East Central/Select Sires and NorthStar Cooperative, both who have been serving farmers for over 70 years, partnered to support the Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center with a $100,000 gift. This remarkable, collaborative, lead gift was celebrated at WAEC’s Create. Cultivate. Educate. capital campaign kickoff event where the center’s leadership announced their $13 million goal.
“Since 1940, East Central/Select Sires has been breaking ground in artificial insemination advancements to best serve the dairy producers in our region. Past leaders were visionaries and knew innovation based in science would be important to both the prosperity of the agricultural community and also consumers,” stated Al Deming, East Central General Manager, “WAEC is another platform for us to share the historic role our work plays in the greater agricultural industry and better inform the public on why these continued advancements are critical to our future.”
Mark Adam, NorthStar Cooperative General Manager and Executive Vice President added, “We invest in lifelong learning opportunities for our employees and producer-owners. As a core value of NorthStar Cooperative, we are proud to invest in the educational experience at WAEC. Partnerships like this have been our tradition since inception in 1944 and will continue to be for many years to come.”
In recognition of East Central/Select Sires and NorthStar Cooperative’s lead gift, the corridor to the Land O’Lakes Birthing Barn will be named in their honor. This passageway will direct visitors to a show-stopping, awe-inspiring educational experience of witnessing the birth of a calf – a birth that can be credited to advancements in agricultural genetics, which are vital to feeding the world.
Courtney Booth, WAEC Campaign Cabinet Co-Chair, shared, “East Central/Select Sires and NorthStar Cooperative are well-respected, generous industry leaders. They are committed to helping to lead the agriculture industry forward with technology advancements and by investing in education through youth development programs and industry related trainings and conferences. I am very proud of how our shared commitments will help create a meaningful experience for future visitors of WAEC.”
“Thank you to East Central/Select Sires and NorthStar Cooperative for your support. We are so excited to count these industry leaders among our top donors to our capital campaign,” Melissa Bender, WAEC Executive Director, gratefully expressed, “WAEC hopes to celebrate educating the public for over 70 years someday and this leadership investment helps make that possible.”
More on East Central/Select Sires:
Back in 1940, when four county agents and various breeders began efforts to create what was then called East Central Breeders Association Cooperative, not much was known about artificial insemination (A.I). Over the years East Central became a leader in the industry. A few more than 5,800 cows were bred in the first year of East Central’s existence. During the 2015-2016 fiscal year, East Central/Select Sires recorded 418,444 A.I. services in their southern-Wisconsin territory. Today, they are celebrating 75 years as a successful cooperative.
More on NorthStar Cooperative:
Originally established as an A.I. Cooperative to serve the needs of Michigan dairymen, NorthStar has grown into a leader in delivering integrated products and services to over 6,000 dairy and beef producers in Michigan, Indiana and northern Wisconsin. Along with Select Sires genetics, NorthStar offers reproduction services, genetic consulting, DHI services, electronic and herd health monitoring systems, as well as diagnostic testing for production, health and disease traits. To deliver further on the Cooperative’s mission, NorthStar developed their own research team, Antel BioSystems (AntelBio), which is dedicated to developing innovative diagnostic solutions for the animal industry.
Headquartered in Lansing, Michigan; NorthStar also has diagnostic lab facilities in Grand Ledge, Michigan and Appleton, Wisconsin. NorthStar has a comprehensive field service staff with more than 250 employees delivering on the cooperative’s mission to “enhance producer profitability through integrated services.”
More about the Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center:
The Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center will be a state-of-the-art agricultural education center located in Manitowoc County. It will provide visitors with the opportunity to connect to the industry by better understanding where their food comes from, and why agriculture is so important to them. The center will include a discovery center that features hands-on learning opportunities through many displays, and an opportunity to tour Grotegut Dairy Farm, which focuses on sustainability and best farming practices while milking 2,400 cows three times a day. A highlight for visitors will be the chance to view the birth of calves from the Grotegut Dairy Farm at the Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center Birthing Barn.
For more information contact Melissa Bender, 1290 North Avenue, Cleveland, WI 53015, at 920.693.1372 (office) or 920.946.9384 (cell) or at [email protected]