Page 4

Co-ops promote

on-farm meat processing

USDA / Rural Development November / December 2010

R

u

r

a

l COOPERATIVES
By Adam Schwartz

Editor’s note: Adam Schwartz is the vice president of public affairs

and member services at the National Cooperative Business

Association in Washington, D.C. He has served co-ops in a variety

of roles for the past 18 years. He welcomes comments on the issues

raised here, or other co-op topics, and can be reached at:

aschwartz@ncba.coop, or (202) 383-5456. For a more detailed

discussion of the co-op principles, visit: www.ncba.coop/ncba/aboutco-ops/co-op-principles.

ne of the great strengths of the cooperative

movement is that no matter what sector we

serve — from a rural co-op serving farm

communities to an urban co-op in

metropolitan areas — all cooperatives share the same seven

guiding principles:

1. Voluntary and open membership;

2. Democratic member control;

3. Member economic participation;

4. Autonomy and independence;

5. Education, training and information;

6. Cooperation among cooperatives;

7. Concern for community.

When we are faced with an ethical dilemma, defined as a

choice between two appropriate paths, cooperative members,

management and boards can consult and reflect on our

principles to give us guidance as to the “right thing” to do.

But, what do we do when principles come into conflict

with each other or offer conflicting advice? What principle

offers advice in such a case?

One of the great benefits of cooperatives is that they are

autonomous and independent (the fourth co-op principle).

One of the great challenges that co-ops face is also that each

co-op is autonomous and independent.

Consider the case of a co-op wrestling over the question

of where to source a particular service. Two vendors have bid

on the project. Both vendors have demonstrated the quality

of their service. One vendor (not a co-op) has offered a better

price than did the other vendor, which is a cooperative.

When the board meets to discuss the bids, two board

members articulate the principles that collide. One board

member has the view that the co-op exists to serve its

members and seeks to create policies that set it forth on that

autonomous path — member first, member last, member

always. After all, that is why the co-op was created. This

member advocates taking the lower bid because it is more

cost-effective. The board’s fiduciary responsibility to the

members should trump other priorities, this director says.

The other board member advocates that buying from

another co-op should take precedence. This board member

seeks to create a more cooperative economy and believes that

the best way to accomplish that goal is for co-ops to practice

the sixth principle — cooperation among cooperatives — and

thus it should be a priority to do business with other co-ops,

even if it sometimes “costs” the co-op a little more money to

do so.

How should a cooperative resolve such a conflict?

Ideally, for guidance, cooperatives will have in place

policies to allow staff or management to act in accordance

with the seven principles. If the issue is truly one of strategic

importance, the board — as a reflection of the membership

— should decide. On rare occasions, the board may need to

take the issue to the membership, especially if it involves a

true change in the nature of the co-op requiring an

amendment to the bylaws.

There is a growing acceptance of using a “triple bottom

line” when determining the course of action taken by

cooperatives. This involves the standard bottom line of

revenues and expenses. But two additional and equally

important measures are also considered: the impact the

business is having on the community and on the

environment. This is a true measuring stick to ascertain the

full impact of a business.

By following the sixth principle, cooperatives can improve

their portion of the economy and ensure the financial wellbeing of cooperative businesses across the country. Currently,

cooperatives contribute about $650 billion annually to the

U.S. economy (according to a study published by the USDA

and the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives), an

impressive figure, but just a small percentage of the overall

economy.

By working together and by making the commitment to

2 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Commentary

When co-op principles collide

continued on page 37
Features

Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 3

Volume 77, Number 6

November/December 2010

Rural Cooperatives (1088-8845) is

published bimonthly by USDA Rural

Development, 1400 Independence Ave.

SW, Stop 0705, Washington, DC. 20250-

0705.

The Secretary of Agriculture has

determined that publication of this

periodical is necessary in the transaction

of public business required by law of the

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Washington, DC. and additional mailing

offices. Copies may be obtained from the

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Government Printing Office, Washington,

DC, 20402, at $23 per year. Postmaster:

send address change to: Rural

Cooperatives, USDA/RBS, Stop 3255,

Wash., DC 20250-3255.

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company and brand names does not

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Unless otherwise stated, articles in this

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be reprinted freely. Any opinions expressed are those of the writers, and do not

necessarily reflect those of USDA or its

employees.

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(USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its

programs and activities on the basis of

race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital

status, familial status, parental status,

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means for communication of program

information (Braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write

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1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800)

795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider

and employer.

Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture

Dallas Tonsager, Under Secretary,

USDA Rural Development

Dan Campbell, Editor

Stephen Hall / KOTA, Design

Have a cooperative-related question?

Call (202) 720-6483, or email:

coopinfo@wdc.usda.gov

This publication was printed with vegetable oil-based ink.

p.4

04 Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to help grow local foods movement

By Stephen Thompson

08 Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber

By Anne Todd

12 “Not just a job, but a future” Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to help struggling neighborhoods prosper

By Dan Campbell

20 Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small producers tap local markets

By Alan Borst

24 Why the asset-building movement matters for rural co-op

members

By Heather McCulloch

26 Fifth Season Cooperative

Having progressed from conception to incorporation, fledgling Wisconsin co-op faces crucial

questions

By Courtney Berner

30 Co-op Month celebrated at USDA

Departments

2 COMMENTARY

11 LEGAL CORNER

17 MANAGEMENT TIP

18 UTILITY CO-OP CONNECTION

32 NEWSLINE

40 2010 ARTICLE INDEX

p. 8 p. 20

ON THE COVER: On-farm processing for beef and poultry

producers is an option in areas served by mobile slaughtering units,

many of them operated by producer cooperatives. This better

allows producers to market to local food markets, resulting in

substantially higher prices for some.
By Stephen Thompson

Assistant Editor

imes are tough for

small livestock and

poultry producers. The

consolidation of the

meat industry has

resulted in the closing of hundreds of

slaughter and packing plants, and some

of the ones still in operation often don’t

cater to small, specialty or niche

producers. Many of these packers

require high minimum head counts for

slaughter, and they’re often too far away

to make trucking of relatively small

shipments of animals to them

economically feasible. In addition, high

feed and other costs aren’t matched by

the prices producers get for their live

animals.

At the same time, interest in buying

from specialty meat producers is

growing among consumers,

restaurateurs and retailers. Grass-fed or

organically raised beef and free-range

poultry are seen by some consumers as

both more flavorful and healthier than

conventionally raised equivalents. The

local food movement encourages

consumers to buy their foods from

nearby producers wherever possible.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) is supporting this movement

with its Know Your Farmer, Know Your

Food initiative, which promotes

farmers’ markets and other outlets for

locally grown foods.

The issue, then, for many small

producers, is not finding the market so

much as it is converting their live

animals into a product that can take

advantage of it.

A promising answer to this question

is the mobile slaughterhouse — a

slaughter facility mounted on a trailer

that comes to the farmer. Its advantages

are many, including low capital costs,

convenience, low processing costs and

the marketing advantage of being able

to say that your animals are slaughtered

on your own property. Mobile slaughter

units also don’t attract the same kind of

concern that brick-and-mortar facilities

arouse among neighbors — the “not-inmy-backyard” problem.

Opportunity for co-ops

As a result, mobile slaughter units

have become a growing movement

across the United States. A number of

small service cooperatives have been set

up to take advantage of the new

technology.

4 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to help grow local foods movement

T
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 5

The seed of the movement was

planted in the late 1990s at Broken

Arrow Ranch in Texas, a hunting

establishment where customers pay to

hunt exotic animals, such as African

antelope. The ranch developed a

slaughtering trailer to process the

carcasses.

Not long afterwards, a group of

livestock producers in northwest

Washington was looking for a way to

start producing meat for local markets.

They found the answer in Broken

Arrow’s trailer.

The group went to a local nonprofit

organization, the Lopez Community

Land Trust, which focuses on

sustainable rural development, for help.

The Lopez Trust in turn hired Bruce

Dunlop, a sheep farmer and former

chemical engineer, to develop a

slaughter trailer. Island Grown Farmers

Cooperative was formed to administer

the slaughter, cutting and packing

services. The initial membership fee was

$600.

The initiative was made possible by

new U.S. Food and Drug

Administration regulations under the

rubric of Hazard Analysis & Critical

Control Points (HACCP). Instead of

establishing rigid requirements, as with

previous approaches to regulation,

HACCP seeks to work with food

processors to develop appropriate plans

for facilities that meet sanitary rules and

other requirements. The new protocol

is a more flexible regulatory approach

that allows for innovation and unique

circumstances.

When finished in 2002, the mobile

slaughter unit was installed in a 32-foot

goose-neck trailer, at a cost of $150,000.

Financing was provided by private

donations and grants from various

agencies, including a $50,000 Rural

Business Opportunity Grant provided

by USDA Rural Development. The unit

is owned by the Trust, which leases it to

the cooperative. Dunlop estimates that

the trailer alone would today cost

$195,000, plus another $15,000 to

$20,000 for small equipment.

Facility meets all regulations

The mobile facility is fully compliant

with federal regulations, and all of its

products are USDA inspected. A small

office space is provided for the

inspector. The facility can slaughter up

to 10 head of cattle per day, at a cost to

the farmer of $105 per animal. Up to 40

sheep or 24 pigs can be handled daily, at

prices of $37 and $53 each, respectively.

Labor accounts for 70 percent of

operating costs. Because the unit was

financed with grants and donations,

there is no loan or investment to be

repaid; the fees need only cover

overhead, labor and similar costs.

However, Dunlop says that such a unit

could easily repay its purchase costs in a

few years.

Cutting and wrapping services are

provided by the co-op in a brick-andmortar facility which can also produce

sausages. However, marketing is

handled individually by memberproducers. The cooperative has six

employees, including two butchers who

handle slaughtering, and three meat

cutters. Dunlop has stayed on as a

member of the board of directors.

The slaughtering is done on the

producer’s property, usually in an open

field. The trailer carries a supply of

potable water for the slaughter process

and for cleanup. If it’s done often in one

location, the producer may also have to

provide a concrete drainage pad with a

sump for runoff.

If done only occasionally on a farm

or ranch, the operation can be carried

out directly on the grass. The animal is

killed on the ground and allowed to

bleed out. It’s then winched into the

trailer, cleaned, dressed and hung in a

refrigerated compartment in the trailer.

At the end of the day, the carcasses can

be transported to the cooperative’s

packing facility or the farmers can make

their own arrangements.

Offal and hides are taken away with

the truck; any other waste is composted.

Dunlop says composting works well.

“It kills the pathogens, it’s

inexpensive and there’s little odor,” he

Black Angus cattle are one of the more popular beef breeds in the United States. Inset

photo: Mobile processing units such as this, which travel to farms and ranches, were

inspired by a rig developed in Texas in the 1990s to process wild game.

“We get about a 50-percent net gain over marketing live cattle.”
6 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

notes. Except where production volume

requires a sump, the blood and water go

directly on the ground. Overall, he says,

operations have little environmental

impact, especially since the location of

the trailer can be changed with each

visit.

While making the mobile

slaughterhouse possible, the HACCP

approval process presented its own

hurdles, Dunlop says. “It was a shift

from approving everything ahead of

time to evaluating things as it went

along.”

The process requires a written plan,

which is then evaluated for problems

and modified. In the case of the new

slaughter unit, equipment and

procedures had to be tried out by

slaughtering a few animals at a time,

making changes until both the co-op

and the inspectors were comfortable

with the process.

Dunlop says that things were

complicated by the fact that inspectors

were just learning the new procedures

when the co-op sought approval. But,

he says that they were open to new

ideas and willing to work with the

cooperative to reach a satisfactory

conclusion. “Someone doing it now can

build on our experience,” he says.

“They wouldn’t have to go through all

that.”

Puget Sound co-op

boosts local sales

Not far away, another group of

Washington livestock producers took

advantage of Island Grown’s pioneering

work to establish their own processing

cooperative. Puget Sound Meat

Producers Cooperative has been

operating for just over a year, with a

roll of 60 voting members in nine

contiguous counties, and another 30

associate members.

Perry Schermerhorn, president of

the co-op, says the idea for the

cooperative occurred to Cheryl

Ouellete, a local hog farmer looking for

ways to add value to her product.

Selling butchered meat instead of live

hogs seemed the natural solution. But

the local slaughterhouse had closed,

meaning that the nearest processing

facility was hundreds of miles away in

Oregon.

With the big population centers of

Seattle and Takoma nearby, a market

for locally grown meats was assured —

if the meat carried USDA inspection

stamps. Island Grown’s approach

seemed like the answer.

The first exploratory meeting, in

February 2008, drew 80 local

producers, and with the help of the

Washington State Small Business

Assistance Center at Green River

Community College, a business plan

was put together and the idea pitched

to the Pierce Conservation District

board of directors, which approved

$200,000 in funds to build the trailer in

June 2008.

The cooperative itself was set up that

November, and in June 2009 the mobile

processing unit was delivered. Puget

Sound’s unit is based on the Island

Grown design, but larger. Built on a 45-

foot semi-trailer, it has bigger storage

facilities and the ability to process more

animals at a time.

The Puget Sound co-op works a

little differently than the Island Grown

co-op. Instead of making appointments

to slaughter at each customer’s farm,

the slaughter unit operates at three

venues on a weekly, or semi-weekly,

schedule. Producers transport their

animals to the most convenient

location. Members can purchase a

special class of stock to have priority in

scheduling. Two of the locations are on

members’ property; the third is

provided at no cost by a local

landowner.

The cooperative doesn’t offer cutting

and wrapping services. Those are

provided by private packing facilities in

nearby Rochester and Bremerton.

Schermerhorn says the cooperative

has the capacity for about 140 new

Assistance for new mobile slaughter efforts

Interest in mobile slaughter units is growing across the country. At least nine

poultry units and a similar number of red meat slaughter trailers are now

operating in various states. Seminars on the subject attract crowds. A recent

session held jointly by the Colorado and Wyoming state agriculture departments

drew 150 people from states as far away as New York, Ohio and California.

There are hurdles to overcome in starting a mobile unit, including regulatory

and permitting issues and financing. But much of the pioneering work has

already been done. Producers interested in starting such an operation can call

upon a range of information and assistance resources.

The Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network website,

www.nichemeatprocessing.org, offers a wealth of information on regulations,

design and construction, management, financing and other issues. The site

offers links to a number of “webinars,” including one led by Island Grown’s

Bruce Dunlop, on the various issues. It also offers a spreadsheet feasibility

calculator put together by Kathleen Painter, an analyst at the University of

Idaho.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service offers a “Mobile Slaughter

Compliance Guide” on its website for both red meat and poultry operations, and

has declared its interest in promoting small processors.

USDA Rural Development offers a number of financial programs that may be

helpful, and has extensive educational materials to help producers learn about

starting a cooperative. It can also offer technical assistance. To learn more,

visit: www.rurdev.usda.gov, or call your USDA Rural Development office and ask

to talk to a business and co-op programs specialist: 1-800-670-6553.
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 7

members; the slaughter unit currently

operates at about 25 percent of capacity.

Members each market their own

products. Some retail their products

directly at farmers’ markets and similar

venues. This sales strategy,

Schermerhorn says, offers the highest

margins: 50 to 100 percent.

Other producers have contracts to

provide high-quality meats to

restaurants, local food stores and even

to food co-ops. They typically garner

markups of 10 to 30 percent. Overall,

Schermerhorn says, “We get about a

50-percent net gain over marketing live

cattle.”

Montana co-op

focuses on poultry

Growers of four-legged livestock

aren’t the only producers who can use

mobile slaughter units. The Montana

Poultry Growers Cooperative built on

the experience of Island Grown, with

appropriate modifications. With the

help of Farms for Families, a nonprofit

that promotes locally grown foods, and

other organizations, including USDA

Rural Development’s Cooperative

Services, the co-op developed a mobile

slaughter unit for poultry.

Jan Tusick, the president of the

cooperative, recalls that the project had

its own snags and problems — most

involving licensing.

