Pioneer Award 2021
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andy Nigh was selected as the 2021 Pioneer Award recipient. Randy served on the East Central-Select Sires board of directors for a total of 32 years between 1980 – 2019. During his tenure he served as president for seven years and vice president for two. Additionally, Randy served as a director on the Select Sires board and was a member of the Holstein Sire committee. Randy has been actively involved in his community and dairy industry including roles with National Holstein Association, Vernon County Holstein, Township, and Viroqua FFA. A family operation, Randy, and brother Robert own Lirr Farm. Nephew, Ryan Nigh and his wife Kelsey work with the dairy, while nephew Brady Nigh assists with the crops. Located in Viroqua, Wisconsin, Lirr Farm is a 1,000-acre dairy, beef and cash crop farm. In the genetics world Lirr Farm is known for being the breeder of 7HO9264 Lirr Drew DEMPSEY, a Select Sires Showcase™ Selections sire. DEMPSEY sired daughters that breeders loved, earning global recognition for making champions. At the time of his death in 2019, DEMPSEY had sired more than 38,700 daughters worldwide with lifetime total sales of more than 593,452 units of semen, ranking him as the second highest lifetime sales Showcase Selections sire. The farms’ passion for registered Holsteins runs deep. To date, Lirr Farm has earned the Holstein Association’s Progressive Breeder Award for 20 years and the Progressive Genetics Award for 30.
The CentralStar Pioneer Award was established in 1977 to recognize individuals who, through unselfish and dedicated service as leaders, have provided the Cooperative and its members greater prosperity today and a more secure tomorrow.
We recently talked with Randy about his experiences with the Cooperative and here’s what he had to share. Why did you get involved in the Cooperative? I was keen on genetics to make my herd as genetically superior as possible through sire selection. I originally worked with Tri-State Breeders but identified and was using a few Select Sires bulls early on. At the time East Central received marketing rights for Select Sires in my county, I was encouraged to apply for a position on the board, and I was successfully elected. Now with Accelerated Genetics and Select Sires as one company you could say I’ve been full circle with this organization. What contributions as a board member did you make that brought value to customers and members? During my time on the board, we added diversified products, tailchalk service, reproduction analysis and implemented a variety of technologies, with the mating program and in the office, to improve efficiencies. Regarding diversified products, we added them because of economics. We had a built-in delivery system with people already going to farms, and we felt the products would be beneficial to our members. I was on the board at the time NorthStar and East Central merged. Adding the services NorthStar already had in place, like DHI and diagnostic testing, allowed us to bring more value to members. These, along with the research and development NorthStar was already doing was something we wanted our members to be a part of. Why is it important to be involved in the Cooperative? The cooperative principle is unique where you have the opportunity for involvement and share in the rewards that are generated. I believe the cooperative structure still works today. While it can be a bit cumbersome at times, it forces the organization to be deliberate in their decisions. Cooperatives are most successful when they have a diverse group on the board. Everyone has their own personal experiences that shape their thoughts and beliefs. When you mesh all those experiences together it creates an opportunity for success.
CentralStar Cooperative
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