Columbus, OH – In conjunction with its regular quarterly Board of Directors meeting,United Producers Inc. (UPI), recently held meetings with UPI District Chairmen and a group of young famers to solicit their input on several topics.

In meeting with the District Chairmen, UPI focused on obtaining feedback on a variety of governance topics that will be provided to the Planning, Membership and Governance Committee of the UPI Board of Directors to help guide the overall structure of UPI moving forward. When meeting with young farmers, UPI’s goal was to brainstorm the future needs of farmers and how UPI can utilize current services, or evolve their products and services to best meet these needs.

The Board of Directors, District Chairmen and young farmers heard the following presentations:

  • Cameron Bruett, Chief Sustainability Officer for JBS USA, and President, Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB);
  • Agri-Services Agency and the consulting services they provide regarding a wide variety of insurance services, which will be offered to UPI Preferred Members;
  • Tim Haab, Ph.D., Chair of the Agricultural, Environmental, & Development Economics Department at The Ohio State University, on the department’s new major and cooperative center project; and
  • Henry Zerby, Ph.D., Chair of the Animal Sciences Department at The Ohio State University, on the role of animal sciences departments in the future.

A group discussion regarding sustainability followed Bruett’s presentation; UPI is a member of the GRSB.

“As a cooperative, one of our goals is to consistently seek the feedback of our current leadership and members, while reaching out to those who could benefit from our services to ensure we are keeping pace with the needs of today’s farmers,” said Dennis Bolling, President and CEO, UPI. “UPI is also actively engaged in initiatives, such as the GRSB and Ohio State’s cooperative center project, which will help shape the future of our industry. These meetings are just one more way UPI is working to achieve its goals and fulfill our mission of serving our members better every day.”

United Producers, Inc. is one of the largest farmer-owned livestock marketing cooperatives in the United States. In addition to livestock marketing, United Producers provides credit and risk management services, and serves more than 35,000 livestock producers in the Midwest United States. United Producers was formed in 1934 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information about becoming a UPI member, visit www.uproducers.com.