Processing poultry is simpler than

slaughtering sheep and cattle, and can

be done fairly easily by the grower with

the proper equipment, obviating the

need for employees to do the

slaughtering. Also, USDA inspection

isn’t necessary under two USDA Food

Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

exemptions: one for producers who

process 1,000 birds or less each year,

and another for those who process up

to 20,000 birds annually — provided

that certain requirements are met,

including proper sanitary practices.

The cooperative chose to operate

under the 1,000-bird exemption, which

is slightly less rigorous. Under that rule,

producers must own and raise their

birds and must process them on their

own property. They must sell directly

to customers; they are not allowed to

sell to resellers, such as grocery stores.

The effort faced a snag, however,

because Montana state law didn’t

recognize mobile slaughterhouses.

Grow Montana, a pro-local-food

lobbying group, successfully petitioned

the Montana state legislature to pass a

law in 2005 allowing inspection by the

state. After the state Department of

Livestock promulgated regulations in

accordance with the new law, the effort

was ready to go ahead.

It took several years to develop the

mobile facility, but finally, in June 2010,

it was approved and ready to go. It

consists of a small truck and trailer, with

the trailer containing the slaughter

facilities and the truck having chilling

and storage capabilities. The unit

travels around the state to producermembers, who call the cooperative to

reserve its use.

The cooperative also offers training

in slaughtering in accordance with

government requirements. Meanwhile,

the cooperative is pursuing ways of

developing the market for locally raised

poultry, including customer education

and developing heritage breeds.

North Carolina co-op

promotes sustainable farming

Meanwhile, across the country in

North Carolina, different problems

have resulted in another approach to

slaughtering poultry. NC Choices is a

nonprofit initiative of the Center for

Environmental Farming Systems, itself

a program of several North Carolina

universities and the state’s department

of agriculture. Its purpose is to promote

“sustainable” local meat production,

and it provides networking and

technical assistance to develop markets

Instead of making on-farm visits, some mobile processing rigs make weekly or semi-weekly

rounds of centrally located sites, where producers meet them with their livestock. USDA photo

continued on page 38
8 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Illinois GreenPastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber

By Anne Todd, Contributing Editor

atasha Lehrer and her mother, Donna, of Big

Rock, Ill., are sheep producers who are

deeply passionate about shepherding and

fiber arts, including spinning and knitting.

Both daughter and mother had a desire to

raise the visibility of, and expand opportunities for, their

fellow fiber producers in Illinois. So, in July 2006, Natasha,

then only 19 years old, wrote and submitted a grant

application to USDA Rural Development in hopes of

obtaining funds to help start the Illinois Green Pastures Fiber

Cooperative to market and promote Illinois animal-fiber

products.

The following September, the co-op was awarded a

$180,000 Small Minority Producer Grant (now known as the

Small, Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant Program) –

the first such grant ever made by USDA Rural Development

in Illinois. The grant helped launch the co-op, funding its

advertising, educational programs and development of its

website: http://www.illinoisgreenpastures.org.

Donna served as the president of the Green Pastures

board of directors during the inaugural year of the co-op, and

Natasha was on the board in the early years. More recently,

they have chosen to step back and let others take the lead in

managing the co-op. However, they continue to serve as

consultants to the members, both on the best uses and

characteristics of the various fibers and on ways to market

that fiber.

Marketing events: from 30 to 30,000

The fiber shows that the Lehrers and other co-op

members take part in can range from small events, where

only about 30 people attend, to huge shows that attract

crowds of 30,000. The Lehrers advise members on pricing

and other ways to showcase their wares, depending on the

type of event.

Of the co-op, Donna Lehrer says: “I did not want to be a

middleman. We wanted to offer a place where co-op

members could sell and we could educate people on the

wonderful Illinois fiber available.”

In addition to being founding members of the Green

Pastures Co-op, Natasha and Donna own and operate

Esther’s Place, http://www.esthersplacefibers.com, a

community-oriented fibers arts studio in Big Rock. Esther’s

Place offers classes in knitting, spinning, weaving, dyeing,

felting and other fiber-related arts. It also boasts a large

selection of fibers and yarns for sale, all of which are locally

grown, and offers a selection of craft-making supplies and

notions. Natasha also applied for grant assistance through

USDA Rural Development in 2005 on behalf of Esther’s

Place, and was awarded a Value-Added Producer Grant of

$24,125, which helped launch the business.

The Lehrer family has a flock of Cheviot sheep, a longwool breed that produces dense fleece that is ideal for felting.

Like the Lehrers, most members of the Green Pastures co-op

harvest fiber primarily from various breeds of sheep, but

there are also Illinois fiber producers that raise angora

rabbits, llamas and alpacas.

The raw wool sells for as low as 16 cents per pound, with

white merino wool earning about 65 cents per pound.

However, finished clothing, accessories or artwork created

from the raw product can sell for up to $30 per pound, and

spinning the softest fleece into yarn can yield up to $60 to

N
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 9

Editor’s note: Contributing Editor Anne Todd recently

interviewed Jane Zeien, president of the board of the

Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative, and Judy

Maierhofer, board member, to learn more about the coop’s operations and mission.

Question: Green Pastures just had its fourth

anniversary this past July. How has the co-op grown and

changed since the group first had the idea of developing

the fiber marketing co-op?

Jane Zeien: “The co-op started with a few members

within a close geographical area. It has grown to include

members across the state, more than doubling the

number of members, to 30.”

Question: What steps has Green Pastures taken to

increase marketing of members’ products?

Jane Zeien: “Many new marketing avenues have been

started. More fiber shows have been added to the

schedule, increasing the direct contact with fiber artists

$65 per pound (minus the cost of shearing and processing).

Unaware of value-added potential

Prior to the launch of the co-op, most Illinois sheep

producers were not aware of the value-added potential of

their raw wool that could be achieved just by spinning it into

yarn. Because raw, sheared wool nets only $1.20 per pound,

very few Illinois shepherds attached any particular value to it,

especially considering the cost of shearing and processing. In

fact, about a third of the shepherds in the state would just

shear the wool and burn it.

But the Lehrers and other members of the Green Pastures

co-op are working slowly and steadily to educate producers

about the value of spinning the raw fiber into yarn, and also

about the benefits of tapping into the fibers arts business,

which is growing.

“Shepherding is hard work, but it’s rewarding, says

Natasha Lehrer. “I’m proud that the Green Pastures co-op is

helping Illinois wool producers, more and more, to connect

to the broader world of the fiber arts.” ■

Co-op Q&A

The Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative (IGPFC) sells its members’ homegrown wool products at marketing events of all types and sizes. Here, Sandy

Schrader (left) and Kathy McClure prepare to meet customers during the Fiber in the

Park fair at Sandwich, Ill. Photo courtesy IGPFC.
10 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

who are looking for quality products. An additional retail

outlet has been added to increase exposure in a different

region of the state.”

Question: What has been the biggest challenge facing the

co-op? And the biggest obstacle overcome?

Jane Zeien: “The biggest challenge for Green Pastures

continues to be marketing. Increasing awareness of the

wonderful fiber products the co-op members produce is a

major goal of the co-op. Another challenge is to attract more

members to join the co-op, increasing the variety of fiber that

can be offered.”

Question: Any new marketing efforts planned?

Jane Zeien: “The co-op was represented at the Bishop Hill

Fiber Guild’s 30th annual Spin-In on Oct. 16 in Kewannee,

Ill. The Spin-In is for spinners and knitters. It was a day

filled with fiber workshops, and there were also opportunities

for us to showcase the co-op, our products and to network

with artisans and other fiber producers.”

Question: Where do you see Green Pastures going in the

future? What do you hope to achieve with the co-op in the

future?

Jane Zeien: “Members of the co-op are passionate about

their animals and the fiber they produce. We will continue to

provide top-quality fiber to the fiber industry. The co-op

provides members with a way to preserve the lifestyle they

love and help preserve rural America. As the demand for fiber

increases, there will be more of a demand for the animals,

thus increasing American agriculture.”

Question: How far back with Green Pastures do you go, and

what do you like best about belonging to the co-op?

Judy Maierhofer: “I’ve been with the co-op for about four

years. I joined right after the first 12 founding members

joined. I’ve worked with fiber arts my whole life. My

grandmother taught me how to spin as a child. And I’ve been

shepherding for almost 30 years now. What I like best about

the co-op is that it gets us all talking about outlets for our

products and connects us to shop owners and artists so that

we can sell our product.”

Question: Being a shepherd is demanding, but it seems to be

a passion for you and other shepherds. What makes you stick

with it?

Judy Maierhofer: “It is a lot of work, but if you love doing

it, it’s not really work. And I love the sheep. Plus, sheep are

lower maintenance than other livestock, like horses or cattle.

They can handle it if I get home late.”

Question: Tell us about how you got started and the breed of

sheep you work with.

Judy Maierhofer: “I’ve been a shepherd for almost 30 years.

I got started with Navajo Churros in 1989, when I agreed to

help foster a few Churros that were originally part of a flock

in New Mexico. There was a terrible drought at the time,

and shepherds there were looking for farmers who could

rescue the sheep, which were dying. A rescue program was

set up between New Mexico, Arizona and Illinois. I have

about 25 Navajo Churros now.

“Navajo Churros are known for having coarse fiber that is

used for rugs. But this isn’t really accurate. The boys have a

type of mane that is coarse, but the body hair is fine. Also,

there is a lot of color variation in their wool. All the colors

you see in human hair, you will also see in Navajo Churros.”

Question: In what ways do you participate with the co-op?

Judy Maierhofer: “In addition to being on the board, I help

keep everyone aware of all the fiber festivals and shows that

run from April through October.”

Question: How does the co-op communicate with members?

Judy Maierhofer: “The co-op sends out its newsletter over

the Internet, and we are also working on a monthly “FYI” to

alert members about upcoming shows and sales. The co-op

also sends out monthly checks to members from the proceeds

of product sales at the events. For our cooperative, the

communications committee is even more important than a

membership committee.”

Question: What would you like to see the Green Pastures

co-op take on in the future?

Judy Maierhofer: “I’d like to see us get our products into

more shops and give members more outlets for their

products and sales. I’d also like us to get more into the

Chicago art market, because fiber arts are hot in the fine arts

right now.” ■

“For our cooperative, the communications

committee is even more important than a

membership committee.”
By Stephanie M. Smith,

Senior Legal Advisor

USDA Rural Development

Cooperative Programs

s discussed in a prior

Legal Corner article

about business

succession planning

(“succession planning,”

hereafter), succession planning is key to

protecting your company, your family

and your employees against monetary

burden that could leave your business in

financial and legal ruins. For example, if

you plan to turn over your business to

your children, you have to think about

the heavy gift taxes they will face. If you

die, your heirs can suffer an equally

prohibitive estate tax.

This is a huge issue for many rural

communities, and it can have related

impacts on members of farmer

cooperatives. In addition to their farms,

many co-op members also have related

businesses (such as custom harvesting or

crop application services, etc.) that may

operate as family businesses.

If you want to sell your business to

employees, either an employee stock

option program or a worker cooperative

can be organized. (see the JanuaryFebruary 2009 issue of Rural

Cooperatives for more on this topic).

Lastly, you may decide to sell your firm

to a chain or a local competitor. So,

where does a business owner start?

Critical issues to consider

• Valuation — No matter who inherits

your business, it is critical that you

get an accurate valuation of your

business. Such a valuation

encompasses tangible assets such as

real estate and buildings, machinery

and equipment, as well as intangibles

such as employee loyalty,

manufacturing processes, customer

base and business reputation, patents

on products and new technologies. A

business valuation is also a way to

predict your company’s future. Using

your firm’s historical and financial

records and your judgment as owner,

work with your valuation firm to

calculate whether your business will

grow or decline, future inflation rates

and anticipated costs and expenses of

running the operation.

• Ownership and control — A familyowned business is often held and

controlled by husband, wife (or both),

or a number of siblings. Other, nonfamily, closely held businesses often

have a more complicated system of

ownership and control. Along with

ownership comes control over

compensation, benefits, hiring/firing,

management and short- and longterm business goals.

• Management Succession — A

family business must be viewed in

terms of the way in which

management decisions are made for

non-family businesses. Non-family

businesses make decisions according

to performance of their employees

and reward them accordingly. Those

who are unproductive are terminated.

However, a family-owned business

usually makes decisions based upon

the value of family members as

people, regardless of whether their

performance is satisfactory or not. If

“blood is thicker than water,” a

concerted effort must then be made

to identify and train the appropriate

family members to be the successors

to manage the business.

You may also have to consider nonfamily members as successors if they

prove to be the key people to ensuring

the sustainability of the business. In

some cases, short-term successors are

appointed while long-term successors

complete the necessary training.

Overall, the relative strengths and

weaknesses of the family members must

be carefully considered in determining

the management restructuring that

must take place.

• Tax Planning — The cash-flow

consequences of succession planning

are crucial to success. This is an area

where the team approach of

professionals can really bring value to

the process. In the area of estate and

gift taxes, questions need to be raised

regarding lifetime transfers or

transfers at death.

° Should there be “carry over” basis

(gifting) or “stepped up” basis

(transfers at death)? What will be the

death tax cost to transfer the business

and how will finances be arranged to

meet the obligations? In the area of

income tax planning, what will the

capital gains be if the entity is sold to

outside parties? Are there ways that

this gain can be deferred or

eliminated, perhaps with charitable tax

planning? What income will the

retiring owners need, and what

income levels will successors expect in

Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 11

continued on page 39

Legal Corner

Financial and legal aspects of succession

planning for family-owned businesses

A
12 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

By Dan Campbell, editor

leveland Rocks! —

according to the theme

song of the longrunning Drew Carey

TV comedy show. But

not all of its neighborhoods rock

equally, at least when it comes to jobs

and economic opportunity.

The business district of downtown

Cleveland has undergone a dramatic

revival in the past 15 years or so, with

popular new attractions such as the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the East

4th Street food and entertainment

district and new downtown stadiums

and an arena for its professional sports

teams helping to lay to rest those putdowns about the city being “the mistake

on the lake.” Yet the poor

neighborhoods that surround the

University Circle area — the cultural

center of the city — have not shared in

this revival.

These neighborhoods are home to

about 43,000 people, who suffer from

an unemployment rate near 40 percent.

The median annual income is less than

$18,500. Vacant lots, deteriorated

buildings, water shut-offs and

foreclosure signs are common here.

This contrasts sharply with

University Circle, which has a vibrant

core of major health, cultural and

educational institutions, as well as some

major international businesses that

together employ tens of thousands of

people in good-paying jobs.

“But University Circle has been

radically disconnected from the poor

neighborhoods surrounding it,” Ted

Howard, director of The Democracy

Collaborative, told attendees at the

2010 ACE (Association of Cooperative

Educators) Institute in Cleveland last

summer. “So the question has been:

How do we break down this barrier and

create opportunity for the people of the

surrounding neighborhoods?”

Laundry and solar

co-ops launched

A key part of the answer, Cleveland

is hoping, is a network of workerowned cooperatives. The first two of

these co-ops were launched in October

of 2009. The Evergreen Laundry

Cooperative is serving several large

health-care institutions in the

University Circle area, while Ohio

Cooperative Solar is installing solar

panels on the roofs of large institutions

C

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to

help struggling neighborhoods prosper

“Not just a job,but a future”
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 13

and businesses.

Many of the worker-owners of these co-ops are people

who in the past have had to struggle to find any kind of

decent job, including some who have had to overcome

records of incarceration and substance abuse. For them, just

to find a steady job in their depressed neighborhoods is an

accomplishment, let alone a job in which they are part

owners and can accumulate equity. For them, these new coops offer a second chance, not just for a job, but a future.

Next year, a third Evergreen cooperative, Green City

Growers Cooperative, plans to break ground on one of the

nation’s largest urban food production greenhouses. The

Neighborhood Voice, a free, student-operated online and

print publication, is also part of the Evergreen family of

cooperatives. It will publish monthly, reaching about 100,000

residents and employees in the Greater University Circle.

Ultimately, the hope is that there will be dozens of

worker-owned co-ops operating under the Evergreen

umbrella in Cleveland, transforming and lifting the economy

in much the same way that the worker-owned cooperatives

have done in the Mondragon region of northern Spain.

