Head of Top Dairy Co-op to Resign Post

Associated Milk Producers Inc., San Antonio, said Ira Rutherford is resigning as general manager after leading the nation’s largest dairy farmer cooperative for 12 years.

Rutherford, who has been employed by the company and predecessor cooperatives since 1959, said he will “pursue new challenges and opportunities.”

AMPI, created in 1969, has 18,000 members in 20 states. With annual sales of $3.1 billion, it markets more than 12% of the nation’s milk. AMPI lost money for the first time last year as farm milk prices dropped 25%. The cooperative reported a loss of $6.6 million in the net margin it uses to track its performance.