The Select Sires Inc. board of directors has selected Myron Czech of Little Falls, Minn., to the position of board chairman, succeeding Johnny Daniel, Charlotte, Tenn. The board also elected first vice chairman, Dan Andreas, of Sugarcreek, Ohio and second vice chairwoman, Dorothy Harms, of Reedsburg, Wis. Select Sires' board of directors met on March 20 and 21, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio, in conjunction with Select Sires' Annual Meeting.
Select Sires logo
New Chairman Myron Czech, had previously served as first and second vice chairman on the Select Sires board. He has served on the board of directors for Select Sires since 1998 and has served on the Minnesota/Select Sires Cooperative board of directors for 22 years. Additionally, he served as president for the cooperative's board from 1998 to 2001. Following his college graduation from the University of Minnesota, Czech returned to his home dairy where they milked approximately 90 cows in 1980. Since that time Czech, his wife, Deb, and their children have built their herd to milk over 1,900 Holsteins in central Minnesota. In 2009, Czech was recognized as the first recipient of the Gopher Dairy Club's Golden Graduate Award, an award that recognizes University of Minnesota alumni.

First Vice Chairman Dan Andreas was appointed to Select Sires' board in 2007. He has served on the COBA/Select Sires board of directors since 2002. Andreas and his son, Matthew, operate Andreas Farms in Sugarcreek, Ohio. The herd has grown from 180 dairy cows in 1978 to nearly 1,500 Holsteins today. Andreas is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he earned three degrees within the education and animal science departments.

The new second vice chairwoman is Dorothy Harms. She has served on the Select Sires' board since 2010 and the East Central/Select Sires board since 2002, where she served as secretary for nine years. Following graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an agribusiness management degree in 1981, Harms and her husband, Don, have been operating Valley Springs Farm in Reedsburg, Wis., which has been in the Harms family for 135 years. Currently, they milk 60 Holstein cows and raise replacement heifers. The Harms' main focus is production and type, and they have incorporated Red and White genetics into half of their herd.

The complete slate of board members includes: Pete DeGroot, Fresno, Calif.; Randy Kortus, Lynden, Wash.; Walt Stornetta, Manchester, Calif.; Dan Andreas, Sugar Creek, Ohio; Tom Fleming, Harrod, Ohio; Chad Steinberger, Windthorst, Texas; Dorothy Harms, Reedsburg, Wis.; Myron Czech, Little Falls, Minn.; Dick Piechowski, Waupaca, Wis.; Mike Heckaman, Argos, Ind.; Bruce Epley, Waverly, Iowa; Johnny Daniel, Charlotte, Tenn.; Wynn Gibbons, Lewiston, Utah; Duane Koester, Wadesville, Ind.; Dr. Mark Tatarka, Bozeman, Mont.; Steve Craun, Bridgewater, Va.; Dr. Robert Cruikshank, Ogdensburg, N.Y. and Leigh Lane, Blanch, N.C.

Committees meet and employees honored
At the Select Sires Annual Meeting, the Holstein and Jersey sire committees met to discuss the direction of future sire acquisitions. Customer-owners and employees from each of the nine member cooperatives also participated in the Annual Meeting and a number of other committees. At the employee awards program 30 employees were honored for nearly 500 years total service to Select Sires Inc.

Based in Plain City, Ohio, Select Sires Inc. is North America's largest A.I. organization and is comprised of nine farmer-owned and -controlled cooperatives. As the industry leader, it provides highly fertile semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic objective of supplying dairy and beef producers with North America's best genetics at a reasonable price.

03.28.2013