There, the Basque people began 50 years ago with one small

worker co-op and a handful of jobs. Today, it encompasses a

large, diverse network of worker co-ops that provide more

than 100,000 good jobs, according to James Anderson of the

Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC), which helped

spearhead the launch of the Evergreen project. He and

Howard provided the ACE conference attendees with an

overview of how it was done.

Planting seeds

In December 2006, The Democracy Collaborative — a

research and policy center based at the University of

Maryland that focuses on community wealth-building

strategies — held a community-wealth roundtable in

Cleveland to explore innovative ways to help break the cycle

of poverty in the Greater University Circle area. It attracted

45 participants who represented a broad array of thinking and

talents, including university faculty members, community

development experts, leaders of Employee Stock Ownership

Plans, chamber of commerce leaders and the CEO of a

hospital, among others.

As a result of this meeting, the Cleveland Foundation —

the region’s largest philanthropy — asked Howard and his

colleagues to help develop a new economic inclusion plan for

the Greater University Circle area — one that would offer a

different approach from the failed efforts of the past.

“We were lucky to have the Ohio Employee Ownership

Center (OEOC) just down the road and access to low-cost

capital, the lack of which is the biggest restraint on the

spread of the co-op movement,” Howard said. He recalled a

conversation with the leader of an economic Empowerment

Zone that had been created years earlier to direct more

financial resources into the Greater University Circle area.

Despite the expenditure of some $34 million in these

neighborhoods under that effort, “there was virtually nothing

left behind afterward. It just didn’t stick — it did not make a

difference.”

The consensus was to instead try attacking the problem

with a business development strategy. “We wanted to create

for-profit businesses, owned both by workers from the

community and the institutions that are their customers,”

Howard said. These worker-owned businesses would pay

living wages and offer the opportunity for wealth building

through the accumulation of equity in the businesses.

“We wanted to root capital in the community so that it

would not get up and leave. Worker-owners of a business are

not going to offshore their own jobs,” Howard said.

To help refine the strategy, 120 people were interviewed

over the ensuing six months – most of them leaders of large

institutions and businesses of the University Circle area who

were eyed as the primary customers of the new co-ops. “It

was determined that there was a huge economic opportunity

Facing page: Worker-owners of the Ohio Solar Cooperative (OSC) have installed solar collector panels on the roofs of some of

Cleveland’s largest government buildings and hospitals. Photo courtesy OSC. Below: Medrick Addison (right) is a worker-supervisor who

helps keep operations running smoothly at the Evergreen Laundry Cooperative. Bottom: The skyline of downtown Cleveland has

undergone an economic revival in recent years, unlike some of its nearby neighborhoods. USDA photos by Dan Campbell.
14 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

to source business locally. Evergreen

emerged from this,” Howard said.

Institutional buying power

key to strategy

When looking for someone to

organize and launch the first Evergreen

business, Howard recalled that the late

John Logue, founder of OEOC said:

“This project cannot be allowed to fail,

so we must have Jim Anderson on

board.” This was a tribute to the

business acumen and organizational

savvy of Anderson, who formerly led

the Republic Storage system in Canton,

Ohio, and had a long professional

career working with employee-owned

firms.

Anderson served as the CEO of the

Evergreen Cooperative Laundry for the

first year of the effort, but turned over

the leadership role in August to a

management team of co-op members,

in keeping with a goal that the co-op

should provide a career ladder that

allows employees to climb into senior

management.

The strategy from the start has been

to focus on tapping the purchasing

powers of the large institutions of

University Circle. These “anchor

institutions” purchase goods and

services worth about $3 billion annually

(exclusive of payroll and construction).

Yet, virtually none of their purchases

were being made in the area. Buying

locally was not a significant part of their

institutional business model. So there

was a huge untapped potential for them

to do more business locally.

A parallel focus of this effort has

been to launch “green” businesses that

operate in an environmentally benign

manner. Evergreen Cooperative

Laundry, Anderson says, “is the

greenest laundry in northeast Ohio,

probably in the entire state.” Heat and

water used in the operation is recycled,

harsh chemicals are kept to a minimum

and the operation is housed in a LEED

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver building — an

internationally recognized “green

building” certification system.

It took $5.7 million to launch the

laundry co-op. Of that, about $2.5

million was for equipment, $1.5 million

to refurbish the building and most of

the balance was to cover the early

operating losses. The business plan calls

for the co-op to break even within 18

months, and it has been running ahead

of schedule. The building is leased from

Enterprise Cleveland, a local nonprofit,

and the co-op has first right of refusal if

there is a sale of the property.

The first $750,000 raised for the

Evergreen project came in the form of a

long-term, 1-percent interest loan from

the Cleveland Foundation. That money

was then used to leverage the rest of the

$5.7 million. Next on board was the

city of Cleveland, which provided a $1.5

million loan from its Housing and

Urban Development 108 funds.

“This gave the project legitimate

legs, so we could go to other lending

institutions,” Anderson recalled. “Those

investments created credibility for us.”

The co-op then got more funds from

two commercial banks and qualified for

a $250,000 loan from the Commonwealth Revolving Loan Fund (which

had been established by the Ohio

Employee Ownership Center at Kent

State University). A New Markets Tax

Credit allocation from US Bank was

also negotiated.

The Evergreen Cooperative

Development Fund was created as the

financing entity for the family of coops. The plan calls for this fund to

grow from $5 million at present to

about $50 million. Evergreen Business

Services is the corporate entity that

supplies “back office” services to all the

co-ops; it houses the CEOs, human

resources and finance offices.

Community on board

As the laundry co-op neared opening

day “there was a lot of excitement in

the neighborhood about it,” said

Medrick Addison, a worker-supervisor

with the laundry who was one of the

first two employees hired. “There was

also some negative feedback at first; but

once people understood what we were

doing, they got behind us.”

The desperate need for good jobs in

the area was underscored by the co-op

receiving about 500 applications for the

first dozen jobs. “We pay a significantly

higher wage” than for comparable jobs,

Addison noted. Evergreen also provides

its worker-owners with a no-cost health

package.

The laundry currently employs about

25 people, but hopes to expand to 35

workers in the near future. Plans call

for 50 workers to be co-op members by

the time it reaches its “mature” level of

operation, when it will be cleaning 10

million pounds of laundry annually.

Each new employee goes through a

six-month trial period, after which the

other members vote on whether to

accept them into the co-op. “You have

to prove yourself to your fellow

workers, because you are essentially

choosing to go into business with

them,” Addison said. Once a worker

becomes a co-op member, he or she

qualifies for a $2-an-hour bonus and for

benefits.

When the business becomes

profitable, 10 percent of profits will go

back to the Evergreen Development

Fund to help start other co-ops; 80

percent of the rest of the profits are to

be distributed among the members, of

which 20 percent is to be paid in cash.

Members have to invest $3,000 for a

share of co-op ownership, but they can

pay that off at 50 cents per hour,

deducted from their pay increase. As

the company earns profits, earnings will

be placed annually in worker capital

accounts. The goal is to generate up to

$65,000 in co-op equity for a worker

who stays on the job eight years. This

Evergreen does the majority of its business

with large health-care institutions in the

University Circle area.
money belongs to the worker, and

when they leave the company or retire,

they take it with them.

New co-op business ideas are being

developed, including: a worker-owned

co-op that would refurbish houses in

the neighborhoods; recycling

companies; and a business to turn

hospital medical waste into energy.

“We want to keep the money

circulating locally — to stop it leaking

out of northeast Ohio,” Anderson said.

Keeping customers satisfied

The future success of the co-op rests

with keeping customers satisfied —

especially the large health-care

institutions that account for most of its

business. Whenever the co-op receives

any kind of quality-control complaint,

Addison personally visits the customer

to find out what happened and ensure

that the problem is addressed.

“If there is a problem for a

customer, we do not let it fester — we

get it fixed,” he said.

One seat on the board of directors

of the laundry is reserved for a

customer. The other directors include

two co-op members and two more

appointed by the Evergreen

Cooperative Corporation, the co-op

network’s “holding company.” No

lenders sit on the board, and the bylaws

have been set up to ensure that the coop is never demutualized.

Many people in the area have been

through various job-training programs

in the past, only to find there were no

jobs for them when they completed the

training. So this project sounded much

more attractive: a good job from day

one. Training is still part of the picture,

but it involves much more than simply

how to do the work.

Worker training, provided by the

Ohio Employee Ownership Center,

includes personal financial literacy

classes. Once that study is completed,

the training shifts into basic worker coop issues, such as knowing when a

worker-owner needs to “wear the

owner hat vs. the worker hat.” Training

also includes business financial literacy.

In all, it is about a one-year program,

Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 15

Solar co-op will double

Ohio’s PV-energy output

As of the summer of 2010, there were only two megawatts of installed

solar power in Ohio. With just the orders it already has on its books, that total

will be expanded by an additional three megawatts by 2012, thanks to the

work of just one business: Ohio Cooperative Solar (OCS), a member of the

Evergreen family of worker-owned co-ops.

OCS owns and/or installs photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on large

institutional, government and commercial buildings. Customers of the co-op

to date include Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve

University, the city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Housing Network.

The co-op offers two types of contracts. It can sell and install the PV

equipment to a building owner, who then is responsible for arranging tax

credits and working with its utility company and securing insurance coverage

and maintenance service. Or the co-op will maintain ownership of the PV

equipment and take care of all the related arrangements. It then sells the

electricity via a power-purchase agreement. These typically involve a 15-year

equipment lease arrangement.

The co-op has about 25 worker-owners at this time, but hopes to expand

to 75 to 100 at maturity. The rules of membership, equity accumulation and

most other bylaws are basically the same for the solar cop-op as the laundry

co-op.

A solar panel array that can generate 100 killowatts of electricity costs

$500,000, installed. Proper installation is critical, so panels must be attached

to the roof in a manner that stands up to high winds and winter conditions,

and should avoid placements subject to shadowing.

When the weather doesn’t permit solar panel installations, workers keep

busy doing home weatherization work. This program uses federal government

assistance to help low-income and handicapped homeowners acquire new

or repaired furnaces, hot-water heaters, wall/attic insulation and weather

stripping/caulking for doors. There are 38 million qualified households

nationwide, notes co-op CEO Stephen J Kiel.

The average low-income household spends about 17 percent of its income

on energy, according to the co-op. After a home is weatherized, the average

household saves $350 in energy savings in just the first year. ■
If things go according to plan, Cleveland residents will

soon be eating a lot more home-grown lettuce, herbs and

spinach. As in about 5 million heads of lettuce and 300,000

pounds of herbs annually, grown in one of the economically

depressed neighborhoods surrounding the University Circle

area.

The newest addition to the Evergreen family of workerowned co-ops is Green City Growers Cooperative, which

plans to break ground this March on a five-acre hydroponic

(meaning the crop is grown without soil) greenhouse

operation, on 11-acres that will be one of the nation’s largest

urban food production greenhouses. The co-op hopes to be

growing its first crop by November 2011.

In addition to the greenhouse, the $18 million project will

include a 16,000-square-foot packing house. The greenhouse

will have four separate climate zones, giving it the capacity to

change its crop mix, depending on customer demand.

The project will include a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine that

will provide about 40 percent of the operation’s annual power

needs. Rainwater will be reclaimed from the roof, and dual

layers of energy curtains on the roof and sidewalls will

reduce its energy needs. Crops have been chosen that can be

grown in colder temperatures than other hydroponic

greenhouse vegetables, again lowering the energy demand.

As with the other Evergreen co-ops, the underlying goal of

this business is job creation and wealth-building opportunity

for the co-op members, but it will achieve this by providing

healthy, locally-produced food for city dwellers.

Longer shelf-life

The co-op will grow varieties of specialty lettuce, not

iceberg lettuce, and thus will not compete with area farmers.

The crops grown by the co-op will instead reduce the amount

of lettuce typically trucked in from 2,000 miles away. Not only

will that reduce the carbon footprint of the food consumed,

but it will provide local buyers with produce that has an extra

seven days of shelf life.

Mary Donnell, who holds an MBA and a master’s degree in

horticultural science and has been working in the field for 20

years, is the project director (she will become the initial CEO

once the co-op is in operation). She says the greenhouse

operation will be a good fit for Cleveland, which is considered

to be a national leader in the promotion of local food

consumption and production.

Initial plans are to market the co-op’s produce to the foodservice industry, area grocery stores and some of the major

institutions in the University Circle area. The co-op will have

35 to 40 worker-owners, who will be hired from University

Circle neighborhoods.

Some of the initial funds for the project came from a HUD

grant and loan package, which targets the remediation of

brownfield sites. When interviewed in late October, Donnell

noted the final pieces of the financing picture were falling

into place. If commercial-scale urban farming and food

production continue to be a trend, Donnell recommends

modifications be made to USDA programs so that the USDA

can offer the same help to urban farmers as it does to rural

farmers. ■

16 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Urban farming strides forward with new greenhouse cooperative

with classes held every other week.

Calling the Evergreen effort both

exciting and daunting, Anderson said

that while it is worth celebrating key

accomplishments to date, “it is way too

early to celebrate” this effort as an

ultimate success story. “We have miles

to go.”

Ultimately, the success of worker coops such as these depends upon

building a culture of ownership, says

Howard. Thus, he takes heart from a

brief exchange heard after a group from

Pittsburgh — including two union

representatives from a laundry there —

recently toured Evergreen. One of the

union representatives said: “This

laundry is sure superior to the one we

work for.” An Evergreen co-op member

responded: “That’s the difference; we

don’t work ‘for’ this business, we own it

and we work for ourselves.”

Editor’s note: To view a video about

Evergreen and learn more about this

economic development strategy, visit:

www.community-wealth.org.” ■

Hydroponic lettuces are grown in greenhouses without

the use of soil.
Editor’s note: Larry Swalheim is

retiring at the end of this year as CEO of

Landmark Services Cooperative in

Wisconsin. Since being named CEO in

1991, Swalheim helped Landmark grow

from a one-location cooperative to one of the

largest co-ops in Wisconsin. He guided

Landmark through several strategic

partnerships and mergers that boosted the

co-op’s annual sales from $25 million to

more than $300 million. The co-op provides

agronomy, energy, animal nutrition, grain,

retail and transportation products and

services to more than 15,000 members in a

territory that ranges from east-central

Wisconsin to northern Illinois.

Several other recently retired (or about

to retire) co-op leaders have also been asked

to comment on what important lesson(s)

they learned about running a co-op. Their

responses will appear in future issues. Other

leaders of co-ops, large or small, are also

welcome to submit their thoughts on this

question. Just send an e-mail to:

dan.campbell@wdc.usda.gov.

By Larry Swalheim

have had the privilege

of being a part of the

leadership team at

Landmark Service

Cooperative for nearly

24 years. During that time, I have had

the opportunity to learn from our

board, our employees and our members

on the importance of communication,

collaboration and commitment in

creating a sustainable, successful

cooperative business.

Communication is the cornerstone

on which a cooperative stands. To be a

successful leader in this unique business

Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 17

I

Management Tip

The most important thing I have learned

about running a co-op

Making Landmark a leader

In the past two decades under

Larry Swalheim’s leadership,

Landmark has been a leader in

many areas, including:

• Marketing grain to U.S. and world

markets with Wisconsin’s only

100-car rail terminal;

• Expanding Landmark locations

from 1 to 16, and the number of

employees from 80 to nearly 400.

• Creating a team of 16 animal

nutritionists who provide

technical services and risk

management support to some of

the region’s largest dairies;

• Implementing state-of-the-art precision agriculture technology and creating

its own producer input financing company, Verity Resources.

• Being awarded two National Environmental Respect Awards for its agronomy

locations, two CHS/Cenex Star Energy Awards for energy sales and

management, and earning several Land O’Lakes Quality Awards for dairy feed

production.

Swalheim has also been actively involved in cooperative education and

community outreach while serving as CEO. In recent years, he has traveled to

the Ukraine and Moldova (both former Soviet republics) and to the Philippines

as part of the United States Agency for International Development, which

teaches cooperative leadership and principles to under-served rural areas

around the globe.

