Fall/Winter 2020
Premier Select Sires will award up to $20,000 to students within the Premier territory through the 2021 Premier Future Ag Leaders Scholarship Program. Two exemplary students will receive $2,500 scholarships through either the Johnny Daniel Memorial Scholarship or the Wayne Dudley Scholarship. Several other students will receive scholarships of $750-$1,000 in value. Scholarship application forms will be available beginning November 16, 2020 under the “News” tab of www.premierselectsires.com, by calling (570) 836-3168, or by emailing office@premierselect.com. Completed scholarship applications are due January 31, 2021. Eligible students include high school seniors through college seniors presently enrolled or planning to enroll in
IN THIS EDITION:
an undergraduate agriculture-related major. The student or his/her parent or guardian must reside in the Premier membership area and must be an active Premier customer in good standing. Previous scholarship winners remain eligible during subsequent award years; however, a student can only receive a $2,500 scholarship once in his/her school career. The Premier Future Ag Leaders Scholarship Program provides financial support to eligible college undergraduates in agricultural majors. The program provides additional return to the cooperative’s member-owners by supporting the next generation of young people desiring to study and work in the agriculture industry. The Premier Select Sires, Inc. board of directors has made a commitment to providing money to support this scholarship program on an ongoing annual basis.
Premier Future Ag Leaders Scholarship........................................ 1 Message from the CEO................................................................... 2 Actionable Analytics........................................................................ 3 Mycotoxins – The Silent Thief......................................................... 4 Accel Ensile+ Pre-Booking Program............................................. 5 Premier Owners’ Voice.................................................................... 6 A Great Journey: David Patrick Retires After 65 Years.................. 8 Zoetis Inherit................................................................................... 10 CowManager Launches New Nutrition Module............................... 11 New Select Sires Mobile App.......................................................... 12
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MESSAGE FROM THE CEO Mark Carpenter
Is there anything else hiding around the corner in 2020? It would be nice to say that we’ve filled the last page of the book but as I finish writing this piece on the morning of November 3rd…I am confident that 2020 has a few more chapters left before it concludes. 2020 has challenged us to rethink much of what we’ve spent a generation learning. Many areas that were once predictable are no longer, and normal has become anything but. One thing for sure is that we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and others through these challenges. We sharpened our approach to see more clearly what is important and what is not, and we’ve identified areas in which we need to be better. Many of us will emerge from 2020 as better versions of ourselves. Premier has listened closely and has adapted to what our members have told us is important to them and in how we service their individual operations. While Premier serves members in many different ways, the one thing that remains consistent is the appreciation for our high-quality people to serve as a trusted partner. This is Premier’s greatest strength and it sets us apart from any other provider in our space.
technology to create full Angus calves to diversify your market and maximize supply chain value in those calves? Is it sitting down with your Premier representative to dig through the multitude of data available to pinpoint exactly what you need to reach your goals? Let’s not forget about those milking replacements and properly establishing inventory protocols for generating the right quantity and quality replacements. For those traditional beef herds is it exploring new technologies in genetic testing such as INHERIT Select™, synchronized AI, and source verification to create more marketing value with all the cross calves entering the market? Maybe it’s investing in a modern heat detection technology such as CowManager®, which features health and nutrition modules to improve conception, reduce the frequency of treatments and antibiotics, and prevent periods of decreased productivity through targeted early identification of problems. There are a lot of strategies out there and not every one is right for every operation. Premier remains proud to be that source of highly committed and talented professionals that will work together with you as your trusted partner. Your cooperative has the tools both internally as well as through strategic partnerships with Zoetis, Simplot, CowManger, Agrarian Solutions, TD Beef, and many others. Please make sure you are taking advantage of all that your cooperative has to offer.
No longer is the future of breeding as simple as making a genetic selection. Instead it comes down more to the strategy or goal to which that genetic decision needs to yield. Is it more targeted gender SELECTED™ choice through genomic testing? Is it creating higher quality meat through cross calves? Is it utilizing embryo ® gender SELECTED is a trademark of Select Sires Inc.
