In 1978 Mich Livestock Service Inc was incorporated with the entry of Charlie's son Greg into the business.  At this time a "Farm Store" office was established on Main Street in Ovid, to allow customers easier access to the line of animal care products offered as a supplement to the core breeding business.   Shortly after this, the Curtiss company was sold by G D Searle as part of a complicated transaction involving Searle's desire to develop the extensive farm real estate held by Curtiss in northern Illinois.   Late in 1981 Curtiss was dispersed by a bankruptcy court and Mich Livestock became the MI-IN-OH Key Distributor for the Tri-State Breeders Cooperative of Wisconsin.   At the same time, many regional cooperatives were seeking distribution access in Michigan, and the company had a period in which it functioned instate as a multi-line AI Distributor.

Personal friendships with Terry Rawn (whose wife, Joyce, ran our farm store) and Peter Blodgett (who was chosen to manage the new AI company for the Carnation Farms' family) led Mich Livestock to focus for a period of time on developing the market for Landmark Genetics (now absorbed into Alta Genetics).

 This continual market evolution brought the Canadian AI studs into the USA market, and Greg Palen (assisted by Stu Hutchins of BHL Embryos and Dick Witter of Taurus Service) began to acquire distributorships for the leading Canadian AI sources, which led eventually to formation of a subsidiary company, known as Semex USA Great Lakes, which operated in those three states five years until sold to Semex USA in 1997.    

With the formation of Semex USA Inc by the Semex Alliance, Michigan was targeted as a "top ten dairy state", the trend toward company employee salespeople in those states culminated first in the hiring by Semex of Chad Kreeger to cover Eastern and Northern MI; then the hiring of Matt Biermacher (who had been trained by us) to take Chad's place.    As of June 1, 2004, Semex USA intends to cover all of Michigan by employee salesmen, ending a 25-year association between Mich Livestock Service and the biggest player in the Canadian AI industry.. 

Recognizing the AI stud trend toward company-direct sales and away from independent distributors, Greg became an approved analyzer under the "aAa" Breeding Guide/Weeks Analysis system in 1994.   No matter what AI sire sources you use, the "aAa" system is applicable as an independent, unbiased (non AI stud affiliated) guide to assist dairymen in corrective mating.   Unlike linear mating as sponsored by AI systems and breed associations, which focus on recognition of targeted traits, the Weeks' system focuses on fitting the overall physical form to the functional environment by identifying  the causal relationships that lead to physical weakness.   This system has a proven track record in extending the functional life of herd replacements, increasing the physical vigor of resulting animals and avoiding the intensification of selection traits that leads to inbreeding effects.

Mich Livestock Service today

Mich Livestock Service Inc is proud to represent in Michigan the following USA-based, private AI sire systems:  Taurus Service Inc (Stud Code 76) of Mehoopany PA:  International Protein Sires of Reedsburg, WI: and Excalibur Sires  (Stud Code 204) of Rochester MN .    Taurus also acts as the USA Distributor for the New Zealand Livestock Improvement Cooperative, Browndale Sires (Canada) and Foundation Sires (Canada).   Excalibur acts as the USA Distributor for high profile AI sires from Germany and Spain.   Assisting us in statewide distribution is Dan Rich, Rich Genetics, of Sandusky, MI who like us grew up in the old "Curtiss" family (his Dad has a fifty year career as an AI technician) and handles the same sires in the "Thumb".

Specialty breed programs available include Breeders Choice Sires (Jerseys), NorthCoast Group (polled Jersey) and  the Best Yet Dutch Belted and Merivale Milking Shorthorn sires. We now also work with Trans World Genetics (Red & White, Brown Swiss and Holstein) and Flatness International (Holstein and Brown Swiss) both whom are active in dual sampling of their bulls between the USA and Europe.   We also handle shipping for the Elite Genetics (specialty Ayrshire) sire program, organized by Drew Mercer and Charlie Sayles.

For Beef breeders, we handle the Genetics Horizon program which has most of the high profile club-calf sires available.    We also store semen for many Michigan Beef breeders, and deliver for them in-state.

No AI program in Michigan offers more breed variety or sire variety, with a focus upon higher cow fertility and longer productive life.    Whether your cattle graze or are bunk fed, we have an understanding of your special needs and can suggest sires that will fit.