In addition, he currently serves as the president of the National Co-op 401K

Plan (a retirement program designed to enhance the long-term financial

security of co-op employees nationally), chairs the University of Wisconsin

Center for Cooperatives Advisory Committee, is a director for Wisconsin

Community Bank and was recently appointed as a member of Thrive, an

economic development enterprise for the eight-county Madison region.

“Without Larry’s guidance, we could not provide the wide variety of

products and services at competitive prices to our patrons that we do today,”

says John Blaska, Landmark’s board president.

An avid world traveler who recently completed a trip to Antarctica,

Swalheim says he feels that this is the right time for him to step back. “Now is

the time. Landmark is financially strong, with the best management team we

have ever had. This leaves me with the feeling that the momentum of this

company will keep moving forward at full speed.”

Larry Swalheim helped increase Landmark

Cooperative’s sales from $25 million to $300

million during his tenure as CEO.

continued on page 38
By Anne Mayberry

Public Affairs

USDA Rural Development

uring the next year,

hundreds of projects to

deliver broadband to

rural areas will break

ground nationwide in

an effort to provide rural consumers

with the technology necessary to

compete in today’s economy. Ralls

County Electric Cooperative in

Missouri is among the utility co-ops

striving to bring broadband service to

its members.

It received a $19.1 million award as

part of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture’s $2.5 billion in American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act

(Recovery Act) funding. These funds

will help the Ralls co-op build more

than 1,200 miles of high-speed fiber

optic cable to 5,000 homes, businesses,

public safety facilities and community

entities in rural northeast Missouri. The

work, part of a five-year initiative

launched by Missouri Governor Jay

Nixon, is expected to expand broadband

accessibility to more than 90 percent of

the state’s total population, up from the

current 79.7 percent.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

noted that these broadband projects

offer rural residents access to the tools

they need to attract new businesses,

jobs, health care and educational

opportunities. “Bringing broadband to

rural America provides a gateway for

businesses and key anchor institutions

— such as libraries, schools, public

safety and community centers — to

provide services to thousands of

Americans.” In addition to expanding

educational, health and businesses

services for the area, the project is

expected to create 35 to 40 new jobs in

the short term and has the potential to

create more than 1,300 jobs in the

future.

Leveling the playing field

Ralls County Electric Cooperative

Manager Dan Strode understands the

magnitude of the change that highspeed Internet access can deliver.

“Broadband has so many applications

for homes, schools and businesses that

will help bring the future to this

community. Ralls was the last county in

18 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Utility Co-op Connection

Cooperatives delivering broadband

to rural Missouri communities

Ralls Electric Cooperative received $19 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from USDA to expand

broadband service in its rural Missouri service territory. Photo courtesy Ralls Electric Cooperative

D
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 19

Missouri to have a public library. It will

take years to stock that with the books

and publications found in urban

libraries. Internet access will help level

that playing field and open this county

up to the world, bringing us

tremendous opportunities.”

Broadband service can also play a big

part in rural health care and education.

“We can deliver telemedicine service

from urban areas, and residents will

have access to more health care

information,” Strode says. “We cannot

afford to hire foreign language teachers.

But with the Internet, schools can visit

foreign countries and learn about other

parts of the world. We will be able to

provide [home and business] security

services for our residents. To see a

movie, we now have to drive 18 miles.

Broadband will change all of that.”

According to analysis released by the

National Economic Council last year,

overall Recovery Act investments in

broadband are expected to create tens

of thousands of jobs in the near term

and will expand economic development

and job opportunities in communities

that would otherwise not benefit from

the knowledge-based economy.

Recovery Act broadband projects

help reduce the cost of private

investment, attract Internet service

providers to new areas, improve digital

literacy among students and workers

and create new opportunities in

employment, education, health care and

business.

Strode is optimistic that in addition

to the increased services that broadband

access routinely delivers, Ralls County

may benefit from additional economic

development. “Our plan is to use 10

percent of the net cash flow for

economic development. We want to

ensure that along with this service, we

will grow businesses in our area.”

Broadband, Strode notes, allows

people to work from their homes and

expands access to a variety of markets

and services.

“The smart grid — which right now

is still a concept — will require larger

capacity for data and more speed,”

Strode says. “Automated meter reading

and other services that require two-way

communication with consumers are in

our plans. This broadband project will

allow us to continue to become more

sophisticated and offer more

applications to make more efficient use

of electricity. This is how broadband

will create jobs. The need for those

skilled in technology, for example, will

grow. Some of the uses for our

economic development funds —

incubator start-ups — have not yet been

invented.”

Studies show impact

of broadband

Strode’s ideas are supported by

studies that indicate investment in rural

broadband boosts economic growth,

promotes new businesses and increases

the growth of existing firms. For

example, USDA’s Economic Research

Service notes that “rural counties with

broadband Internet service in 2000 had

greater subsequent employment and

income growth than similar rural

counties without service.”

Construction of Ralls County’s new

broadband network began in March

2010 and is scheduled to be completed

by May 2013. The first customers are

expected to have broadband access

during the first portion of 2011. “We

have already had a community currently

not in the planned service territory ask

to be included in future build-out,”

Strode says. “We want to make sure our

business assumptions are realistic before

we expand. And we are sharing our

non-proprietary information as this

project rolls out. We want to provide a

model to show other counties how they

might duplicate this.”

Providing telecommunications

service is not entirely new to Missouri

electric cooperative utilities. Barry

Hart, executive vice president and CEO

of the Association of Missouri

Cooperatives, explains that nearly 15

years ago, the large electric cooperatives

that handle generation and transmission

made the decision to install fiber to

help ensure communications reliability.

“A variety of businesses and

organizations expressed an interest in

working with the cooperatives for

broadband access,” Hart says. The

seventh cooperative principal, he notes,

is concern for community. “The

cooperation between the communities

and cooperatives is what helped provide

the ‘middle mile’ broadband service that

today makes broadband connectivity

possible in many of these areas,” Hart

says.

Broadband service is also not new to

Ralls County Electric Co-op. Strode

recalls that in 2005, the co-op offered

wireless service to members. “We had

eight power locations, but could only

reach one out of every four who

requested service.” The region’s terrain

— rocky bluffs and dense forests —

limited the signal. “Seven kilobytes was

typical. This project will deliver 10

megabytes, up and down,” he says.

Better service, better economy

Increased bandwidth is critical to the

co-op’s operations.

“We are using broadband for

distance learning,” Hart says. “Each

month, we deliver our electric safety

training program over the Internet.

The transition has reduced statewide

travel among the cooperative’s main

offices and district offices.

“It’s exciting to see how this

technology, which is rapidly evolving,

will help us deliver better services to

our members,” Hart says.

Strode explains that cooperatives

work for the people in their

communities and are in business to

provide a vital service.

For example, a $10 million

investment in an urban area might

generate a 25-percent return, he notes.

“That same investment in rural areas

might provide a 6-percent return. And

the returns we do make go to those who

own us: our communities. We do not

have the same profit motive, and that

can make or break a lot of companies.

Because we’re small and rural, being a

co-op makes a difference.” ■
20 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

By Alan Borst

Agricultural Economist

Cooperative Programs

USDA Rural Development

food hub is a facility that is central to producers and has a business

management structure that facilitates the aggregation, storage,

processing, distribution or marketing of locally or regionally produced

food products. Food hubs differ from decentralized markets, where

producers and consumers are directly linked — as occurs at farmers’

markets, community supported agriculture (CSA ) associations, produce stands or any

other direct sales arrangements by individual farmers.

A food hub functions as an intermediary that — by pooling producers and consumers

— adds value to the marketing of produce and facilitates the development of a local

food supply chain. Food hubs serve as aggregation points through which smaller

producers can collectively market to larger buyers that they would otherwise not have

access to. Food hubs, for example, can purchase sufficient liability insurance to enter

institutional food markets.

These facilities provide storage and logistics services for both buyers and sellers. The

development of food hubs has been driven by idea that there is a “missing middle” in

A

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’

helping small producers tap local markets
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 21

Bob Raymond of Village Creek Farm (facing page) grows salad-mix crops in a hoophouse in Lansing, Iowa. Below: Glen Elsbernd of G It’s

Fresh farm in Ridgeway, Iowa, uses a vintage tractor and cultivator to control weeds without chemicals. Both are members of the GROWN

Locally Cooperative, which was started in northeastern Iowa in 2000 to increase access to the institutional food market for small farms.

Photos courtesy GROWN Locally Cooperative

local food infrastructure in most regions across the country. Food hubs identify and

capitalize upon such gaps by developing and operating the needed infrastructure.

Consumers have become increasingly concerned about the sources of their food, with

a sizeable market niche having developed for locally produced foods. Smaller producers

have been searching for market outlets that provide better returns for their produce.

The cooperative model of business is one way through which such aggregation has

been organized by both producers and consumers. Cooperatively organized food hubs

can be distinguished from other business models, such as hubs organized by an

individual grower, the government or an intermediary, such as retailers.

A 2008 study from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom analyzed producer

cooperative food hubs. It concluded that cooperatives are likely to be established as

mechanisms to enable profit generation from the activities of member-owners, rather

than through the food hub identity.
22 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

A potential strength of co-op food

hubs, the university study found, is that

they are able to draw upon the expertise

and resources of their membership. Coops also promote collaboration and

understanding of each member’s skills

and business attributes in ways that may

lead to greater resilience. This depends

upon the sharing of priorities among

cooperative members. Producercooperative hubs are able to specialize

in marketing while allowing their

membership to focus on food

production.

Producer cooperative food hubs

An example of a mature producer

cooperative food hub is the New North

Florida Marketing Cooperative

(NNFC), which was established by a

group of African-American farmers in

1995. Their goal was to provide

marketing services to their membership,

helping them to collectively sell

produce to markets such as local school

districts, and — ultimately — to

increase the volume of produce.

After six years of operations, the coop had greatly expanded sales to 15

school districts in Florida, Georgia,

Alabama and Mississippi. It currently

provides food for about 200,000

students.

NNFC has adapted to meet the

needs of its membership and its

customer base. Since 2002, the

cooperative has functioned as a

coalition that promotes networking

functions by facilitating connections

between farmers and schools. NNFC

has established a niche market and has

been able to negotiate a price that is fair

to the school district and profitable for

its membership. As part of its marketing

and promotion, the cooperative

developed posters showing the life cycle

of a crop – from planting to harvesting.

Another example of a producer

cooperative food hub is GROWN

Locally, which is described in a

University of Wisconsin Extension

publication, available online at:

www.cias.wisc.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2010/01/grown_locally

.pdf . This co-op was started in 2000 by

a group of small growers in

northeastern Iowa with the goal of

reducing competition between farms

and increasing their access to

institutional markets through product

aggregation and co-branding. There are

now 22 members.

The cooperative is now focused on

the institutional market. Its institutional

clients prefer to receive as few deliveries

as possible. Therefore, the co-op has

been aggregating products for these

customers.

GROWN Locally is exploring the

development of a processed-vegetable

product line for the cooperative’s

institutional clientele. The co-op has

recently partnered with an entrepreneur

who plans to convert a restaurant into a

licensed processing facility and CSA

packing and distribution hub.

Bringing in professional

management

Over time, GROWN Locally

discovered that it was more cost

effective to hire a professional manager

than to rely on volunteer members,

interns or inexperienced staff to oversee

its administrative tasks. In 2008, the

cooperative hired a full-time

coordinator with a background in

business management and marketing to

coordinate pre-season planning, pricing

and distribution. This allows growers to

focus on production.

The University of Wisconsin

Extension report concluded that

cooperative food hubs need to develop

or hire skilled management: “The co-op

model offers a horizontal leadership

structure. Without clear responsibilities

and delegation, however, this model can

result in disorganization, leadership

imbalance and fatigue.” The charge has

been made that cooperative food hubs

can suffer from the model of

management by consensus.

Because their farms are small-scale

operations, many of GROWN

Locally’s members cannot afford the

certification and infrastructure

necessary to formally complete

certifications needed by their

institutional buyers. As a result,

GROWN Locally plans to adopt a

post-harvest handling program for

some of its members that may involve

third-party certification.

GROWN Locally has found that

pre-season production planning has

helped its membership to better meet

market demand. GROWN Locally’s

members plan production ahead of the

growing season, based on customer

demand. Prices are then set to reflect

the membership’s costs of production.

Consumer cooperative

food hubs

In 2008, Marina Michahelles

completed a thesis (at the University of

Vermont) in which she studied the role

of consumer cooperatives as local food

hubs in the Northeast. Interviews were

conducted with co-op managers and

workers on the question of barriers to

local food sourcing. Among the findings

were that:

• Interest in local food has been

growing in the last few years;

• The relatively high cost of local

products is not an issue when co-op

customers understand where the

discrepancies come from;

Members of New North Florida Marketing

Cooperative sell their produce to area

school districts.
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 23

• Sometimes access to local food has

been a problem in the off-season, but

the demand is year around;

• Consumer co-ops have had to

compete with farmer’s markets, CSA

farming associations and farm stands,

as well as natural food grocers and

larger food retail outlets, such as

Whole Foods;

• There is a lack of cooperation among

consumer co-ops and between co-ops

and other organizations that has

limited their effectiveness as food

hubs.

The Wedge hitting stride

An example of a mature consumerowned cooperative food hub is the 36-

year-old Wedge in Minneapolis.

According to the Minneapolis StarTribune, the Wedge is one of the largest

single-store natural foods cooperatives

in the United States, with $30 million

in retail sales in its last fiscal year, and

another $12 million in wholesale

markets.

It has been consistently profitable

since the late 1980s. The Wedge has

done particularly well this year,

refunding 80 percent of its membergenerated profits. The grocery co-op’s

annual patronage refund to its members

has hit $1 million for the first time,

marking one of the largest such

distributions in the country.

In 2007, the Wedge purchased one

of its long-standing grower suppliers.

The farm is currently in full production

under the supervision of an experienced

manager. It is now the Wedge’s primary

supplier of organic produce. The farm

also serves as an organic farming

education site.

Both farmers and consumers have

used the cooperative model of business

successfully to organize food hubs to

expand market opportunities for smaller

agricultural producers, create rural jobs

and increase local food sales. ■

The Wedge is one of the largest single food store co-ops in the nation, with $30 million in retail and $12 million

in wholesale receipts last year. Photo courtesy The Wedge
By Heather McCulloch,

Principal/Asset Building Strategies

ver the course of the last 20

years, a national “assetbuilding” movement has

grown rapidly in

communities across the

United States. The movement is focused on

building the financial security of working

families through a broad range of practical

strategies and public policies that enable lowand moderate-income individuals to save,

invest and preserve financial assets.

To date, rural co-ops and other sharedownership strategies haven’t been part of this

national dialogue because the movement has

been largely focused on individual ownership.

This article offers readers an introduction to

asset-building policy and practice with a focus

on why it’s relevant to rural cooperatives. It

also makes a case for why co-op leaders

should engage with asset-building leaders to

identify and advance common policy and

practical goals.

What are assets and why

do they matter?

There’s been a growing national dialogue

about the importance of financial assets —

cash savings, stocks and bonds, as well as

home, business and real estate equity — in

building the financial security of low- and

moderate-income working families. While

income is critical to enabling families to get

by day-to-day, assets enable them to weather

financial crises, invest in their children and

their community, plan for a secure retirement

and pass resources on to future generations.

Even before the recent recession, however,

U.S. families were experiencing

unprecedented levels of financial insecurity.

Nearly one in four households was “asset

poor,” meaning they had insufficient assets to

survive, even at the poverty level, for more

than three months if they experienced a job

loss or other income disruption. The

economic crisis has only made matters worse

as it has pushed millions of middle class

families into income and asset poverty.

History of asset-building movement

The asset-building movement started in

the mid-1990s with a national demonstration

project focused on one strategy: Individual

Development Accounts (IDAs). These are

matched savings accounts that enable lowincome individuals to save for a home,

business or post-secondary education. The

demonstration showed that low-income

families would save if given appropriate

incentives, similar to those offered to

wealthier families through the tax code. The

success of IDAs laid the foundation for a

broader asset-building movement that has

advanced a range of practical strategies and

public policies to support low- and moderateincome families to access financial education

and services, save, invest and preserve

financial assets.