FIND THE SEMEN STRAW for a chance to WIN a special Premier Select Sires prize! 1. Find this semen straw hidden somewhere in the newsletter (hidden straw may be smaller than the one shown here) 2. Go to www.PremierSelectSires.com and click the“Newsletter Contest” button on the home page 3. Tell us where you found the straw to enter the drawing! You may also send your submission in the mail. Write us a note including the following information: your name, account #, address, and where you found the semen straw. Mail it to the following address for a chance to WIN!
Premier Select Sires Newsletter Contest Attn. Laura Williams 1 Stony Mountain Road Tunkhannock, PA 18657
Responses must be submitted by December 28, 2020
CONGRATS! Congratulations to Eric Meitzler, winner of the Summer 2020 semen straw contest! The semen straw was in a photo on page 10, above Mitzi the cow.
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ACTIONABLE ANALYTICS By Kirk Sattazahn, Vice President of Marketing & Development Today more than ever, you have lots of data coming at you. As soon as you arise, you can see the weather forecast, know who won the ball game last night, and check commodity futures all from your smartphone and all before you get out of bed. In some cases, the data is important to make smart decisions like getting the weather on a day when you might be chopping corn silage. In other cases, the data is just noise - like having the news page from your smartphone tell you it is a celebrity’s birthday today. Chances are that would not be anything you would be interested in and you definitely would not change your course of action for the day. With so much data available to us on our farms today, how do we decide what is valuable and what is not? In some cases, experience is our guide, we know that we had a bad experience with locking in a commodity price one time, so we seek out data that helps us from repeating that same mistake. In other instances, we get data
but have no experience working with it. It is during those times we need to reach out to others for help. The key is identifying what we want to act on and then seeking the data to help us make a smart decision in acting. Too often the opposite occurs – we get data and then think we have to take action. Making smart breeding decisions with your herd is no different. Many of us know that the more traits we select for in our breeding strategies, the less progress we make on any one trait. The genomic era has given us more data than at any time in our history, so we must be even more focused in selecting the data we use to act. It is also why using an index or consulting with a professional has again gained popularity with our breeding decisions. If you are a dairy producer looking to maximize your profit with sellable milk, you could select a blend of production traits and health traits to do that. Interestingly, you would find that the easier, more complete decision
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Even with an index, there are a multitude of options available. To identify the one that works best for your goals, work with a Premier professional.
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would be to just utilize an index like Dairy Wellness Profit® (DWP$®) from Zoetis. Researchers have already compared results from animals ranking high in that index and the results support additional profit, so the work has been done for you. Even with an index, there are a multitude of options available. To identify the one that works best for your goals, work with a Premier professional. The beef and dairy specialists at Premier have experience working with the indices and the data that forms the index. Your Premier rep is glad to help you and they also have other teammates that will assist in making smart decisions. Again, the key is identifying your goal and then analyzing the data to act on in achieving that goal. There is plenty of data out there and most of it will be baffling or of no use, work with your Premier professional to identify the data that truly is relevant to achieving your goals.
®Dairy Wellness Profit Index and DWP$ are registered trademarks of Zoetis Inc., its affiliates and/or licensors.
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Product Talk
MYCOTOXINS – THE SILENT THIEF By Jeff Hostetter, Product Manager
At Premier, we always strive to help you optimize the production and profitability of your herds. Good nutrition is a huge factor in determining how efficient and productive your cattle can be. However, a good ration on paper can be sabotaged by a silent thief called mycotoxins.
Select DTXTM is a great tool to protect your cattle from these profit-robbing toxins. Mycotoxins are poisonous metabolites produced by molds and fungi (that may not be visible) in fields and during storage of forages and grains. They cause problems to beef and dairy cattle in 3 general categories: • A reduction in nutrients available • Effects to the reproduction system • Suppression of the immune system We can use strategies like crop rotation and corn hybrids high in health traits, but totally eliminating mycotoxins is next to impossible.
The first step in combatting the challenge of mycotoxins is testing. Premier offers free mycotoxin testing for 17 different mycotoxins using the LC-MSMS method, the gold standard in toxin analysis.
