Speirs Elected President of DBA; New Officers and Directors Elected

Madison, Wis. – January 16, 2015 – Gordon Speirs was elected as the President of the Dairy Business Association (DBA) at the Annual Business Meeting held January 15, 2015 in conjunction with the first annual Dairy Strong conference January 13-15 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Speirs owns and operates Shiloh Dairy, LLC in Brillion, Wis. with his wife Cathy and their two sons Travis and Tyler. Shiloh Dairy, LLC recently expanded to 2,100 milking cows, but began as a small family operation in Alberta, Canada for 3 generations. With a desire to expand their herd, the Speirs family sold their farm and quota in 2003 and built a new dairy in Brillion. Speirs previously served as Vice President of DBA.

Mike North, President and founder of Commodity Risk Management Group, Inc. in Platteville, Wis. was elected as the new President Elect. In conjunction with this role, he fills one of the three corporate seats on the nine-person DBA Board of Directors. North is the first corporate member to serve as DBA Vice President.

DBA members also elected three new board members: Tom Crave, Crave Brothers Dairy Farm - Waterloo, Wis; Paul Fetzer, Fetzer Farms – Elmwood, Wis. Jennifer Keuning of Conestoga Rovers & Associates in Green Bay, Wis. was reelected as a corporate board member and will continue to serve as board secretary. Crave was elected treasurer.

Retiring from the DBA Board of Directors is former president and long-time board member, Jerry Meissner, Norm-E-Lane Farm, Inc. – Chili, Wis. and Jim Winn, Cottonwood Dairy – South Wayne, Wis. Meissner will continue to serve the DBA in the newly created president emeritus position, which will put his institutional knowledge to good use.

In addition to newly elected officers and board members, other DBA board members currently serving their three-year terms are: Greg Steele, AgStar Financial Services – River Falls, Wis; Jim Ostrom, MilkSource, LLC – Kaukauna, Wis.; Mike Gerrits, Country Aire Farms, LLC – Greenleaf, Wis.; Kevin Solum, Minglewood Dairy – Amherst, Wis.

About DBA

The Dairy Business Association is an industry organization comprised of dairy producers, corporate as well as allied industry supporters. DBA promotes the growth and success of all dairy farms in Wisconsin by fostering a positive business and political environment. For more information about DBA, please visit our website at www.widba.com.

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