The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Select Sires Member Cooperative (SSMC) becoming one cooperative was the directive given by its farmer lead Board of Directors. Business for the newly formed cooperative was intense with change and ripe with opportunity in 2024. SSMC, which merged four cooperatives into one in the fourth quarter of 2023, underwent a multitude of performance boosting changes. The support by our members and the resilience and dedication of the employees yielded a more than doubling of income from operations from prior year and almost immediate impact of merger savings. Those results provided the opportunity to immediately credit back to our members $556,000 in semen purchase rebates, redeem prior owed patronage as required and pay the cash portion of 2024 patronage. “Equally rewarding was our Board providing a Success Share bonus to all our valued full-time employees.”

Those results don’t happen without extreme resilience of our team committing to change and becoming one. Specifically, we achieved great gains in the alignment of business processes brought more focus to targeted business goals and aligned and clarified job responsibilities all while maintaining the robust relationships forged with over 5,200 member-owners. “We are enhancing our business model to exceed our member needs by adjusting to their purchase preferences and investing in our people. With this investment our team can exceed member expectations by creating the most profitable outcomes now and in the future.” comments Chris Sigurdson, chief executive officer.

Learning from the individual success of the four previous cooperatives and developing a merged approach for our go to market strategy, business systems, fleet services, employee benefits, order fulfillment and distribution, and marketing communications/brand awareness in the marketplace has yielded challenges but significant progress for the team. Cross functional teams in core segments of the business have taken these challenges head on and are leading us to new levels of performance. As an example, the launch of the ProTECH, our program for development and skills enhancement of the professional artificial insemination technicians, is the direct result of the combination of ideas and teamwork.

The full financial impact of the merger will be several years in review. However, being able to make profits at the level achieved in the first year of a merger of this magnitude is commendable and a bit surprising according to the cooperatives outside auditing firm. Board president Chad Steinberger notes

“Our industry is evolving rapidly. The team at SSMC has risen to the challenge and we appreciate their effort.” Expanded service offering, extensive genetic offering and highly trained personnel make doing business with SSMC a profitable solution for dairy and beef producers throughout the territory.

Select Sires Member Cooperative serves 27 states and the country of Mexico by delivering excellence in personalized service, quality offerings and cattle genetics. We are committed to expanding knowledge and providing professional development opportunities for our team. This promise ensures the highest quality service to our members-owners while enhancing our team’s growth and experience. Select Sires Member Cooperative operates as a true cooperative while striving to inspire the excellence of producers, herds and our communities.