3. Binders often require higher feeding rates, often 2 to 4 oz., especially when toxin levels are high. DTX is fed at ½
Once we know the amount and types of toxins, we can formulate a plan to limit their negative effects. For years binders have been known as the only way to minimize the effects of toxins. But binders have severe limitations:
Achieving a quick and complete fermentation will not detoxify mycotoxins, but it will stop their growth after feeds are in storage. A quality, researchproven inoculant will help ensure a good fermentation.
1. They use a chemical approach to bind mycotoxins that all have different chemical structures. They may work on Alflatoxin but not Vomitoxin, a common toxin in the eastern US. This makes
them very toxin specific as opposed to the broad-spectrum, biological approach of DTX. 2. Binders can bind essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals, rendering them unusable to the cow. DTX inhibits and
limits mycotoxin absorption by activating a natural system within the cow’s intestinal epithelium.
oz/head/day, making it an economical alternative.
Accel Ensile+ is a premium lactic acid based inoculant that provides 150,000 CFU’s of microbes per gram of forage. With an advanced enzyme package, it also improves the digestibility of fiber.
Protect your feed and your cattle from the negative effects of mycotoxins. Ask your Premier Select Sires representative for details about prebooking Accel Ensile+, testing for mycotoxins, or incorporating DTX into your feeding program!
Map Source: May - September 2020 Agrarian Solutions Mycotoxin Report. Most states in white had very few samples submitted. TM Select DTX is a trademark of Select Sires Inc. Buyer assumes all responsibility for use, storage and handling of this product. All claims, representations and warranties, expressed or implied, are made only by the company responsible for manufacturing and not by Select Sires Inc., its member cooperatives, its agents or employees. Select DTX is manufactured for Select Sires Inc, 11740 US 42N, Plain City, OH 43064
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*Accel Ensile+ Guaranteed Analysis: Bacteria Species: Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus Acidilactici, and Pediococcus pentosaceus total microbial activity not less than 136.5 billion CFU*/g which equates to 150,000 CFU*/g of forage.1Michigan State University 2University of Kentucky. Buyer assumes all responsibility for use, storage and handling of this product. All claims, representations and warranties, expressed or implied, are made only by the company responsible for manufacturing and not by Select Sires Inc., its member cooperatives, its agents or employees. Accel Ensile+ is manufactured for Select Sires Inc, 11740 US 42N, Plain City, OH 43064.
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Members’ Voice
PREMIER POV BOARD GETS TO WORK By Karen Wheatley, Manager of Employee Development, Training & Engagement
There’s a brand-new customer advisory board at Premier Select Sires, and it’s called the Premier Owners’ Voice (POV). Board members have been selected for a one-year term, and will discuss cooperative values, programs, and direction for the next 12 months. Early conversations have revolved around the value of being a memberowned cooperative and beef x dairy programs that Premier offers, such as HerdFlex beef embryos, TD Beef, and PowerGenetics. “We feel very strongly about giving our members a way to interact with staff, give us feedback on how we’re operating in today’s market, and provide direction in terms of future plans and ideas we should be focusing on,” explained Premier Chief Executive Officer, Mark Carpenter. “Being a farmer-owned cooperative since 1938, it’s imperative that we operate as a true cooperative, and involve our owners. Their feedback on current topics has been tremendous, and we’re only just getting started!” Board members were chosen to represent all facets of Premier, including dairy and beef owners, large and small-scale operations, and both male and female owners and operators. “The mix of people on our new POV Board is a great example of the diversity in our 23-state member area,” stated Kirk Sattazahn, Vice President of Marketing and Development. “It’s not a new concept to ask for feedback from customers, but many companies forget to do it. We feel it’s certainly a great tool for us to continue growing and serving our customer base in the best possible way.” Meet our current POV members below! We asked them to tell us a little bit about themselves and tell us why they #RideWithPremier. Any questions about the advisory board, or about becoming future POV members, can be directed to Mark Carpenter (mcarpenter@premierselect.com) or Kirk Sattazahn (kirk7@premierselect.com). Inquiries can also be made by phone by calling the Premier Select Sires office at (570) 836-3168.
