Evaluators of the Year Named at National Sales Conference
PLAIN CITY, Ohio, Dec. 31, 2001 — Ron Long, vice president,
sire procurement, Select Sires, Marysville, Ohio, and Paul Butler,
Select Sires systems analyst, Hilliard, Ohio, were honored as
Select Mating Service™ (SMS™) evaluators of the year at the
Select Sires national sales conference held in Columbus, Ohio.
This recognition annually is given to individuals who have made
extraordinary contributions to genetic improvement in the dairy
industry through their involvement with SMS, the world’s largest
mating program.
Dairy producers throughout the world have benefited from SMS, a
cattle-mating program Long pioneered. SMS has grown to include
63 professionals who make more than 2 million matings in the United
States alone each year. As the first Select Sires employee to promote
corrective mating to improve herds consistently and practically,
Long was assigned the evaluator number of "1" to accompany all of his matings.
"Without a doubt, Ron Long is the most respected person in the A.I.
business for his cow knowledge," says Lon Peters, manager of SMS and
dairy sire analyst, Select Sires. "He has traveled to all corners of
the world to judge cattle shows, and to discuss genetics and the economic
impact that good corrective-mating programs can have. Ron is a one-in-a-million
individual who is the reason a lot of employees have come to stay at Select Sires."
Long joined Select Sires in 1973 as president of dairy sire procurement. A
past-president of National Dairy Shrine, he also has served the industry as
a member of the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) Standardization
of Type Traits Committee, and the Holstein Association USA Type Advisory Committee
and Genetic Index Committee.
The first person ever to be named an honorary SMS evaluator of the year,
Butler is a 27-year veteran of Select Sires’ computer department who works
behind the scenes. He ensures that the program continues to be valuable for
dairy producers by programming innovative options that are compatible with
various farm-management programs. He has customized SMS systems in 10 different
languages to support the many SMS users around the world.
"While Paul has never evaluated a live cow, he knows how the SMS program
operates better than anyone in the world," says Peters. "He is the
emergency-response person who supports SMS evaluators in the field, which
is why we’ve recognized him with the special evaluator number ‘911.’ Paul
has the most patience of anyone I have ever known, spending countless hours
to ensure we deliver the best corrective-mating service in the industry."
Since 1973, Select Mating Service has provided dairy producers with a
labor-saving, user-friendly approach to mating programs. Professional
SMS evaluators work with herd managers to understand breeding objectives,
evaluate each animal individually, and use research and computerized
analysis to develop matings. In 2001, SMS evaluators made more than 2.5
million mating recommendations as a value-added service for thousands of
herd owners throughout the world.
Based in Plain City, Ohio, Select Sires Inc. is a federation of 10
farmer-owned and controlled cooperatives. It provides highly fertile
semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic
objective of supplying livestock breeders with America’s best genetics
at a reasonable price.
™Select Mating Service and SMS are trademarks of Select Sires Inc.
Copyright 1996-2002 Select Sires Inc. Last updated 2-Jan-2002.
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