Select Sire Power & Southeast Select Sires Inc., two of the member co-operatives that make up Select Sires, announce merger.
The Select Sire Power, Inc. and Southeast Select Sires, Inc. boards of directors held their first joint meeting on Oct. 4 to discuss details of their upcoming merger and to announce the new cooperative’s name and logo. The organizations will complete the 2018 fiscal year as two separate entities, then will combine forces effective Jan. 1, 2019 as a new cooperative called Premier Select Sires, Inc.
Premier Select Sires will combine the territories of the two previous cooperatives, covering a total of 23 states. The same specialists who currently serve beef and dairy customers will continue to support their local member-owners, only as part of a larger team with a wider network of in-house support. Employees will be able to share efficiencies and better utilize skills, creating more opportunities to benefit customers.
“Premier Select Sires is the result of combining two financially strong cooperatives in order to benefit both memberships with pooled resources. We look forward to working together to continue to be the Premier genetic provider,” said Tim Riley, General Manager of Southeast Select Sires.
Although the merger was publicly announced at the World Dairy Expo, this decision has been in progress for several months while both parties carefully considered the merger. Because of an aligned set of strengths and goals, the boards of Select Sire Power and Southeast Select Sires unanimously approved the affiliation agreement on July 11 and July 24, respectively. Board presidents James Cook of Select Sire Power and John Edd Harris of Southeast Select Sires made an official internal announcement on July 25. Each cooperative is now preparing for the transition.
“This is a very exciting time for both organizations and we look forward to charting a successful future together. The larger cooperative will allow us to provide greater diversity of products and services to meet the modern needs of beef and dairy producers throughout our territory,” said Mark Carpenter, General Manager of Select Sire Power and future CEO of Premier Select Sires.
Both Select Sire Power and Southeast Select Sires are part of nine member cooperatives that form Select Sires, Inc., North America’s largest and most successful AI company. The cooperatives are committed to helping their member-owners to be more successful. Dairy and beef cattle owners trust Select Sire Power and Southeast Select Sires to deliver all of their genetic and reproductive needs.