The CentralStar Cooperative Board of Directors recently announced Mark Adam of Eaton Rapids, Mich., as the 2022 Pioneer Award recipient. Established in 1977, the Pioneer Award recognizes individuals who, through selfless and dedicated service and leadership, have provided the cooperative and its members greater prosperity.
“Mark epitomizes the word pioneer in our cooperative,” shared CentralStar Board of Directors President Paul Trierweiler. “He helped blaze the way for CentralStar to provide DHI Services. As our very first Director of Integrated Services, he implemented a team structure which enabled integration of all the cooperative offers to better serve our farmers and owners.”
In 2000, after years of planning by the Board of Directors to diversify the cooperative, NorthStar-Select Sires, Michigan DHIA, and Fox Valley DHIA merged, creating NorthStar Cooperative. Around this time, the Select Sires Federation purchased Sire Power, where Adam was the Eastern Regional Sales Manager, opening the door for him to join the cooperative and become the inaugural Director of DHI Services.
Adam led the cooperative’s DHI Services for nine years, growing it from 1,000 herds representing 135,000 cows, to 1,350 herds with more than 285,000 cows. During this time, he facilitated mergers with Chippewa County DHI and Elkhart County DHI. As the cooperative’s offerings grew, so did the need for a leader to focus on integrating the various business areas. In January 2009, Adam was named Director of Integrated Services with the responsibility to create teams to better serve owners and customers. In 2015, Adam became General Manager and Executive Vice President of the cooperative. With the merger between East Central/Select Sires and NorthStar Cooperative, Adam was appointed Chief Operating Officer of CentralStar, a role he held until retirement in 2020.
Adam was a member of the NDHIA Board of Directors for six years, during which he was elected vice-president, and in 2006, became the first DHI Manager ever elected president of the 45-year-old organization. In 2022, Adam was awarded the NDHIA Outstanding Service Award. Along with his involvement at NDHIA, Adam served as Dairy Industry Advisor for the Michigan State University Dairy Club, a member of the Dairy Data Working Group as appointed by the Council On Dairy Cattle Breeding, and North American DHI Representative to the International Committee for Animal Recording Metering Devices Sub-Committee.