Over time, the movement has grown to

include an array of stakeholders, including:

local, state and national nonprofits; elected

officials and public agencies; foundations;

financial institutions and their regulators, and

even the Federal Reserve. The growth of the

movement has been fuelled by several factors,

including:

• Increasing understanding of the importance

of financial assets in enabling families to

move to long-term economic security;

• Concern about the wealth gap, which,

before the recession, was greater than at any

time since before the Great Depression;

• And the fact that, today, the issues of

concern to the asset-building movement —

financial education, accessible and

affordable financial products, home and

business ownership, access to health

insurance, foreclosure prevention and

retirement security — are all of major

concern to most working families.

O

Editor’s note:

Heather McCulloch is the

founder and principal of Asset

Building Strategies, a

consulting firm in California

that advances policies and

strategies to support lowwealth families to build

financial assets. She is a coauthor of the report

“Expanding Asset Building

Opportunities Through

Shared Ownership” and has

authored numerous other

publications on trends and

emerging opportunities

relevant to asset-building

practitioners, funders and

advocates. For more

information, go to:

www.AssetBuildingStrategies.

com. The following article is

based on remarks she made at

the most recent ACE

(Association of Cooperative

Educators) conference, in

Cleveland, Ohio.

24 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Why the asset-building movement
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 25

Building bridges between

asset building and shared ownership

With more than $3 trillion in assets under their control,

the nation’s 29,000 cooperatives — including rural and urban

cooperatives as well as credit unions — play a significant role

in building the wealth of member farmers, ranchers and

fishers and co-op workers. For the most part, however,

they’ve been off of the radar screen of the asset-building

movement.

Now is the time to make the connection between the

shared-ownership and asset-building movements in a way

that benefits all stakeholders. Reaching out to, and educating,

asset-building supporters about the wealth-building value of

rural cooperatives could bring new attention, skills and

resources to rural communities.

Rural co-op members could benefit from learning about

— and connecting to — a range of asset-building strategies

that would strengthen the financial security of member

families and workers. Furthermore, building members’

individual assets should help to strengthen the long-term

sustainability of cooperatives, making it less likely they would

be susceptible to demutualization proposals.

At the same time, the asset-building movement would

benefit from the participation of these cooperative members

and their workers, who represent an important new

constituency from rural areas.

One national asset-building funder has been working to

make the connection between the movements. In 2008, the

Annie E. Casey Foundation published a framing paper and

convened national leaders of the asset-building and various

shared-ownership movements — including rural co-op

supporters — to help them determine how to build bridges

between the movements in a way that would help them to

identify and advance common goals (Editor’s note: the author

has consulted with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on this

effort since 2008).

In 2009, the Foundation supported two national working

groups — one focused on shared home ownership, the other

on shared business ownership — to encourage collaboration

in the areas of public policy, practice, research and

information sharing. This year, the foundation has been

supporting efforts to educate people involved in asset

building about the wealth-building potential of shared

ownership strategies through media outreach, webinars and

presentations at workshops and conferences.

Where do we go from here?

If we agree that the asset-building movement has much to

learn about the wealth-building potential of rural

cooperatives, and that the rural cooperative movement has

much to gain from engaging with the asset-building

movement, the next question to ask is: Where do we go from

here?

For starters, rural co-op leaders could quickly get up to

speed on asset-building policy, practice, research, trends and

funding sources by exploring the following resources:

• Asset Funders Network (www.assetfunders.org);

• Center for Social Development at Washington University

(www.csd.wustl.edu);

• CFED (www.cfed.org);

• Democracy Collaborative/Community Wealth Building

Program (www.community-wealth.org);

• Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis

(www.iasp.brandeis.edu);

• New America Foundation/Asset Building Program

(www.assetbuilding.org).

In addition, rural co-op leaders could explore other ways

to make the connection to asset-building practitioners,

advocates and funders. For example, asset-building coalitions

are now operating in more than 40 states, and an increasing

number of county and regional coalitions are emerging.

These coalitions are advancing a broad range of policies and

practices that support low-wealth families to build financial

assets. They offer opportunities for rural cooperative leaders

to network with new partners and leverage resources.

National asset-building intermediaries also offer unique

opportunities. CFED, one of the nation’s leading national

asset-building intermediaries, recently launched its

“Innovators-in-Residence” program, which offers a $50,000

stipend and technical support to individuals with new ideas

about how to take strong asset-building strategies to scale.

New America Foundation, another national intermediary,

hosts a blog that includes guest postings about ways to

expand the national dialogue about asset-building policies,

practice, trends and opportunities.

Rural cooperative development may not be a new idea, but

it is a powerful wealth-building strategy that deserves the

attention of the asset-building field. Now is an opportune

time for rural cooperative leaders to make their voices heard.

■

matters for rural co-op members
26 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

By Courtney Berner,

University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives

cberner@wisc.edu

Editor’s note: The Fifth Season Cooperative is a

newly launched, multi-stakeholder cooperative in

Viroqua, Wis., that provides the infrastructure and

coordination needed to help rebuild the region’s food

system. This case study follows the co-op’s development

from the initial idea to the signing of the articles of

incorporation in August 2010.

he Fifth Season Cooperative is

in the center of Wisconsin’s

Driftless geological area, which

includes parts of Wisconsin,

Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

This region was never glaciated, and thus has

striking topography consisting of forested hills,

steep valleys and clear streams, as well as a

variety of ecosystems including grassland, forest,

prairie and wetlands.

“This striking topography, however, makes

agriculture in this region particularly

challenging. The hills make for a breathtaking

landscape, but they also limit the amount of

productive land on farms. Farms in the Kickapoo

Watershed are smaller than farms in the rest of

the state. In Vernon County, for instance, the

average farm size is 177 acres, compared to the

state average of 228 acres,” according to a food

assessment study of the area.

Despite these challenges, agriculture has long

been the dominant industry in the region, which

has enjoyed a rich variety of farmers and

agricultural traditions over the years, from the

Norwegian immigrants in the 1800s to the

Amish families who settled more recently.

Despite the region’s wealth of agricultural

resources (Vernon County alone has more than

T

Having progressed from conception to incorporation,

fledgling Wisconsin co-op faces crucial questions

Fifth Season Cooperative
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 27

200 organic farms), concerns have grown in recent years

regarding its community food security. The Food

Security Learning Center defines community food

security as “a food system in which all community

residents are able to obtain a safe, culturally appropriate,

nutritionally sound diet through an economically and

environmentally sustainable food system that promotes

community self‐reliance and social justice.”

While southwest Wisconsin produces large quantities

of high-quality food, much of that food leaves the region

for larger cities, including Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago

and the Twin Cities. In 2007, the Valley Stewardship

Network (VSN) launched a Food and Farm Initiative

(FFI) in response to these concerns regarding local food

security in southwest Wisconsin. The mission of FFI is

to encourage the development of a sustainable, equitable

local food system by:

• Engaging and educating a broad network of county

residents;

• Improving access to healthy, local foods for all

members of the community, especially the low‐income

population;

• Strengthening the economic viability of regional

agriculture; and

• Addressing market barriers for local producers.

As part of the FFI, VSN conducted an 18‐month

community food assessment of Vernon County to better

understand the county’s food assets, opportunities and

needs and to identify the best strategies for improving

food security. In Vernon County, the community food

assessment served as a foundation for stakeholders to

identify projects, policies and partnerships to meet the

aforementioned goals of a sustainable food system.

Farmland in the

Driftless Region

Following the completion of the Vernon County

Community Food Assessment, economist Ken Meter of

the Crossroads Resource Center completed a rural

economic assessment of southwest Wisconsin, based on

the results of the food assessment, and reported the

results to the communities in the region. Meter’s data,

coupled with the findings of the FFI Community Food

Assessment, revealed several important food system facts:

• Southwest Wisconsin is home to a great number of

small- to medium-scale farms that have the capacity to

produce high-quality foods.

• There is a multimillion-dollar local food market

waiting to be further developed, as indicated by the

$208 million that consumers here spend annually

buying food from outside the region.

• Producers in southwest Wisconsin lack access to the

structured coordination and processing, marketing and

distribution infrastructure necessary to increase

producer capacity.

• Southwest Wisconsin boasts strong nonprofit,

producer, business and institutional partners that are

committed to improving the local food system.

The findings of these studies led the Vernon

Economic Development Association (VEDA) to apply

for a 2009 Buy Local Buy Wisconsin Grant (BLBW) that

would support the infrastructure, coordination and

Co-op members sign the articles of incorporation (facing page) for the new Fifth Season Cooperative in southwest Wisconsin.

Its mission is to encourage the development of a sustainable local food system. Photos courtesy Fifth Season Cooperative
28 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

education necessary to strengthen

producer capacity and increase

consumption of local food in SW

Wisconsin. They decided that a multistakeholder cooperative is the best

business model to meet the region’s

needs for four key reasons:

• They could model the cooperative

after the Producers & Buyers Co-op

in Chippewa Valley, which had

already proven to be a viable model.

• VEDA began discussions months

before that included buyers and

producers. Having laid the

groundwork for a model that brought

everyone to the same table, they had

confidence that a cooperative would

work.

• Organic Valley, the nation’s largest

organic food cooperative, offered to

donate $10,000 as a cash match to the

BLBW grant.

• Cooperative experts from the region

encouraged VEDA to use a

cooperative model and offered their

advice and support.

Co-op start up

VEDA was awarded the BLBW

grant in 2010 and action was immediately taken to make the vision a reality.

Executive Director Sue Noble formed

two committees to begin the formal

planning process: a slush group and a

steering committee.

The slush group was comprised of

key players who were highly invested in

the project and had relevant expertise.

The group included Margaret Bau, a

cooperative development specialist with

USDA Rural Development; Sue Noble,

VEDA executive director; Nicole

Penick, Buy Local coordinator; Jan

Rasikas, general manager of the

Viroqua Food Co-op; Marilyn Volden,

director of Food and Nutrition

Programs for Viroqua Public Schools;

Brian Wickert, owner of EZ Farms, and

Cecil Wright, director of Sustainable

Giving at Organic Valley.

This group met often and dealt with

the minute details of putting together a

cooperative organization. One of the

most difficult tasks this group

undertook was articulating and building

consensus around the various

documents that defined the cooperative:

the mission statement, vision statement,

and bylaws.

Sue Noble also formed a larger

steering committee that met about once

a month. The purpose of these

meetings was to inform the larger

group of the progress being made and

to make decisions regarding the actions

PRODUCERS

Growers in the

region who sell

product through

the cooperative

DISTRIBUTORS 

Businesses from

the region that

transport product

for the cooperative

BUYERS

Institutions and

retail operations in

the region that

regularly purchase

product from the

cooperative

WORKERS 

Employees who

are members of

the cooperative

and contribute to

its success through

their labor

PROCESSORS

Businesses from

the region that

provide valueadded products to

be sold through

the cooperative

FIFTH SEASON COOPERATIVE

• Aggregate, store, process, and distribute produce from member farmers

• Provide coordination and infrastructure to connect the region’s growers and institutions

• Match supply and demand needs for all members

• Provide training and support to members

• Develop consistent packaging, delivery, and invoicing to buyers

• Develop marketing and educational materials for consumer education

• Governed by a seven-member board of directors and guided by the seven cooperative

principles

BENEFITS TO MEMBERS

• One member, one vote

• Fair prices for all

• Transparent flow of information

• Product quality and consistency

• Matching supply and demand

• Education and training opportunities

• Equitable distribution of economic returns

• Access to new markets and buying opportunities

BENEFITS TO THE REGION

• Support for small- to medium-scale farms

• More robust regional food system

• Greater access to fresh, local foods

• Increased tax base and job creation

• Marketing & income opportunities for local businesses

• Local investment opportunities

• The cooperative commitment to community

PRODUCER GROUPS

Agricultural

businesses in the

region that sell

product through

the cooperative

MEMBERSHIP CLASSES
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 29

and proposals of the Slush Group. Most

of the attendees of these meetings were

either potential co-op members or were

somehow invested in rebuilding the

regional food system.

Once the key organizational and

legal documents were in order, the next

major task was recruiting members for

the interim board of directors. An

organization’s first board is vital to its

success, so Noble spent a lot of time

making sure the first board included

key stakeholders from each member

class. An advisory council was also

formed to help the board navigate the

process of starting a new cooperative.

Noble emphasized that keeping

Rasikas and Wright as key advisers in

this process was essential. Along with

Bau, they have offered invaluable

guidance on budgeting, vision

development and cooperative

governance. Noble noted that the most

difficult challenge throughout the

process was keeping the vision alive.

“It was critical that people continued

to be excited and feel ownership over

the project even though they didn’t

attend every meeting,” she says.

“Facilitation of the process was key.”

Co-op structure

The Fifth Season Cooperative’s

multi-stakeholder organization is a

unique business structure in the United

States. The cooperative has six member

classes that span the entire supply chain.

The list includes producers, producer

groups, processors, distributors, buyers,

and workers.

Producers are growers in the region

who sell produce, meat or dairy.

Processors are businesses from the

region that make value-added products.

Producer groups are agricultural

businesses in the region that aggregate

and sell produce, meat or dairy.

Distributors are businesses from the

region that transport agricultural

products. Buyers may include

institutions and retail operations in the

region that purchase product from the

co‐op. Workers may become members

and contribute to the success of the

cooperative through their labor.

There is currently one employee,

Nicole Penick, who is serving as the

project coordinator. The membership

classes represent the key players in the

food system at the local level, thereby

putting the entire supply chain at one

table. The motivations behind this

organizational structure are to keep

local dollars circulating in the

community and to develop long-term

relationships between growers and

buyers that lead to fair pricing and fair

treatment of all members of the supply

chain.

Moving forward

The Fifth Season Cooperative is at

an important junction. The co-op has

filed its articles of incorporation and is

now an official entity. There is an

interim board of directors in place that

is leading the way until the formal

board is elected at the first annual

meeting. This interim board has a lot of

decisions to make that greatly influence

Fifth Seasons’ operations, objectives,

and success. There are four questions

that the interim board will have to

resolve:

Membership — In order to be

successful and fulfill its mission, Fifth

Season needs to recruit diverse classes

of members. What is the motivation for

someone to join Fifth Season? How

does Fifth Season make the case that

joining the co-op is a good investment?

Pricing — Determining prices that

each member considers fair will be a

critical challenge for the interim board.

As a multi-stakeholder cooperative that

includes every level of the supply chain,

how will Fifth Season set prices with

which all members are satisfied?

Raising Capital — The Vernon

Economic Development Association

was awarded $40,000 over two years to

start a cooperative; however, the grant

does not cover all of Fifth Season’s

expenses for the first two years. As the

co‐op is in the start-up phase and

working toward building membership

and revenue, it needs additional capital

to fund operations and capital

expenditures. How will this cooperative

be financed? How does the co-op build

equity?

Organic vs. conventional — There

are more than 220 organic farms in

Vernon County alone as well as many

conventional growers in the region.

Should the cooperative be exclusively

organic or should it sell both

conventional and organic products?

The answers to these related questions

have ripple effects as they affect pricing,

membership, marketing, and the overall

functioning of the organization. ■

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle on Sept. 30 announced a $2 million

Economic Development Administration award to the Vernon Economic

Development Association (VEDA) and the City of Viroqua for a food processing

and distribution center in Viroqua. The grant will help VEDA turn a 100,000-

square-foot former factory into a regional hub for food processing, storage and

distribution.

In addition to providing much-needed storage for regional farmers, the

building will also include rental space for local food businesses and a home

for the newly incorporated Fifth Season Cooperative.

“This facility is a tremendous resource to the agricultural industry in our

region. It provides the aggregation, processing and distribution infrastructure

to help small producers increase their market opportunities and business

capacity,” Susan Noble, executive director of VEDA said. “We’re creating jobs,

increasing the tax base and engaging our own local entrepreneurs to grow the

economy.” ■

Shuttered factory to see new life as food hub
o-op Month was

celebrated at USDA

headquarters in

Washington, D.C., in

early October with a

program and reception attended by

about 100 co-op leaders and

government officials, during which a

special Co-op Month proclamation,

signed by Agriculture Secretary Tom

Vilsack (see sidebar), was released.

