What is GENEX? The Annual Meeting Version

By Terri Dallas, Vice President of Member Relations

The 2019 GENEX annual meeting held Jan. 22-23 in Bloomington, Minnesota, was a perfect example of what GENEX is and what GENEX stands for.

The annual meeting is about dairy and beef producers. It’s about cooperative members, delegates and alternates. It’s about sharing the results of the previous year and plans for the future. It’s about providing input and making a difference. It’s also about talking to farmers from all over the USA with the same challenges. It’s about making new friends and visiting with old friends. It’s about sitting back, relaxing, laughing and having fun. And yet, it’s more. It’s about being a cooperative. It’s what GENEX is.

It’s hard to talk about the annual meeting and not reflect on the quality of the breakout sessions and speakers. In a presentation by Paul Hunt, Chief Operating Officer of URUS Operations, delegates and alternates got a glimpse of the strategies, structures and plans to ensure URUS generates the genetic products GENEX needs to be an industry leader.

Luncheon speaker Amberley Snyder brought the crowd to their feet at the conclusion of her very timely and touching talk, “There is No Future in Giving Up.”

Delegates and alternates also had the chance to visit with GENEX product experts about some of the reliable Herd Care Line products such as the renowned RumiLife® CAL24™ nutritional supplement and new products UdderLife™ OptiShield™ teat sealant and ReMOOV™ horn paste.

The annual meeting provided delegates the opportunity to learn from Herd Care Line Manager Kurt Jochimsen about the array of new herd care line products from GENEX.

Your cooperative is proud to be known for innovation through the development of many industry firsts. Annual meeting attendees got an in-depth look at some of the newest GENEX ideas, including the GENEX Dairy Bull Search app (the talk of the industry), updates to the Ideal Commercial Cow™ (ICC$™) index and how this cooperative is assisting producers in strategic breeding through the Beef x Dairy program.

Joe Binversie, GENEX Value Added Programs Manager, shared with delegates the current features of the GENEX Dairy Bull Search app and future capabilities as the app continues to evolve.

Thank you to the GENEX delegates and alternates for their service to the cooperative. As member-elected delegates, one of their duties at the annual meeting was to caucus with others from their membership region and elect their GENEX council member. There was ample time to provide input on GENEX membership appreciation meetings and fall delegate meetings as well.

Delegates attending the annual meeting showed high interest in the Beef x Dairy program, as Dairy Marketing Manager Leah James shared the traits and characteristics beef bulls must possess to create the most profitable terminal cross calves.

For many, the highlight of the GENEX annual meeting was the presentation by Michael Sleeper, GENEX Associate Vice President of International Beef Marketing. The presentation took attendees through his 40-year journey in global A.I. Michael’s talk captured the attention of many who had relied on GENEX and its predecessors for semen and services because it was high quality and affordable – just as you’d expect from a cooperative.

Quality. Reliable. Innovation. Service. Affordable. Cooperative. In his address to the delegate body during the annual meeting, GENEX council President John Ruedinger expressed his optimism for the future of GENEX. “If we hold fast to what GENEX is, then GENEX will be here for the next generation of producers. We will remain relevant to members by asking for their feedback and responding to their needs, and we will ensure the next generation of producers is involved in and driving their cooperative’s future.”

What is GENEX? GENEX is your cooperative.