Professional Diary Managers Leadership for 2010

Dairy farmer Glenn Gorrell became President of the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania (PDMP) on January 1 taking office for the 2010 term. He is part of the new leadership for the organization, which held elections for three Board members during the annual Membership Meeting in November and elected officers at a Board of Directors meeting in December.

Gorrell began his presidency by asking fellow dairy farmers throughout the state to join him in PDMP “as a unified voice that speaks with the producers’ interests at its heart.”

Glenn and his wife Robin operate Gorrell Dairy in East Smithfield, Bradford County, PA with a herd of 540 cows and 440 heifers. They farm 1100 acres of corn and 900 acres of hay.

He assumes the top leadership position after serving as a member of the PDMP Board for several years. He is currently chairing the industry committee that planned the 2010 Dairy Tour to Vermont. Glenn serves the ag industry as president of the Bradford County Extension Board, a member of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and the unit delegate position with Land O’Lakes cooperative. He is also a local board member of First Citizens National Bank in Troy.

The new PDMP President’s call for producers to unify stressed, “We won’t be able to survive, let alone thrive, unless we work together and develop solutions that make the dairy industry sustainable for the long-term.” He said, “PDMP is the only organization in Pennsylvania that is positioned to have an influential and hard-hitting voice on behalf of dairy farmers, because we are organized and run by producers.”

He points out PDMP members are united by, “the common drive to improve and strengthen their farm, whether a producer has 60 cows, 600 or 1600.”

Remaining in the other three officer positions for the 2010 term are Vice President Dale Hoffman, owner of Kar-Dale Acres, Shinglehouse, PA; Secretary Dina Zug, Zugstead Farm, Mifflintown, PA; and Treasurer Gary Kline, Y Run Farms, LLC, Troy, PA. Rod Hissong. Mercer Vu Farms, Mercersburg, PA, assumes the role of Immediate Past President.

The 2010 Board will also welcome newly elected members Tony Brubaker from Brubaker Farms in Mount Joy, PA and Keith Spicher, Kish-View Farm of Belleville, PA. The membership selected Jeff Ainslie from Red Barn Consulting of Lancaster to fill the open Associate Member position on the Board. Mike Hosterman, of AgChoice Farm Credit, Chambersburg, PA is the other Associate Member representative.

The new year marks the conclusion of board terms for Duane Hershey, who has previously served as PDMP Treasurer, and Logan Bower, who vacates the post of Immediate Past President. Hershey is from Ar-Joy Farm in Cochranville, PA, and Bower is from Pleasant View Farms in Blain, PA

Alan Novak of Novak Strategic Advisors, Harrisburg, serves as executive director of PDMP, and The Heuser Group, based in Bellefonte, provides business office support.

PDMP is an organization of progressive, positive-minded dairy producers and agribusiness leaders. Its mission is to advance the dairy industry in Pennsylvania through improved productivity and profitability. For more information on PDMP, visit their website at www.pdmp.org or email info@pdmp.org.