President Barack Obama also sent a

special message saluting cooperatives,

read by Rural Business-Cooperative

Programs Administrator Judy Canales.

President Obama’s letter said:

“When Americans work together for a

common purpose, we can change lives

of others in sustainable ways.

Thousands of cooperatives across our

country work towards this fundamental

goal, delivering goods and services that

impact countless individuals and

communities. As you celebrate this

successful, diverse business model

during National Cooperative Month, I

hope you take pride in your work to

support and build local economies and

strengthen our nation.”

Featured speakers included Dr. Brent

Heuth, from the University of

Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives,

who provided a snapshot of the nation’s

cooperative sector, which includes

29,000 cooperatives that have a $650

billion annual impact on the U.S.

economy. Gary Stooksbury, CEO of

Aiken Electric cooperative, spoke on

behalf of the South Carolina Power

Team/Palmetto Economic

Development Corporation, which is a

consortium of utility co-ops that are

pooling their efforts to attract new

business to the state and to create jobs.

Rick Beckler, director of hospitality

at Sacred Heart Hospital of Eau Claire,

Wis., told the story of the Producers

and Buyers Cooperative, which is

helping small farmers tap the local food

market with contracts to supply

homegrown foods to area health care

facilities. Steve Flick, board president of

Missouri’s Show Me Energy

Cooperative, described how this

biomass energy co-op is taking wood

and crop waste and turning it into fuel

pellets. Madeline Schultz, of the Iowa

Co-op Extension Service, provided an

overview of a new website

(www.eXtension.org.) designed to

spread understanding of the cooperative

model of business.

Under Secretary for Rural

Development Dallas Tonsager and

Canales also met with a smaller group

of co-op leaders to better focus the

attention of USDA on key issues facing

cooperatives. Tonsager stressed USDA’s

commitment to:

• Developing local food systems;

• Expanding broadband service;

• Developing renewable energy

resources;

• Support for the Great Outdoors

initiative;

• Maintenance of the ecosystem.

Some of the issues raised by

cooperative leaders included:

• The need to address the future

electricity requirements of rural

America;

30 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

C

Co-op leaders and USDA officials gathered in the courtyard at USDA

headquarters in Washington, D.C., in October for a special Co-op Month

salute. Below, Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein

addresses the gathering, as did (facing page) Under Secretary for Rural

Development Dallas Tonsager and Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Administrator Judy Canales. USDA photos by Bob Nichols

Co-op Month celebrated at USDA
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 31

Office of the Secretary

Washington, D.C.

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE MONTH

October 2010

By the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States of America

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS the Nation’s 29,000 cooperatives have an impact of more than $650

billion annually on the U.S. economy and are operated for the benefit of their

members, rather than outside investors, in the spirit of member ownership and

member control; and

WHEREAS cooperatives are a highly flexible, self-help business model that

enable producers and consumers to engage in activities as diverse as

processing and marketing crops and obtaining farm supplies; developing

renewable energy projects, food stores and childcare centers; and providing

credit and financial services, insurance, electricity and telecommunications

services to their member owners; and

WHEREAS cooperatives own more than $3 trillion in assets and employ more

than 850,000 people, and are especially effective at helping to add value to the

goods and services produced in rural America, helping to keep more dollars

“at home”; and

WHEREAS one of the key guiding principles of the cooperative movement is

service to community, and thus cooperatives operate in a manner that

strengthens the communities in which their members live and work; and

WHEREAS the U.S. Department of Agriculture supports the Nation's

agricultural and utility cooperatives with financial programs, educational

materials, statistical information, research, technical, and development

assistance;

NOW, THEREFORE, in recognition of the vital role cooperatives play in the

Nation’s economy and the impact they have on improving economic

opportunity and the quality of life in rural America, I, Thomas J. Vilsack,

Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, do hereby proclaim

October 2010 as National Cooperative Month. I encourage people everywhere

to learn more about cooperatives and celebrate their accomplishments with

appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of October

2010, the two-hundred thirty-fifth year of the Independence of the United

States of America.

THOMAS J. VILSACK

Secretary

• The need to attract new, young talent

into the cooperative academic

community;

• Further educating and providing

technical assistance to co-ops on how

to sell “brand identities” of their

products;

• Creating a rural/urban linkage for the

development of advanced food

systems;

• Providing advice to cooperatives on

how they can work in urban areas to

develop agriculture centers (within the

confines of statutory regulations).

Andrew Jermolowicz, USDA’s acting

deputy administrator for Cooperative

Programs, provided in-depth

information about the Value-Added

Producer Grant program and the

expansion of the program to include

local farming initiatives. He indicated

that there has been an upsurge in

applications. Available funding for the

program was greatly expanded this year.

■
32 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Newsline

Send co-op news items to: dan.campbell@wdc.USDA.gov

Co-op developments, coast to coast

USDA announces

funding for co-ops

Agriculture Under Secretary for

Rural Development Dallas Tonsager in

October announced support to help

rural cooperatives expand economic

activity in their communities. Tonsager

made the announcement on behalf of

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

during a speech in Washington marking

October as National Cooperative

Month.

“President Obama and Secretary

Vilsack have recognized the importance

of America’s rural cooperatives during

Cooperative Month. Rural cooperatives

not only provide thousands of jobs, they

invigorate local communities and

businesses,” Tonsager said. “The grants

I am announcing today will help these

recipients continue their work. Their

success underscores the importance of

the cooperative system as a successful

business model.”

The funding is being provided

through USDA’s Rural Cooperative

Development Grant (RCDG) program.

Tonsager highlighted several

cooperative projects and acknowledged

the efforts of co-op officials from across

the country. One of the cooperatives,

Farm to Table, plans to use a $142,000

grant to improve economic conditions

in rural New Mexico. It will collaborate

with New Mexico’s oldest memberowned cooperative — La Montanita —

on a best-practices curriculum for food

system cooperative development, and

on a new loan investment initiative for

food systems businesses.

The Mississippi Association of

Cooperatives will use its grant funds to

provide small and minority farmers with

development assistance. The Center

focuses the vast majority of its efforts

on the most distressed rural areas of the

state. The group helps minority farmers

establish financially sound businesses.

The California Center for

Cooperative Development will receive a

$225,000 grant to develop new

cooperatives, promote communitysupported agriculture, strengthen the

marketing of small farm production,

and develop systems to link growers

with regional consumers. The Center

also plans to improve the economic

condition of local farmers by helping

them form cooperatives to enhance

their marketplace position.

For a full list of the fund recipients,

visit the newsroom at: www.rurdev.

usda.gov.

DFA issues $26 million

in patronage

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has

allocated $26.4 million in 2009

patronage earnings to its members, with

$7.6 million distributed in cash and the

balance allocated to members’ equity

accounts. The amount of patronage a

member receives each year is based on

the amount of member milk marketed

through the cooperative. This

allocation equals 7 cents per

hundredweight of milk marketed in

2009.

In keeping with DFA’s base capital

plan, members who have achieved the

established base capital level will receive

100 percent of their share of earnings in

cash. Those who have not will receive a

portion of their earnings in cash, with

the balance added to their capital

accounts.

In other DFA news, members,

management and staff took a break

from an annual training conference in

September to help launch the

development of two community gardens

in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

The activity was coordinated and

managed by HandsOn New Orleans

through a partnership with NOLA

Green Roots, a greenspace development

organization.

“With the help of 250 volunteers, we

were able to transform two lots into

community gardens in the matter of a

few hours,” said Kertrina Watson

Lewis, executive director for HandsOn

New Orleans. The community gardens

will supply Ninth Ward residents with a

variety of fresh herbs, fruits and

vegetables, as well as serve as a positive

social hub.

Vilsack announces renewable

energy initiatives

As part of the Obama

Administration's effort to promote

production of fuel from renewable

sources, create jobs and mitigate the

effects of climate change, Agriculture

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a

series of measures in a speech at the

National Press Club in Washington,

D.C. “Domestic production of

renewable energy, including biofuels, is

a national imperative and that’s why

USDA is working to assist in
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 33

2011 Co-op Hall of Fame

inductees named

Five outstanding cooperative leaders are being inducted

into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. The 2011 inductees

include: agri-business leader Noel Estenson; international

cooperative developers Gloria and Stanley Kuehn; former

congressman and credit union leader Daniel A. Mica; and

civil rights leader and cooperative developer Shirley Sherrod.

These cooperative leaders will be

recognized at the annual Cooperative Hall

of Fame dinner and induction ceremony

at the National Press Club in Washington,

D.C., May 4. In addition to the event, a

public forum will be held in conjunction

with the dinner on the afternoon of May

4, also at the National Press Club. The

forum will feature current and future Hall

of Fame inductees in moderated panel

discussions about the role of

cooperatives in the U.S. and world

economies.

“The roster of the Cooperative Hall of

Fame tells the story of the U.S. cooperative community

through the lives and accomplishments of extraordinary

individuals. Induction to the Hall of Fame is reserved for

those who have made genuinely heroic contributions to the

cooperative community,” says Gasper Kovach, Jr., board

chair of the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF),

which administers the Hall of Fame. Kovach pointed out that

only 147 individuals have been inducted since the Hall of

Fame was established in 1974.

Those selected for induction in 2011 include:

• Noel Estenson — A visionary leader, Estenson saw the

value of new business structures, including joint ventures

and mergers, as a means of creating operating efficiencies

that built stronger cooperative organizations. In the early

1980s, he was responsible for a ground-breaking joint

venture between Cenex and Land O’Lakes that eliminated

duplication in both cooperatives’ agricultural supply and

energy operations. Later, as CEO of Cenex, he joined forces

with Harvest States Cooperative. The resulting merger

created CHS Inc., the largest cooperative in the United

States, which markets domestically and internationally.

Estenson served as CEO of CHS until his retirement in 2000.

• Gloria & Stanley Kuehn — Working as a family team of

cooperative developers, the Kuehns have over 25 years of

experience working internationally with small farmers to

grow non-traditional and organic crops to meet new and

growing markets. Their work in El Salvador and Nicaragua

was done through Stanley’s capacity as country director in

the National Cooperative Business Association’s (NCBA)

international program operation, known internationally as

CLUSA. Now working with the World Council of Credit

Unions (WOCCU) they are helping to establish rural credit

unions, first in Kenya and now in Ethiopia.

• Daniel A. Mica — Mica’s 14-year tenure (1996-2010) as

president and CEO of the Credit Union National Association

(CUNA) represented a period of significant

accomplishment for the credit union

movement. This former member of

Congress led a proactive legal defense

and legislative/regulatory agenda that

won landmark battles for credit unions

and made CUNA into one of the most

respected trade associations in

Washington, D.C. In addition to putting

programs in place that raised the

movement’s political stature in

Washington and strengthened its

grassroots networks, Mica is also a savvy

communicator who is credited with

boosting the credit union’s visibility in the national media,

leading to greater consumer awareness and increased

membership growth.

• Shirley Sherrod — A veteran of the civil rights movement,

Sherrod found a way to achieve economic justice and rural

land ownership for small and lower income farmers through

collective farming and cooperative development. As cofounder of a 6,000-acre, black-owned cooperative and land

trust that was forced into foreclosure, she was a party to

the recently successful class action lawsuit against USDA

for discriminatory lending practices. After the foreclosure,

she joined the Georgia field staff of the Federation of

Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, where she

spent the next three decades helping small farmers,

developing rural cooperatives and building economically

viable rural communities. In July 2009, she was appointed

as the USDA Rural Development Georgia state director by

the Obama Administration, serving in the position until July

2010.

The Cooperative Hall of Fame gallery is on display in NCBA’s

offices in Washington, D.C.; it also can be visited on the Web

at: www.heroes.coop. For dinner attendance or sponsorship

information, contact CDF at (703) 302-8097 or

tbuen@cdf.coop.

COOPERATIVE

HALL OF FAME
34 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

developing a biofuels industry in every

corner of the nation,” Vilsack said. “By

producing more biofuels in America, we

will create jobs, combat global

warming, replace our dependence on

foreign oil and build a stronger

foundation for the 21st century

economy.”

Vilsack announced several measures,

including the publication of a final rule

to implement the Biomass Crop

Assistance Program (BCAP). Under the

BCAP final rule, USDA will resume

making payments to eligible producers.

The program had operated as a pilot,

pending publication of the final rule.

Authorized in the Food, Conservation

and Energy Act of 2008, BCAP is

designed to ensure that a sufficiently

large base of new, non-food, non-feed

biomass crops is established in

anticipation of future demand for

renewable energy consumption.

The BCAP final regulation reflects

policies developed as a result of more

than 24,000 comments received on

previous Federal Register notices and a

proposed rule, and knowledge gained

by implementing a portion of the

program in 2009.

BCAP uses a dual approach to

support the production of renewable

energy. First, BCAP provides assistance

for the establishment and production of

eligible renewable biomass crops within

specified project areas. Producers who

enter into BCAP contracts may receive

payments of up to 75 percent of the

cost of establishing eligible perennial

crops. Further, they can receive

payments for up to five years for annual

or non-woody perennial crops and up

to 15 years for woody perennial crops.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is

accepting project area proposals and,

after project area proposals have been

approved, eligible producers may

participate by enrolling at their FSA

county office.

In addition, BCAP also assists

agricultural and forest landowners and

operators by providing matching

payments for the transportation of

certain eligible materials that are sold to

qualified biomass conversion facilities.

The facilities convert the materials into

heat, power, biobased products or

advanced biofuels.

The Secretary also announced jointly

with the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) a five-year

agreement to develop aviation fuel from

forest and crop residues and other

“green” feedstocks in order to decrease

dependence on foreign oil and stabilize

aviation fuel costs.

Information about state contacts for

USDA energy programs is available at:

www.usda.gov/documents/USDA_Bioe

nergy_Resources.xlsx.

AMPI returning

$12.9 million to owners

The dairy farmer-owners of

Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI)

will share $12.9 million this year as a

result of the cooperative’s consistent

earnings. The cash will be paid to

individuals based on the amount of milk

they marketed through AMPI.

Members who are age 65 and retired

from dairying can receive their

cooperative equity through an

accelerated, five-year distribution.

“Once again, AMPI is delivering on

its mission of maximizing the return on

milk marketed and equity invested for

its dairy farmer-owners,” said AMPI

President and CEO Ed Welch. “These

payments are one more way AMPI’s

farmer-owners should measure their

dairy marketing cooperative’s

performance.”

Revenue for NCB Co-op 100

tops $175 billion

The nation’s 100 largest cooperatives —

including co-ops from all business

sectors — had revenue of $175.6 billion

for 2009, according to NCB (formerly

National Cooperative Bank). The NCB

Co-op 100 debuted in 1991, when the

revenue for the top 100 co-ops was

$81.4 billion.

“The dollar amount, even though

slightly lower than last year, highlights

the benefits of a cooperative’s adaptable

structure, ultimately enabling these

organizations to prosper and serve their

members even in the most difficult of

[economic] climates,” says Charles E.

Snyder, president and CEO of NCB.

“As a bank created and focused on

providing financing to the cooperative

community, we’re proud to have been

instrumental in the expansion of these

businesses over the past 30 years.”

