Breeder’s Co-Operative – New Spin On An Old Concept

BY WILLIAM GIVEN
PHOTOS BY LISA CROFT-ELLIOTT

Most highly successful breeders, large and small,choose a particular bloodline or two that they become knowledgeable about, become comfortable with, and prefer to breed within. In the natural pursuit of the goals of their breeding program, these breeders occasionally find themselves wanting to conduct a breeding which might be cost prohibitive. Possibly, they may not have access to a popular stud dog or desired brood bitch, so in such cases a breeders’ co-operative has its merits.

A breeders’ co-operative is a new spin on an old concept. First popularized in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry back in the 1980s, stallion syndicates were formed as a way to finance the escalating costs of stallion acquisition and own- ership. Syndication also helped to spread the financial risk of ownership among multiple investors, and syndication offered attractive tax advantages.

The membership could be local, regional, national or even international. And, that could be especially beneficial if your breed is a rare breed with a limited gene pool here in the United States. The larger a gene pool is, the more likely it is to work in favor of producing higher quality puppies.

Why form a co-op?

The pooling of fiscal resources equates to increased pur- chasing power. A breeder’s co-operative can provide the capital for the group to purchase a stud dog or brood bitch that would otherwise be well beyond the means of the individual breeders.

Another advantage of being a member of a breeders’ co-operative is the ability to benefit from the expertise of the other co-op members. Additionally, if the other member breeders are experienced and highly successful in their own right, they will most certainly have developed numerous connections in the purebred dog breeding community. These connections might one day prove invaluable.

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Posted by Alex on Aug 29 2017. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.