Emma Currie
Joe Elliott
Megan Fry
Currie Valley Dairy, LLC
Robert Elliott & Sons
Fair Hill Farms
Tully, NY
Chestertown, MD
Breed: Holstein
Owned by Joe, his brother (William) and son (Lake)
Herd Size: 1000
Adams, TN
Herd Size: 650
milking females
Breed: Angus
Premier member for 30+ years
Herd Size: 234 breeding females
“Our farm has had a lot of success while using Premier Select Sires. We enjoy working with their helpful and knowledgeable team, and we plan to continue to take advantage of the variety of services they have to offer.”
Premier member since 1972
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Breed: Holstein
“I like working with Premier because of semen quality, great service, good selection of sires, great source of breeding and management information and GREAT people!”
Premier member for 15+ years “We like working with Premier for the knowledge and services they provide to keep us moving forward!”
Christy Hartman
Kelvin Hatch
Johan Heijkoop
Hillview Farm
Brubaker Farms
Bridgewater, VA
Columbia, PA
Milk-A-Way Dairy & K&H Dairy
Breed: Holstein &
Breed: Primarily
Jersey cattle, Angus/ Simmental cross-bred beef cattle
Herd Size: 190 dairy, 130 beef Premier member since the early 1950s “Premier provides excellent service at a fair price, and they have top quality bulls for every need!”
Webster, FL & Mayo, FL Breed: 85% Holstein;
Holstein
15% protein breeds & Jersey/Holstein crosses
Herd Size: 1200 milking females
Premier member since 1994
Herd Size: 1800 between the two dairies
“We have a great working relationship with Premier and the many services they provide. Serving on the Premier Owners’ Voice advisory committee is an opportunity for us to give back to Premier!”
Premier member for 20+ years “I enjoy high-quality genetics and believe in the strength the cooperative value Premier brings to its member-owners.”
Jim Houser
Larkin Moyer
Barb Nedrow
Penn Dell Farm
Oakmulgee Dairy, Inc.
Spring Hope Holsteins
Spring Mills, PA
Amelia, VA
Breed: Holstein
Breed: Holstein
Owned by Barb, husband Kevin, & daughters Alicia, Katie, & Abby
Herd Size: 75 milking,
Herd Size: 350
Clifton Springs, NY
125 head of calves, breeding bulls, and replacement heifers
Premier member for 20 years “I like to voice my opinion and be heard by a company that wants to work with farmers and do what is best for them.”
Breed: Holstein Premier member for 60+ years
Herd Size: 750
“I believe in the cooperative, especially as they grow from a grass-roots level. Premier has enjoyed success by believing in the inputs from farmer/members.”
Premier member since the 1980s. “I enjoy working with Premier because it helps all member/owners keep up-to-date on what’s happening in reproduction and genetics. In other words, it helps put knowledge to work everyday in our lives.”
Josh Rottinghaus
Jessica Slaymaker
Justin Veazie
Rottinghaus Family Dairy
Slaymaker Farm
Veazland Farms
Seneca, KS
Mansfield, PA
Corinna, ME
Breed: Holstein
Breed:
Breed: Holstein
Herd Size: 290
Premier member for 11 years “There are many reasons we like doing business with Premier, but two of the biggest ones are the access to top genetics year after year, and the good customer service we receive!”
Primarily Holstein, but Jess and her daughters are slowly growing the Jersey & Brown Swiss herds
Herd Size: 550
Herd Size: 150 Premier member since 2000 “I enjoy working with Premier because everyone genuinely cares about you and the success of your business. We utilize the SMS mating service and enjoy the advice on bulls from Mike Swartley. Our salesman, Greg Kilmer, will make sure to get us what we need if he doesn’t have it on hand and is very willing to work with us. We also enjoy advice and chats from Paul Knight and Carli Woodward. EVERYONE wants to see you succeed and be happy customers! Plus, they obviously have the best bulls in the industry!”
“I like working with Premier because I get a great choice of the newest bulls, and it’s good to be part of a cooperative that really does a nice job sourcing the best genetics for its member-owners.”