The top two revenue producers (and

their 2009 revenue) for each of the

business sectors tracked by the NCB

Co-op 100 were:

■ Agriculture:

• CHS Inc., Saint Paul, Minn., $25.7

billion; CHS maintained its first place

position as the nation’s largest co-op

for all sectors;

• Land O’Lakes Inc., Saint Paul, Minn.,

$10.4 billion;

■ Grocery:

• Wakefern, Elizabeth, N.J., $9.3

billion;

• Associated Wholesale Grocers,

Kansas City, Kan., $7 billion;

■ Hardware & Lumber:

• ACE Hardware, Oakbrook, Ill., $3.5

billion;

• Do It Best Corp., Fort Wayne, Ind.,

$2.4 billion;

■ Finance:

• Agribank, FSB, Saint Paul, Minn.,

$3.8 billion;

• Navy Federal Credit Union,

Merrifield, Va., $2.9 billion;

■ Health Care:

• HealthPartners, Inc., South

Bloomington, Minn., $3.3 billion;

• Group Health Cooperative, Seattle,

Wash., $3 billion;

■ Energy & Communications:

• National Cable Television

Cooperative Inc., Lenexa, Kan., $1.9

billion;

• Basin Electric Power Cooperative,

Bismarck, N.D., $1.4 billion.
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 35

Cooperatives and their members

often fair better in challenging times

than investor-owned firms, due to their

adaptable structure and governing body,

according to NCB. Since cooperatives

are controlled by their members, the

individuals who use and benefit from

the goods and services provided, the

cooperative can more readily readjust to

market conditions than many of its

investor-backed counterparts, it notes.

The entire NCB Co-op 100 report is

available under the publications section

at: www.ncb.coop.

Prairie Farms launches

‘Farmer-Owned’ campaign

Prairie Farms, owned by a

cooperative of more than 700 dairy

farm families, has introduced the

“Farmer Owned” campaign at a time

when food miles — the distance

between where a food originates and

the consumer — are becoming

increasingly relevant to consumers.

“Reducing food miles benefits both the

environment and local economies;

consumer support for locally produced

products has doubled in the past five

years,” the co-op said in announcing

the program.

In an effort to raise consumer

awareness of the company’s local,

farmer-owned heritage, Prairie Farms

says it updated its logo and packaging

to identify its products as coming from

local, farmer-owned dairy producers.

“The new direction emphasizes the

values of our farm families and our

commitment to being good citizens in

the community,” says Ed Mullins, CEO

of Prairie Farms Dairy. “The packaging

artwork has a distinctive personality and

will clearly stand out on retailers'

shelves from competing national and

private-label brands.”

The new logo maintains the

traditional red lettering for the

company name, and a gold "Farmer

Owned" banner above the logo builds

on brand strength. A farm scene

reinforces the farmer-owned brand

messaging.

Prairie Farms timed an integrated

advertising campaign with the release of

the updated packaging. The messaging

includes a new tag line: “Farm fresh

quality, from our family to yours,” as

well as lifestyle imagery of farm

families.

Prairie Farms has also introduced

two new flavors of 16-ounce sour cream

dips: Jalapeño Fiesta and Bacon

Cheddar. The packaging for these

products reflects the “Farmer-Owned”

campaign.

Audrey Malan

among ACE honorees

Audrey Malan — a cooperative

developer with more than 20 years

experience working with start-up and

established producer, consumer and

worker cooperatives and related organizations — is the 2010

recipient of the Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE)

Outstanding Contribution to Cooperative Education and

Training Award. She received the honor during the ACE 2010

Institute in Cleveland, Ohio.

Malan served as executive director of CooperationWorks!,

a national organization of cooperative development centers

and practitioners, from the early 2000s to late 2007. She

remains involved with co-ops as a developer, trainer and

consultant based in Dayton, Wyo.

She was instrumental in the development of “The Art &

Science of Developing a New Cooperative Business” program

for co-op developers in Canada and the United States. She

continues as the program marketer and as an instructor. She

is also co-author of two publications that have contributed to

successful co-op development and education: “Steps to

Starting a Marketing Cooperative” and “Steps to Starting a

Worker Cooperative.” Both were published by the University

of California Center for Cooperatives.

“Audrey is dedicated to social change through the

cooperative model,” says ACE Executive Director Bill Patrie.

He also commended her for leadership in communicating to

varied audiences, including government officials, about the

impact of cooperatives in rural America.

Other ACE award winners included:

— The Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC), received the

ACE Contribution Award to recognize its work in organizing

tours and speakers for the ACE Institute, and for sharing its

experience creating the groundbreaking Evergreen

Cooperative business model for worker-owner co-ops (also

see page 12);

— Jen Heneberry of the Ontario Cooperative Association, a

co-op development manager who has used many media to

reach different target audiences, earned the William Hlushko

Award for Young Cooperative Educators (for those under age

36).

— Bob Cohen, CEO of the Braintree Business Development

Center — a nonprofit serving business start-ups and

emerging companies in North Central Ohio — as well as

program coordinator of the new Cooperative Development

Center at Kent State University, received the Reginald J.

Cressman ACE Award for his work to educate employees and

help to create new worker-owner cooperatives.

More information on the 2010 ACE Institute (in English,

French and Spanish) is posted on: www.2010ACEInstitute.com.

ACE links educators, researchers, cooperative members and

cooperative developers across cooperative sectors and

national borders to enhance cooperative development,

strengthen cooperatives, promote professionalism and

improve public understanding.
36 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

NMPF animal care program

accepting farm signup

The National Dairy FARM (Farmers

Assuring Responsible Management)

program, created by the National Milk

Producers Federation (NMPF), is now

accepting enrollment in the Animal

Care Program. This is a voluntary,

nationwide program designed to bring

consistency and uniformity to animal

care through education, on-farm

evaluations and objective third-party

verification.

The second phase of the

implementation process has now been

launched, which includes the start of

on-farm evaluations for participating

producers. A participation fee is a

shared responsibility for all participants

of the National Dairy FARM Animal

Care Program to fund the enrollment

of on-farm data in a private database, as

well as to pay for third-party

verification of the program. While

support for the development of

educational training materials has been

available from the national dairy checkoff, such funding sources cannot be

drawn upon for third-party verification,

according to NMPF.

“Producers can participate

independently or through their

cooperative or processor. Producers

who are affiliated with a cooperative or

proprietary processor should contact

their representative to see if their milk

marketing organization is participating

in the program or to encourage them to

join in,” said Betsy Flores, NMPF

director of regulatory affairs.

Participation information can be found

at www.nationaldairyfarm.com.

Ocean Spray, Disney alliance

will promote Craisins

Ocean Spray has announced a

partnership with Walt Disney Parks and

Resorts that will bring the Ocean Spray

cranberry to a number of retail points

at Disney parks. Disney will now offer

Craisins dried cranberries at various

retail locations, including theme parks,

cruise ships, meeting rooms and hotels.

The product will also be used in new

signature salads and cranberry muffins

and sold at fruit cart stands and kiosks

inside the theme parks.

The companies are also joining

together to launch a special, co-branded

version of Craisins packaging featuring

Chip ‘n Dale, Disney’s cartoon

chipmunks, that will be used on Ocean

Spray products sold on Disney

properties.

Nebraska’s Open Harvest co-op

celebrates 35 years

Claude and Prudence Coccodrilli

remember packaging cheese, nut

butters, and dried fruit in the tiny

basement of the original Open Harvest in

Lincoln, Neb. “We affectionately referred

to it as ‘the hole,’” Claude recalls, with a

laugh. The couple has been members of

the co-op since they moved to Lincoln

from Philadelphia in 1980.

Back then, the natural foods grocery

occupied a 500-square-foot space at

27th and Randolph Streets. Rent was $50

a month. The place ran on nearly 50

hours of volunteer work a day. “It was a

labor of love,” says Claude.

This summer, Open Harvest

celebrated 35 years of business. A

veteran of the co-op movement that

sprouted in the 1960s, it is one of the

oldest natural foods co-ops in the

country. Everyone is welcome to shop at

Open Harvest, which boasts 3,300

members, employs 70 people, and

carries the products of 80 local farmers

and suppliers. The co-op generates $4

million in annual sales. During the past

35 years, more than 10,000 people have

been co-op members. The grocery

carries one of the largest selections of

natural and organic food, produce,

meats and supplements in Lincoln.

The store expanded to nearly 10,000

square feet at its South Street Plaza

location in 2009. This “green” renovation

project used local firms to do the work.

Nearly 90 members loaned more than

$200,000 to supplement the Union Bank

loan that financed the expansion.

Open Harvest kicked off anniversary

festivities July 13 with a store-wide Local

Foods Sale. Local farmers and vendors

showcased their goods and did in-store

demos later in the month. Shoppers

could register to win a free bag of

groceries and other prizes. Nostalgia

buffs watched a continuous PowerPoint

slideshow of the early days at the

Randolph Street store, the 1990 grand

opening at South Street and the Grand

Expansion Opening last October.

Open Harvest got its start in 1971 in a

garage when a dozen or so households

The Open Harvest natural foods cooperative in Lincoln, Neb., is celebrating its 35th

anniversary. Photo courtesy Open Harvest
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 37

“Ocean Spray is proud to form one

of the largest partnerships of its kind in

our history, with such a world class

organization as Disney, that shares our

wholesome, good-for-you focus,” said

Randy Papadellis, CEO of Ocean Spray.

The company will build cranberry bog

displays during Disney’s California

Food & Wine Festival, held April 29 to

June 12, 2011, and the Epcot

International Food & Wine Festival in

fall 2011. Third-, fourth- and fifthgeneration cranberry growers will travel

with 2,000 pounds of fresh cranberries

from rural areas around the country to

share their passion and personal

farming histories while recreating the

wonders of the harvest for families

visiting the parks.

Eastland now chair,

Allen new CEO at Staplcotn

After 24 years in the post, Woods E.

Eastland has retired as president and

CEO of Staple Cotton Cooperative

Association (Staplcotn) and Staple

Cotton Discount Corporation

(Stapldiscount). He will, however,

remain in the co-op’s leadership,

assuming the board chairmanship, the

same position he had held before being

named CEO.

Eastland succeeds Chairman Ben

Lamensdorf, who had held the post

since 2003. The board has selected

Meredith Allen as the new president

and CEO. Allen had been serving as

executive vice president of Staplcotn

and Stapldiscount. Allen joined

Staplcotn in 1985 as the head of the

domestic sales department., where he

was responsible for directing all

marketing activities in domestic and

foreign markets, as well as developing

new markets.

Founded in 1921, Staplcotn, in

Greenwood, Miss., is the oldest cotton

marketing cooperative in the United

States. It currently has more than

13,000 farm accounts in an 11-state

area in the mid-South and Southeast, as

well as a warehousing operation with 14

locations in four states. ■

buy from other cooperatives, we could

increase that percentage significantly.

Doing so would have profound

economic and social benefits for

cooperatives, their members and the

communities they serve.

As the best business model for

economic and social progress,

cooperatives are ideally suited to be

well served by the triple bottom line

measurement of finances, community

and environmental impact. The absence

of outside shareholders with voting

rights allows cooperatives to focus on

the members and community.

When the character Gordon Gecko

uttered the infamous line “Greed is

good” in the 1984 film Wall Street, we

knew in our hearts and minds that this

was not right (ironically, as I write this,

a sequel to this film was recently

released). We who work for co-ops are

fortunate to work in a business model

that promotes economic fairness,

because the owners are the people

using the goods and services. We need

to look no further than our seven

principles to give us the guidance we

need. ■

Commentary

started a buying club to purchase bulk continued from page 2

and natural foods. They called their

venture “People’s Food Co-op.”

(“Starseed Food Conspiracy” was also

considered as a name.) Three years

later, the name was changed to “Our

Store” and the location moved to the

basement of Trinity Methodist Church.

The co-op then had about 250 members.

In 1975, the co-op was renamed Open

Harvest and moved to 27th & Randolph.

KZUM Community Radio began

broadcasting from the basement in 1978.

Co-op membership grew by the

hundreds. By the late 1980s the store

was bursting at the seams.

In 1990, Open Harvest moved to its

current location at 1618 South Street,

with 5,000 square feet of space (the rent

was $4,000 per month). Staff and

members hauled everything over in their

pickups and cars.

But Open Harvest has been much

more than a grocery store to the

Coccodrillis. “It’s not only our lifeline for

food and nutrition and vitamins and

supplements, but we’ve met people

through Open Harvest who have become

lifelong friends,” says Claude. “For us,

it’s been a lifetime experience. We

couldn’t pigeonhole our Open Harvest

experience because it’s had a ripple

effect in so many aspects of our lives.”

The co-op board and staff are

working on a 25-year strategic plan, and

a new crop of young, energetic

managers are up and coming. General

Manager Jim Nelson, who steered the

co-op through its expansion process, is

retiring at year’s end. Merchandising

Manager Kelsi Swanson, 28, who has

been with the co-op for close to four

years, will step up as new general

manager. Swanson’s parents are

longtime co-op members. In fact, Kelsi’s

mother, Terri Swanson, remembers

stopping by the co-op when she was

pregnant with Kelsi and new to town.

She quickly befriended Margot, who was

cashiering at the time, and became a

member and volunteer at the co-op. Kelsi

says that it is now a family joke that she

worked at the co-op before she was

even born.

“I like the fact that over the years

we’ve been able to accomplish what

none of us could have done alone,”

Conrad reflects. “It’s definitely been a

group effort. A labor of love.” ■
38 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

environment, you must engage in

active, transparent communication with

your board, your employees and,

ultimately, your membership.

Our board meets once each year for

a strategic planning session to create a

game plan for the future of Landmark.

In addition, we have developed a GO

(Growth and Opportunity) Committee,

made up of key members of our

management team, that meets year

round to discover and develop new

business opportunities.

We try to ensure that the voices

from the entire Landmark team are

heard throughout the strategic planning

process, so that we create an

environment where honest feedback is

encouraged and acted upon. That

honest feedback is where the spirit of

collaboration at Landmark is born. By

listening to the individual voices of our

cooperative, we use that collaborative

knowledge to build a better business

model.

Each person that is a part of

Landmark — whether he or she is in a

leadership position, an employee or a

producer — has a viewpoint that is

valuable in making Landmark both

profitable and focused on meeting the

needs of its members. Listening to the

collective voices of all of our people

allows us to be a more dynamic

company that is better able to find and

implement innovative solutions to the

issues our producers face. This ability

to “stay ahead of the game” is what has

allowed us to achieve the success we

have seen over the past several decades.

As an agricultural cooperative, we

have made a commitment to the longterm profitability of both our business

and that of our growers. This

commitment to the “big picture” is

reflected in our mission statement and

in the values that each member of our

leadership team uses to make decisions

regarding the future of our cooperative.

In addition, our members have made

a commitment to the success of the

cooperative by supporting us with their

business and loyalty. This three-way

street of communication, collaboration

and commitment keeps our board, our

staff and our membership fully engaged

with each other and allows us to stay in

unison in the ever-changing and everexpanding agriculture industry. ■

Management Tip

continued from page 17

for locally grown pasture-raised meats.

Casey McKissick is the coordinator

of NC Choices and a small poultry

farmer in Old Fort, in the western part

of the state near Asheville. His

inspiration was to use mobile

slaughterhouses as a temporary measure

to help develop the market for locally

grown meats. “Around here,” he says,

“the small farmer is getting demand for

his poultry. People want to see where

their meat comes from. But taking your

birds to a modern slaughterhouse

means a round-trip of four and half

hours. That’ll just kill your profit.”

Some small local red meat processors

are willing to work with small farmers,

but none processed poultry. In any case,

McKissick says, “they’re ‘mom and pop’

operations that haven’t progressed from

the 1940s. They need to get up to

speed. If they don’t, the farmers won’t

come back.”

Thus, McKissick found himself

dealing with a chicken-and-egg

situation: existing small processing

facilities didn’t have the incentive to

upgrade their operations because there

was no market. But without decent

processing available, farmers had no

incentive to expand their production.

Trailer-mounted facilities seemed the

ideal solution. “North Carolina uses

federal meat-processing guidelines,” he

says. “And FSIS exempts the slaughter

of up to 20,000 birds at a time, if

proper sanitary guidelines are met.” He

says the North Carolina authorities

point out that there has never been a

complaint about the sanitary quality of

farm-processed meat and poultry in the

state.

McKissick’s approach was minimalist

compared to the Montana Poultry

Growers Cooperative. Under the

auspices of a local 14-member

marketing cooperative called Foothills

Family Farms, he obtained a grant of

$5,000 to construct an open-air poultry

slaughter facility on a farm trailer, using

non-commercial equipment. Members

and other farmers can rent the trailer

for $45 a day.

Farmers processed about $30,000

worth of meat the first year,” he says.

“And it took off from there.”

