AgSource Cooperative Services held its annual meeting in Bloomington, Minn., on January 27, 2016. Ralph Levzow of Rio, Wis., was recognized for nine years of service on the board, while John Utecht of Marathon, Wis., was thanked for twelve years of service. Sam Zimmermann of Ringle, Wis., was elected to fill Utecht's seat in the North Central district. Bob Prahl of Wausau, Wis., filled the at-large position vacated by Levzow. AgSource delegates re-elected Daniel Diederich of DePere, Wis., to another three year term on the board. Zimmermann and his wife, Jenn, own and operate a 185 cow dairy and manage 500 acres of owned and rented land. He currently serves on the Marathon County DHI Board, is the secretary of the Marathon County Holstein Breeders and is a past Marathon County Farm Bureau director.
Prahl and his wife, Mary Jo, along with son Ryan and daughter-in-law Lindsey are the fourth and fifth generations to operate the family farm, milking 145 cows, managing 280 crop acres and an additional 40 acres of managed woodland. Prahl is the Vice President of the Marathon County DHI Board. He has also served on the Foremost Farms, Genex, Farm Credit and Dairyland State Academy Foundation Boards.
Diederich's wife, Sarah, is a veterinarian with Northwoods Veterinary Service. He, along with his parents, Raymond and Debra, is manager and co-owner of Diederich Farm LLC, where they milk 300 cows with robots and operate 400 acres, growing wheat corn and alfalfa. He also serves as Chairman of the Eastern Wisconsin DHIC board, is an active member of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and is an adult leader in the local Boy Scout Troop.
At its reorganizational meeting, the AgSource Board of Directors re-elected Diederich as President, Annette Trescher of Cashton as Vice President and Matt Gartman of Sheboygan as Secretary. Diederich and Trescher will also represent AgSource on the Cooperative Resources International (CRI) Board of Directors.
In addition to Trescher and Gartman, directors whose seats were not up for re-election included Gordon Schmidt of Gaylord, Minn., Daniel Nodolf of Belmont, Wis., Edward Strauss of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., and David Koepke of Hartland, Wis. John Shutzke, representing University of Wisconsin-Extension, serves as an Ex Officio member of the board.
"AgSource is a member-driven, member-governed cooperative. Delegate input and strong board leadership assure that we deliver on our promise to provide valuable information and innovative solutions to improve decisions and profitability of our members and customers," states Pat Baier, AgSource Chief Operating Officer. "Our board members represent diverse dairy herd management practices, which helps us remain relevant to all who utilize our herd management information."
AgSource is the largest, full-service DHI provider in the country, conducting research and development, field data collection, laboratory analysis and diagnostics, management information, meter service and outreach and education. AgSource is a member-owned cooperative and a subsidiary of Cooperative Resources International. Learn more at http://www.AgSource.com.
3.8.2016
