133rd Annual Meeting – 2018
Acme, Michigan
CEO John M. Meyer
Welcome ladies and gentlemen, thanks for being here. This certainly is a wonderful venue for a convention, and I hope all of you are enjoying Michigan as much as my wife, Vicki, and I are. Let’s thank the Michigan Holstein Association for the super event they’re putting on, by joining me with your show of appreciation and thanks.
Thanks to all of you, 2017 was another record breaker for the Holstein Association USA! As members, you set an all-time record by officially identifying 742,910 Holsteins! This is an increase of eight percent or 52,357 over the previous record set in 2016!
This outstanding increase is a result of growth in both traditional registrations, and basic identifications.
Holstein COMPLETE enrollment in 2017 totaled 342,047, an increase of 3,584 animals, or one percent when compared to 2016. For those of you new to the Holstein Association, Holstein COMPLETE is a convenient package which integrates membership, registration, classification, mating information, pedigrees, production records, and genetic reports.
If you are not enrolled in Holstein COMPLETE already, just see one of the Team Holstein members here in attendance this week, and we’ll see to it you get enrolled.
Your Association’s Dairy Records Processing Center, AgriTech Analytics (ATA) in Visalia, California, had a fantastic year! They processed 929, 342 cow records. This represents an increase of 9,968 records.
ATA is the only dairy records processing organization that increased the number of cow records processed in 2017. The other three dairy records processing centers losses ranged from 1,618 cow records to a decrease of 24,564 records.
If your records are not currently being processed by ATA, do know that you have a choice, and we encourage you to talk to your Holstein Association Regional Sales Representative or Bill VerBoort from ATA who can assist you in doing so.
In my estimation, one of the most noteworthy endeavors the Holstein Association has ever embarked on happened in 2017, and that is the implementation of its National Research Grant Program. Our grant program solicits proposals to improve the profitability and better understand the Holstein cow.
The Research Grant Program was made public in June. Interest was high, as 22 research proposals were received from 16 universities across the U.S. in just our first year. All research proposals contain sound science and anticipated outcomes to benefit Holstein profitability.
In November, your Board of Directors approved funding for the top genetics research project received, which is being led by Dr. Christian Maltecca of North Carolina State University. Results from this one-year project are expected to help Holstein breeders make better breeding decisions through a more thorough understanding of inbreeding.
As further background, in 2014, the Board of Directors approved that a portion of reserve fund money can be used annually for breed improvement and research. Keeping with that, $79,867 will be used from the reserve fund for Dr. Maltecca’s project. You will be provided an update on the research project during our meeting tomorrow morning.
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Although the dairy community had its share of challenges in 2017, there are reasons to celebrate. First and foremost is the power of cheese!
Per capita cheese consumption in the U.S. is now 37 pounds per year, the highest since the USDA started tracking it more than 40 years ago. The increase in Americans’ appetite for cheese is evidenced by the fact that 9.8 out of 10 U.S. households regularly purchase cheese.
Recently, artisan cheeses landed on the National Restaurant Association’s list of twenty food trends that are closest to consumers’ hearts and stomachs. According to the February 2018 issue of Successful Farming magazine, the ranking, “Makes it official: Cheese is Cool!”
U.S. dairy foods are recognized around the world for their high quality. Strong overseas demand for milk powder, whey and cheese, led the way to a 14 percent jump in U.S. dairy exports in 2017!
In 2017, the DAIRY PRIDE Act was introduced by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to combat the unfair practice of mislabeling non-dairy products. Additionally, Congressman Welch of Vermont introduced a similar bill in the House. You’ll hear more about the Holstein Association’s involvement in that legislation later in the meeting.
We’re also becoming smarter on the way in which we market and sell fluid milk. Here is an example of the way I believe milk should be labeled and promoted.
As you can see, this bottle of milk clearly points out that it contains 16 grams of protein per bottle! I was so impressed with this milk and bottle I wanted to be sure to show it to you.
If your milk is going to the fluid market, and it isn’t being labeled as a high protein drink like this one is, I suggest you talk to cooperative leaders to encourage them to start doing so.
The power of Holstein dairy cattle genetics has never been more obvious than it is today.
For example, nine out of the top 20 Jersey proven bulls listed on the April 2018 Hoard’s Dairyman JPI Jersey Bull List are the result of Holsteins being crossed on Jerseys. Furthermore, 22 of the top 27 Jersey genomic young sires have Holstein influence in their pedigrees.
The top Jersey bull listed in the April evaluation for the Jersey breed is a Holstein crossbred. The old adage is true, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
Make no mistake, the Holstein cow is the most iconic symbol in all of agriculture and the U.S. Registered Holstein is the most coveted dairy animal in the world. This week, let’s celebrate our beloved cow and the great people who own her!
Thank you!
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