Also POV members: Matt DeBaugh (MD), Bradfield Evans (AL), and Luke Getty (NY)
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A GREAT JOURNEY: Agriculture is a lifelong passion and calling for many, and there are a lot of “legends” in the industry. At Premier, we are lucky to call one of those legends a part of our cooperative family. David Patrick of Maple Dell Farm in Woodbine, MD retired from Premier Select Sires on July 31, 2020 after 65 years of dedicated service to the A.I. industry. He celebrated his 90th birthday just one day after his retirement. When talking about David, we use the word “retirement” lightly—it hasn’t slowed him down much! He continues to work on the family farm, breeding and milking Registered Ayrshires and Registered Holsteins, while providing A.I. service to 26 beef operations in his area. We asked David all about his career in agriculture, hoping to catch a glimpse of what has made his work so fulfilling that he would spend his entire life immersed in it. For David, it all really comes down to people—family, friends, friends that are like family, and everyone that David has met along the way as a farmer and A.I. technician. David was born in the farmhouse that he and his wife, Ann, currently live in, and he has farmed for all of his life. He got his first two heifers in 1941 as 4-H club projects and from there, his interest in agriculture only grew. When he met Ann, that interest did not change.
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“My wife is a city girl, raised on the edge of Baltimore City,” said Patrick. “She would come to help her sister and brotherin-law on the weekends to run their service station, which was a mile from our farm. My family went there every Sunday for a half gallon of ice cream, and that’s where we first met. She thought she was marrying a rich farmer, and boy was she fooled…now, at 85 she still gets up for the 3 a.m. milking. She does great, and she likes it!” In 1955, while David was still farming with his parents, he and his brother, Jimmy, decided they needed to generate some income outside of the farming operation. The local Maryland Artificial Breeding Cooperative technician at the time was retiring, so both David and Jimmy applied and were accepted for jobs breeding cows. Jimmy didn’t care for it, but David stayed with it because he enjoyed working with the farmers in his area. “We would get done milking in time for me to go on morning calls,” said Patrick. “Then I would milk in the evenings and breed cows and get home in time for the 11 o’clock news, that’s how the evening breeding went.” David bred cows full time from October 1955 until April 1992, when he transitioned to part time until retirement in July 2020. Throughout his career, he served four of the preceding cooperatives that eventually evolved into Premier Select Sires through mergers: Maryland Artificial Breeding Cooperative, Maryland-West Virginia Bull Stud, Sire Power, Select Sire Power, and then finally Premier Select Sires.
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“We did have an expanding farm operation, but as I said, the reason I stayed with it [the breeding] was because of the great people I worked with,” said David.
DAVID PATRICK RETIRES AFTER 65 YEARS David has watched the A.I. industry unfold over the years. As a high school student in 1946, he won the state FFA speech contest with a speech entitled “The Possibility of Impregnating Dairy Cattle and Other Livestock Artificially.” The concept of A.I. was groundbreaking at the time—David said the artificial breeding of cattle did not really get started in his area until the early 1950s. He went through changes in technique and processes, such as fresh semen to frozen semen, and witnessed both growth and consolidation in the industry. The one thing that didn’t change, however, was the fact that he loved working with people. Through family ties and affiliation with agricultural organizations, David had many connections with the producers of his area. He humbly and gratefully says that those connections helped him establish and build his breeding business.
David has been very involved with numerous industry associations and programs and is well known for his integrity, faith, and love of family. Two of David and Ann’s sons, one of their grandsons, and some hired help, currently work with David to maintain Maple Dell Farm. In addition to his agricultural pursuits, David remains active in his church and enjoys spending time with all of his children and grandchildren, especially during Sunday dinners at his and Ann’s house. “People have been good to me. I hope I have been as good to them…If I hadn’t really loved the business I would not have been in it that long. If I had to do it over again I’d do the same thing, I would. It’s been a great journey.”
