We know what personal guarantees are. We understand that it is near impossible to have a reward without risk. We understand winning and we understand losing. Every day, we fight to deliver value to our customers and to grow our business. We are proud to be who we are. Not much of the world was built by pessimists. We are the dreamers, the builders, and the doers. We are the entrepreneurs.

At Genesus, we have come to a special moment in our entrepreneurial journey. A few years ago, we were a regional Western Canadian genetic company. We went on a quest to build what we dreamed to be the best and most trusted swine genetic company in the world. Not the biggest, but the best and most trusted, one that continually brought enhanced value to our customers. Best is a subjective word. The only definition in our mind of such is customer satisfaction. Get customers, keep customers, add customers. In our measurement, we have moved in the right direction. Year after year, we have retained our customers and increased our sales. We have grown from a regional Canadian genetic company into a major player in many countries. As the world’s largest swine genetic importer to the USA, China, and Russia, our genetics are winning in very tough markets. As entrepreneurs, we are proud that our customers see the value our genetics bring to their operations.

This week, we are pleased to announce a huge step in our journey. Genesus has made an agreement with Porc-Ex Breeding to market Genesus in Europe. Porc-Ex, based in Denmark, has been the largest distributor of DanAvl (Danbred) genetics in the world. In our opinion, Danbred has superior genetics than PIC, Topigs Norsvin, and Hypor. They visited our nucleuses, multipliers, and commercial customers. They met our geneticists and analyzed our genetic program, for now and for the future. Genesus, like Danbred, uses three breeds: registered purebred Durocs, Yorkshire, and Landrace. Porc-Ex investigated the scale of our nucleus operations, the base of all our genetic gains. Genesus has the largest high health registered purebred base in the world. They saw our number of pigs, their growth, and the health and meat quality of our herd.

It was a year-long courtship, as we both deliberated on whether we were the right companies to work together. Ultimately, we both decided it was the right decision. Genesus and Porc-Ex are committed to bringing Genesus to countries in Europe, and to bringing value and profits to our customers together. We will grow genetic production in Europe on top of the current Genesus production in Spain and Russia. Porc-Ex and their CEO, Holger B. Sorensen, have built a swine marketing powerhouse. Genesus is fortunate to find such a committed future-thinking leader and team.

Many of you have read the commentary for years. We believe you have become a part of our family. We wanted you to share in our entrepreneurial progress. As entrepreneurs, you know the swine industry is tough and not for the faint hearted. For Genesus to be chosen by Porc-Ex, DanAvl’s former largest global dealer, to be their partner for the future is a special moment in our journey at Genesus.