CONTACT: Dawn Navis
(608) 846-6396

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HARKENRIDER JOINS ABS GLOBAL AS REGIONAL DAIRY SIRE ANALYST

DEFOREST, WISCONSIN -October 11, 2002 - ABS Global has hired Thomas Harkenrider as Regional Dairy Sire Analyst.

"For such a young man, Tom brings a remarkable balance of experience and expertise to our company," says Dairy Sire Selection Manager, Dick Smith. "His 14-year A.I. career has included managing a 375 bull per year acquisition program and International Marketing experience."

In his new position Harkenrider will be responsible for the professional evaluation, selection, and acquisition of the most genetically superior dairy sires in the area west of his home in Freeille, NY and east of the Mississippi River.

Harkenrider comes to ABS from Genex Co-op. Inc. where he most recently served as the Dairy Procurement Manager. He has also held positions as a Sire Program Specialist and as an International Programs Specialist for Federated Genetics.

A Virginia Tech graduate in Agricultural Education, Harkenrider has served on their Dairy Alumni Executive Committee and been involved in the National Dairy Shrine and Holstein Association USA, Inc. He has also managed a successful Registered Holstein operation.

Headquartered in DeForest, Wisconsin, ABS Global is the world-leading provider of bovine genetics, reproduction services, technologies and uddercare products. Marketing in more than 70 countries around the globe, ABS has been at the forefront of animal genetics and technology since its founding in 1941. ABS Global is part of Genus Breeding, a division of Genus plc.

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To receive the contents of this release electronically, please contact Alice Langer at alanger@absglobal.com, or (608) 846-6203.