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April/May 2008 Issue
Pulling together in 2008
by Darrell Anderson
We just completed our 14th NSR annual meeting, and I was so impressed with the attitudes and positive, forward-thinking approach taken by the various breed boards and the NSR Executive Committee. It’s hard to believe it has been 14 years since the formation of the NSR, but time passes quickly when you’re having fun – and it has been a great ride.
At every annual meeting, the NSR department heads report on the past year’s activities and future plans. As always, several NSR members in attendance said, “This was an awesome meeting, and it is so amazing to hear about all of the NSR’s activities. I wish there were 500 more members here to hear the message.”
For those of you who were unable to attend, below is an “abridged version” of the reports, so you can stay up-to-date.
1) Pedigree Department: Robin Lucas heads up this department and between the various employees involved – they have dedicated more than 80 years of their lives to providing the best pedigree service in the country. They are a tremendously stable force, yet have been visionary regarding new services to offer. More than 20 percent of the litters today are recorded online, and there is tremendous use of the online AI certificates and pedigree search. Robin is currently working on a transfer form for the Web, which I know many of you will appreciate.
2) Communications Department: We have an awesome group assembled in this department under the capable direction of Christy Couch Lee. They have earned several awards through a national competition sponsored by the Livestock Publication Council. In the past four years, the Seedstock EDGE staff has won six first-place awards and four second-place awards. We were also named with the Most Improved Publication in 2004. In 2007, our publication achieved new records – the magazine was up 100 pages from 2006, and nearly 63,000 copies were distributed. This department also manages the NSR Web site, which received a record number of 9.5 million hits in 2007.
3) Junior Department: Jennifer Shike has provided the leadership for this incredibly fast-growing youth organization from its very meager beginnings, and is now joined by Katey Brattain as the new Junior Activities Coordinator and Kade Hummel, who dedicates roughly half of his time to junior activities. I am proud to report that I truly believe this is the best junior program staff assembled in the livestock industry. If you don’t believe me, study the numbers – NJSA has been the fastest-growing youth organization in animal agriculture in the past several years. From an ambitious group of 400 members in 2000, we now have more than 10,000 members representing every state. This has been possible because of an awesome group of NSR and industry supporters – a total of 397 of you contributed nearly $300,000 in cash and products in 2007. There are always new developments with this group, so stay tuned for 2008!
4) Commercial Services: Although Dr. Clint Schwab has been on board for only three months, he already has his plate full with an eager group of advisory committee members keeping him busy. Clint has already released a new EPD for feed efficiency – a trait highly sought after with the current industry situation. He also has encouraged more participation in the NSR Pork Quality Alliance program and oversees the DNA program. We now have DNA stored on more than 15,000 sires, which is an incredibly valuable resource as new DNA markers are discovered. He also unveiled the first sire sampling program that NSR commercial breeders are excited about as they identify new sires and increase their connectivity between herds.
5) Shows/Sales: Mike Paul serves as vice president of operations, and under his direction, the field staff does a great job assisting our members throughout the country. In 2007, they made 651 herd visits and spent 245 days at shows and other events. They worked 109 sales and spent 140 days assisting breeders with their Seedstock EDGE advertising. They spent countless hours on the phone and many nights away from the comfort of their homes. At our national events, we sold 1,860 head of hogs for our members for a total of $2,358,640.
A quote on my office wall reads, “The challenge for every organization is to build a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another... because the question is usually not how well each person works, but how well they work together.”
It is more important than ever for all of us to “pull together” in 2008!