“Farm families are the kind of people that you enjoy working with…many customers would invite me to have dinner or lunch with them,” said Patrick. “Also, as I would go on morning calls I would stop at my favorite restaurant for a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, as good a sandwich as you’ll get anywhere. The food is great and the fellowship is great. Even now people will stop and say hello to me there. I like the fellowship.” David’s list of accomplishments and awards over the years is extensive and well deserved. It includes but is not limited to the following: • 2020 National Dairy Shrine’s Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder Award • 2010 Ayrshire Association’s Master Breeder Award • 2006 Obie Snider Award at the All-American Dairy Show • 14 Constructive Breeder Awards for Maple-Dell’s outstanding production and type • Over 100 cows have classified Excellent, including one at 95 points • There have been 17 all-American and 18 Reserve AllAmericans carry the Maple-Dell prefix • The herd has produced numerous bulls in A.I. • Many of the cows have ranked on the Cow Performance Index (CPI) List and produced high lifetimes of milk
6 PHOTOS: 1) David with his old Select truck, 2) Showing with family, 3) David showing, 4) David with one of his Ayrshire cows, 5) David and his wife, Ann, with the Premier Breeder award at the 2016 AllAmerican Dairy Show, 6) David and Ann, 7) David with some of his grandchildren
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Beef Briefs
TALK TO YOUR PREMIER REP TO GET STARTED!
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Dairy Discussion COWMANAGER LAUNCHES NEW NUTRITION MODULE
CowManager® launched a new Nutrition module that provides actionable insights regarding feed and transition management on dairy farms. The module has been expanded with clear graphs and user-friendly comparison functionality. Timely notifications regarding cows at risk during the transition period, heat stress, low feed intake, and herd health help to focus a producer’s attention where it is needed most. These notifications allow the producer to approach herd management in a preventive, proactive, and precise manner, resulting in better cow health and a more productive herd. Koen van Meurs, Head of R&D at CowManager, said, “Nutrition is of great importance to a cows’ performance. It also accounts for the largest portion of the variable costs on farms. Having the right insights to make data-driven decisions about feed and transition management are key to successful and profitable farming. Machine learning technology helped us to create exactly these insights based on the behavior and temperature data we collected from millions of cows worldwide.”
Global Customer Panel The Nutrition module was designed with the help of dairy producers and nutritionists in CowManager’s global customer panel. Wilfried
Reuvekamp, member of the customer panel and owner of Hilltop Dairy (USA) said, “The insights provided by the Nutrition module encouraged me to implement management changes, which led to a sustained dry matter intake of 38 pounds for our close-up cows. This has already contributed strongly to healthier fresh cows and higher peak milk production. I believe in a few months we will hit the 95-pound milk production mark.”
Working Preventively The transition period is the primary risk period where 75 percent of all adult cow disease events occur. In the past, producers could only dream of cows at risk being identified days or weeks before they became sick. Today this has become reality. Dry cows with decreased eating and rumination behavior will be flagged as being at risk of becoming sick after calving. Early intervention prevents losses and results in a healthier herd. All alerts within the Nutrition module are designed to foster preventive management practices.
Optimized Feed Management The Nutrition module consists of various easyto-read graphs offering full insight into the eating, rumination, and activity of each group of cows. The comparison functionality makes
it easy to compare certain groups or time frames with each other, allowing the producer and nutritionist to evaluate the impact of ration changes and feed management in a fact-based and quick manner. Access to valuable herd data can be granted to trusted advisors through the MultiView function. The Nutrition module provides producers with the tools to take feed and transition management to the next level. More control and full insights will help producers achieve the goals they have set for their herds with better pregnancy rates, an overall healthier herd, lower feed costs and more milk per cow.
About CowManager Thousands of farmers in over 40 countries already rely on CowManager’s user-friendly ear sensor technology, to help manage their herds. CowManager monitors each cow 24/7, it is an extra pair of eyes on the herd. This valuable management tool shows real-time alerts via easy-to-read and colored hourly behavior graphs on your smartphone or desktop computer. CowManager monitors health, fertility, nutrition, and location, with impressive accuracy. ® CowManager is a registered trademark of Agis Automatisering.
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PREMIER SELECT SIRES, INC. 1 Stony Mountain Road Tunkhannock, PA 18657
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