Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) CEO Ed Welch resigned last week for personal reasons, according to the organization. Welch, who has been with the dairy marketing cooperative for 31 years, became CEO in 2008.

“We are grateful to Ed for his years of service to AMPI and wish him the best,” said Steve Schlangen, chairman of the AMPI Board of Directors and a dairy farmer from Albany, Minn. “In the interim, the board has appointed executive senior vice presidents Donn DeVelder and Sheryl Meshke to share the duties of CEO.”

AMPI is headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota and owned by 2,600 Midwest dairy farm families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.