out
denex
A tradition of genetic excellence
in an orderly manner.
In addition to announcing the
formation of Genex Cooperative,
directors of Atlantic Breeders
Cooperative and Eastern A.I.
Cooperative introduced the Genex
logo design. It will identify the
new cooperative and its personnel
equipment, [Hinted materials, and
advertising effective April 1.
The name Genex is derived
from genetic excellence, based on
die cooperative’s commitment to
provide members and customers
with the highest quality of sires
available. The stylized “g” sym
bolizes the moment of conception,
when sperm and egg unite, and
refers to Genex’s strong commit
ment to reproductive programs
that increase herd profitability.
The tagline “a tradition of gene
tic excellent” reflects the longs
tanding efforts by partners of
Federated Genetics to improve
dairy herds through superior gene
tics, quality service, and research.
An important part of Genex’s mis
sion is to continue that tradition,
the directors said.
Burgundy has also been
selected as the new AI coopera
tive’s primary color.
mtworms that cause this damage