Dairylea board of directors names new CEO

The Dairylea Board of Directors named Greg Wickham the Cooperative’s Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2006. The position was previously held by Rick Smith, who recently accepted the position of CEO with Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.
 
Wickham has been responsible for overseeing Dairylea’s daily operations since he assumed the position of general manager in 2004. He also served as the Cooperative’s chief operating officer from 1999-2004, and prior to that, he served two years as the chief financial officer.

“Dairylea’s business philosophy and culture have been instilled in Greg. His leadership and business management skills give the Cooperative a competitive advantage here in the Northeast,” said Clyde Rutherford, Chairman and President of Dairylea’s Board of Directors.  “I speak on behalf of the Board when I say we have great confidence in Greg and look forward to working with him in his new capacity.”

A native of the Finger Lakes region in New York, Wickham grew up on a 1200-acre vegetable and grain farm.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Hartford.  Before joining Dairylea in 1997, Wickham held management positions at Farm Credit Bank of Springfield, Agway Inc. and CoBank. In addition to being appointed CEO of Dairylea, Wickham also serves as general manager of Dairy Marketing Services and chief operating officer of the Northeast Area Council of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.  Additionally, he is on the board of directors for both the National Livestock Producers Association and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.

“Throughout my tenure at Dairylea, the volume of milk we market has grown significantly as a result of Dairy Marketing Services, our milk marketing joint venture with DFA.  Additionally, Dairylea’s business subsidiaries have evolved from traditional member services to business leaders in their respective fields.  The Cooperative’s hallmark is being unique by bringing value to both our dairy farmer members and the dairy industry,” said Wickham.  “I look forward to my new role as CEO and will continue to seek ways to work with our partners for the benefit of our members.”

Dairylea Cooperative Inc. is a farmer-owned agricultural marketing and service organization with more than 2,400 member farms located throughout the Northeast. As the largest milk-marketing organization based in the region, with annual sales approaching $1 billion, Dairylea sells more than 5.5 billion pounds of raw milk annually through a milk-marketing network that reaches from Maine to Ohio to Maryland.