The 2010 World Dairy Expo Dairy Woman of the Year award is sponsored by: Vita Plus Corporation, Select Sires, Inc., Micro Dairy Logic and Dairy Business Association.

The 2010 World Dairy Expo International Person of the Year is Mr. Tadanaga Komori, from Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan. After graduating from the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Komori was content to return to the home farm. But the drive to improve the dairy industry of a nation led our honoree to take every golden opportunity to innovate and lead. A trip to the U.S. for training and tours began a love affair with quality cattle genetics. He began by importing just five cows and proceeded to establish All Japan Breeders Service in 1976. Komori took on the Japanese government to overturn the state-controlled artificial insemination importation laws. Once the private sector was open to import frozen semen, Komori created a livestock products import company, Japan Livestock Trading Corp., in 1984. The exclusive marketing agreement with American Breeders Service improved genetic merit for the dairy industry in Japan. Komori has since increased semen imports from 1,200 units in 1986 to over 260,000 units in the fiscal year of 2009 (April 2008-March 2009).

The 2010 World Dairy Expo International Person of the Year recognition is sponsored by Merrick Animal Nutrition and ABS Global.

2010 World Dairy Expo Dairyman of the Year is Don Bennink, of North Florida Holsteins in Bell, Florida. Though there was no farm in the family while Bennink was growing up in western New York, he worked for others and began building a herd of his own while a youth. After obtaining a degree from Cornell, he rented a farm with a 35 tie-stall barn in his home county. Supported by a small Farmers Home Administration loan and the cattle already owned, he accumulated, during the next seventeen years, the capital base to move the herd to Florida in 1980. Today, the successful dairy breeder and his partners boast a herd of 4,000 milking age Registered Holsteins, the single largest dairy in the state and one of the largest Registered Holstein herds in the country. Bennink has led the innovation of dairy cattle comfort with tunnel ventilation to enhance production and herd health.

The 2010 Dairyman of the Year award is sponsored by: Animart, Dairy Herd Management., Intervet/Schering Plough Animal Health and Southest Milk, Inc.

The 2010 World Dairy Expo Industry Person of the Year is Horace Backus of Mexico, New York. While famous as a dairy cattle “pedigree man,” Backus started out as part of the successful Butterfly Farms. As a youth and young man, he began a love affair with breeding the best animals for the dairy industry. The family business of Backus Pedigree Company made its name compiling sale catalogues. Overtime, R. Austin Backus, Inc. was formed and excelled. This year’s honoree has transformed his cattle expertise into a valuable historical asset as an author of dairy breeding and dairy family history. Backus has written eight books that allow cattle breeders and those interested in the legacy of the dairy industry to learn from accomplished breeders. The histories have allowed others to make cattle breeding a passion.