A local nonprofit is working to

construct a federally inspected poultryprocessing facility, using USDA Rural

Development funding. “The difference

is the enormous amount of time and

effort you have to go through to get it

inspected,” he says.

In the meantime, McKissick is

talking to anyone who’s interested in

setting up a mobile facility, and his

minimal design has been already been

copied by other farmers.

“If I had my druthers, there’d be

about 10 or 15 of these things around

the state,” he says. “People from nearby

states, including Georgia, Florida, and

Tennessee, have shown interest, too.

But they say their state laws don’t

permit such an approach.”

McKissick thinks a similar approach

to red meat production would be more

complicated. “Slaughtering on the farm,

in a no-stress situation, that’d be good

for marketing,” he says. “But because of

the prevalence of red meat cut-andwrap facilities in North Carolina, the

real opportunity for us is in exempt

poultry units.”

He, like many small meat producers,

is hoping mobile slaughter trailers may

be a way out of the livestock price

squeeze. ■

Going Mobile

continued from page 7
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 39

their new roles?

° These questions should be

answered by competent legal and

accounting professionals who work

with estate and tax planning issues.

Legal framework

Once the financial issues as discussed

above are taken into consideration, it

must be determined how you will

transfer your farm or other family

business to the next generation. The

structure of your company will be a

factor in determining your choice of the

transfer method.

• The Transfer — If you are a sole

proprietor and want to keep your

company in the family, you need to

think about federal estate and gift

taxes. Or, if you plan to sell your

company to a family member so you

can retire, you need to make

provisions through insurance policies

to help your successor finance the

purchase as well as pay for the

ensuing taxes.

If you are in a partnership, you need

to ask yourself whether the percentage

of the business would automatically

transfer to your spouse or offspring

upon your death or, as part of the

partnership agreement, is your partner

supposed to buy out your shares. If you

have chosen the latter arrangement, you

need to take out enough life insurance

to provide your partner with adequate

funds to pay for the purchase.

In a closely held corporation,

stockholders may stipulate that, upon

their death, their shares will

automatically transfer to their surviving

spouse or children. However, if the

shareholder’s heirs subsequently want to

sell their stock, sufficient provisions

should be made so remaining

shareholders have enough cash for the

buy-out.

In a cooperative, the bylaws would

dictate the agreed-upon transfer terms

and requirements for its members to

determine how, and to whom,

cooperative shares are to be transferred

upon the death of a member.

• Put it in writing — With a familyowned business, the family dynamic

cannot be understated. If you have

children, the issue of who gets what

and who runs the business is a major

issue to address. If you do not have

your wishes in writing, they may be

disregarded. Various family members

may have an incorrect interpretation

of what is supposed to happen with

the business. If you have not indicated

the plan in writing, it will likely end

up being argued in court, with a judge

trying to figure it out. The final

decision may not reflect your desire.

In order to incorporate the terms of

your transfer, you may arrange for the

transfer via a family limited

partnership (FLP).

• Family Limited Partnership —

Many estate advisors say the best way

to protect your assets while having

income tax flexibility is to form an

FLP. An FLP allows you to transfer

your financial and investment real

estate into the partnership in return

for 2 percent general partner interests

and 98 percent limited partner

interests. You would then begin the

process of making gifts of the limited

partnership units to your children or

trusts for their benefit. But because

you retain the 2 percent general

partnership interest, you are in

control.

By this arrangement, gift and estate

taxes may be reduced, which may

produce favorable tax results. However,

the Internal Revenue Service and the

courts are creating fairly specific rules

for businesses to follow to avoid any

unforeseen tax consequences. The

problems usually arise over the issue of

whether the creator of the FLP has

retained an impermissible level of

control over supposedly “gifted” assets.

Thus, if the FLP is not correctly

designed or administered, or if

ownership of the interests is not

properly protected, asset protection

goals may be jeopardized.

Get help, take action!

Keep in mind that many issues arise

when a family-owned business embarks

upon its possible succession. These

include:

• Lifetime sale: Should the business be

sold during the owner’s lifetime?

• Continuance after death: Should the

business be continued after the

owner’s death?

• Ownership of business: Who will own

the business after the succession of

the business?

• Control of business: Who will control

the business after the change of

ownership?

• Treatment of children: Will the

owner’s children be treated equally in

the distribution of the owner’s estate

either before death or after death?

• Treatment of owner: What provisions

will be made for the present owner

after transfer of the business?

Before making a final decision,

consult legal and financial advisors who

are aware of the complexity and

sensitivity in business succession

planning. They should be able to work

as a team with your estate planner to

determine the estate tax and other

transfer costs, need for liquidity, buysell funding requirements, FLP

parameters and the likelihood of sale of

the business to outside parties.

However, the skills of your advisors

or the importance to your family of

business succession planning are

meaningless unless you take action. The

most important aspect of business

succession planning is for the owners to

become convinced that they need to

take positive steps to avoid having their

family business disappear due to a lack

of planning. Do not let that happen to

your family business — design a

succession plan that will successfully

move your business from one

generation to the next! ■

Legal Corner

continued from page 11

What will be the

"death-tax" cost to

transfer the business...?
40 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

2010 Article Index

Information appearing in Rural Cooperatives magazine during calendar

year 2010 has been indexed to help you find past articles. Articles are

indexed by issue and page. Back issues can be found online at:

www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/openmag.htm. To order a free hard

copy, e-mail: coopinfo@wdc.usda.gov, or call (202) 720-8381.

TITLE FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ISSUE—PAGE

AFC sees 4-H, FFA as key to future of ag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 16

Ag competition workshop schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 9

Ag co-op sales and income second highest on record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 4

An American Farmer in Afghanistan

Equity Livestock co-op member says volunteer stint challenging, but also rewarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 34

Assistance for new mobile slaughter efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 6

Better Beginnings

FarmStart offers a helping hand to new farmers and ag co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 8

Biofuel Prometheus

Like its namesake, Promethean Biofuels hopes to better mankind with new energy source . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 36

Blue Diamond: 100-year time capsule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 6

California Center for Cooperative Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 30

California experiencing surge in food co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 30

Campbell County Beef Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 18

Canadian farmers see benefits of local farm machinery co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 12

CCA honors go to Krisle, Brooks, Dumont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 27

CCA Winners: Why we compete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 18

Celebrating the greatest public-private partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 17

Cellulosic biofuel development must balance need to maintain soil quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 19

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

Cool. Funny. Sweet!

America Crystal designer-tees wow members & judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 24

Co-op builds community around food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 34

Co-op Month celebrated at USDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 30

Cooperative Development Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 24

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small producers tap local markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 20

Co-ops Can Thrive In Uncertain Times

Farmer Co-op Conference sees opportunity for co-ops that adapt to structural changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 18

Communications plays a major role in co-op’s success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 8

Community Wind

Maine island community lowering energy costs with wind-power project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 20

Controlling Counterparty Risk

How country elevators can protect against the downside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 24

Cowiche Growers: dedicated to producing quality fruit and spreading co-op concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 15

Dairy co-op survey reveals financial performance trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 22

Despite market challenges, AGP enjoys strong earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 38

Dillard built stronger MMPA, able to adapt to market trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 36

Doing it right: TFC Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 22

Everything under the Nebraska sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 22

Examples of state co-op council activities: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 31 eXtending Co-op Knowledge

Extension Service website to include co-op education area . . .Sept./Oct. 35

Fifth Season Cooperative
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 41

Having progressed from conception to incorporation,

fledgling co-op faces questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 26

50 Years at the Top

Founded to salvage blemished fruit, Tree Top today is

industry leader for apple products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 14

Filling the Gap

At 25, Arthur Capper Co-op Center a major force for co-op

education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 10

Flour Power

NW wheat growers find success with eco-marketing

strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 12

Food for Thought

Winning print ad helps horse owners realize that economy

and quality can ride together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 26

Functional types of dairy cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 24

Galarneau new MMPA leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 36

Get Ready

Co-op Month is coming — what outreach effort will your

co-op make? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 10

Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to help grow local

foods movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 4

A Green Miracle

Co-op playing key role as Iraq rebuilds farm sector . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 4

Grow Food, Grow Hope

Local food, new skills sprout in Ohio community gardens . . . .July/Aug. 36

Heat by the Bushel

New co-ops supplying members with corn for

home-heating fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 27

Horizons-themed report a winner for Aurora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 23

Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber . . . . .Nov./Dec. 8

Indiana Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 19

Iraqi women learn poultry production from USDA advisor . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 7

Justice, USDA set workshop dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 35

Kentucky Center for Agriculture & Rural Development . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 17

Key messages for Co-op Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 12

Keystone Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 28

La Coop federee: a strong network for farmers and consumers . . .Sept./Oct. 12

La Montanita Food Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 33

Laughery Village Co-op meeting need for local food . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 19

A Legacy of Cooperation & Innovation

Blue Diamond: 100th anniversary as co-op that made

U.S. world leader for almonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 4

Look Who’s Minding the Store

Student-run supply co-ops short-lived, but the concepts

they teach live on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 13

Making Hay with ‘Bailout’

‘Cooperative America’ theme inspires TFC’s Publication

of the Year winner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 21

Making Landmark a leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

Merger creates Farm Credit East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 10

MidAtlantic Food Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 29

Milling co-op crucial to Maine’s organic dairy farms . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 25

Montana Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 26

Nebraska Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 21

“Not just a job, but a future”

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to help

struggling neighborhoods prosper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 12

Ohio Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 31

$122 billion in ’08 sales sets record for Top 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 24

Organic dairy market also hurt by low prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 15

Organic farmers increasingly turn to co-op business model . . . . . .May/June 34

Out of Darkness

Against industry opposition, REA helped ‘wire’ farms,

rural areas at remarkable rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 18

Paradise Home Care Co-op meets critical need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 16

People’s Gardens sprouting nationwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 39

Project Pathway

4-H sees science, technology as crucial to building

competitive workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 14

Purchasing cooperative provides savings for members . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 32

Reality Check

Year-to-year comparison failed to tell story, so CHS

annual report provides perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 18

Regional Network Boosts Competitiveness

Diverse interests in Minnesota come together to tap

new business opportunities, markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 26

Rural Capital Network: small team, big results . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 27

Rural Electric and Telecommunications Development Center . . .Sept./Oct. 20

Shuttered factory to see new life as food hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 29

Solar co-op will double Ohio’s PV-energy output . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 15

Something’s new at Iowa’s NEW Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 31

State cooperative councils adapting to help members in

turbulent times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 28

Students and co-op leaders reap lasting benefits from program . . .May/June 13

Sustaining Their Industry

Sugar growers are example of how co-ops can help

producers strengthen their position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 4

Taking Root

Co-op Month special section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 14

Tree Top Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 16

The Little Co-op That Could

Vermont food co-op overcomes initial skepticism to win

hearts (and wallets) of city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 12

Time to Upgrade Your Communications? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 28

2011 Co-op Hall of Fame inductees named . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 33

Uniquely Cooperative: Equity Redemption

Survey tracks trends in how co-ops redeem member equity . . . . . .May/June 30

United Nations declares 2012 International Year of

Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 31

United’s new communicator also a ‘logo cop’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 29

Urban farming strides forward with new greenhouse

cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 16

Urban revitalization, beautification are goals of Urban

Roots co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 40

Value Added Agriculture Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 27

What Cooperatives Do

Market access, countervailing power and yardstick roles

enhance economic efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 4

Why the asset-building movement matters for rural co-op

members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 24

MAGAZINE DEPARTMENTS

CO-OP DEVELOPMENT ACTION

AREC strives to help struggling poultry producers . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 28

High Plains Food helps consumers gain access to

local/regional foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 32

University course promotes co-op development to

meet community needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 16

COMMENTARY

Communications: the critical link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 2

Co-op business model well suited for next-generation

biofuel development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 2

Co-op movement gaining momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 2

Co-op role in rural development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 2

USDA: committed to co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 2

When co-op principles collide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 2

LEGAL CORNER

Capper-Volstead Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 9

Co-ops faced numerous challenges in 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 11

Financial and legal aspects of succession planning for

family-owned businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 11

Succession planning for family-owned businesses is critical

for rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 9

MANAGEMENT TIP

The most important thing I learned about running a co-op . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

NEWSLINE (Co-op Developments coast to coast)

Flint Energies supports methane gas project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 32

Agri-Mark sends $2 million to struggling dairy farmers

Almond shipments jump 23 percent

Spearman appointed to FCA board

Dairy leader Tom Camerlo dies

Korten to address ACE conference

$564 million for advanced bio-refineries

DotCoop announces Global Award winners

CHS crafts long-term direction
42 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

NCBA theme: Transforming the Economy with Co-ops

New leadership program for co-op executives

Riceland sets sales record

Justice, USDA set workshop dates

Charles Ling named USDA Economist of the Year . . . . . . . . . .March/April 30

LO’L reports record net earnings

CooperationWorks! slates spring training

USDA helping Dakota co-op expand broadband service

CoBank reports record earnings, issues $269 million in patronage

USDA, Navy sign renewable energy agreement

Michigan Milk leader Jack Barnes dies

Blue Diamond CEO to retire at end of ‘10

Simmons to lead Oregon bargaining association

Morris Foundation receives $10,000 rural leadership grant

NCFC: Workshops focus should include how co-ops level playing field for

producers

Bob Dylan grants co-op song use

NMPF: USDA decision on bottlers levels playing field for dairy farmers

SDWG launches $66 million project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 37

Southern States reports sales of $1.8 billion

Ag co-ops have billion-dollar impact in Texas, study finds

Farm Credit net income tops $2.8 billion in 2009

Robert Beasley remembered

USDA grants promote rural development

Local co-ops approve mergers

Mooney new chairman of DFA

UVEC celebrates wind-power project

Strong sales for Agri-Mark boost member returns

USDA expands support for broadband

Three co-ops form fertilizer venture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 42

CountryMark acquires assets of Core Minerals

Evergreen FS takes over Towanda Grain

Johnson to retire from CHS

Heartland Co-op to buy four Iowa elevators

NCFC files Capper-Volstead-related court brief

GROWMARK CEO Davisson to retire

David Cramer saluted

MoArk reaches settlement in egg lawsuit

Swiss Valley upgrades one plant, sells another

Michigan cheese makers unite

Broadband projects to create jobs, opportunity

Kansas co-ops offer help after elevator collapse

Northwest Dairy merges with Country Classic Dairies . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 38

Co-op community mourns passing of Rod Nilsestuen

Growmark reports sales of $6 billion

Florida Farm Credit associations pursue merger

Farm Credit launches new website

Biofuels not a major food price factor

Jansen to lead Blue Diamond

Swiss Valley acquires Faribault Dairy, forms cheese venture

Farmers market numbers soar

Farmer Co-op Conference in Colorado, Dec. 6-7

Co-op testimony stressed need for trade programs

USDA announces funding for co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 32

Audrey Malan among ACE honorees

DFA issues $26 million in patronage

Vilsack announces renewable energy initiatives

Revenue for NCB Co-op 100 tops $175 billion

AMPI returning $12.9 million to owners

Prairie Farms launches ‘Farmer-Owned’ campaign

NMPF animal care program accepting farm signup

Ocean Spray, Disney alliance will promote Craisins

Eastland now chair, Allen new CEO at Staplcotn

Nebraska’s Open Harvest co-op celebrates 35 years

PAGE FROM THE PAST

Concentraton in world markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 39

Consolidations, technology, politics to impact co-op

financial institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 43

Farmers Exchange grows steadily over 30 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 46

Fingers and Needles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 39

How to get attendance at meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 42

Pendleton Grain: co-op in motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 38

Saving an industry: plant closure leads Michigan growers to

form turkey co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 46

U.S. Dutch co-ops enter world trade markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 38

Vertical integration is key for Moroni Feed Company . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 42

UTILITY CO-OP CONNECTION

Cooperatives delivering broadband to rural Missouri

communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 18

Electricity service transformed rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 11

EJ Water Co-op provides vital service in rural Illinois . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 26

NRCO helping rural electrics pursue renewable energy . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 10

SUBJECTS

Anniversaries

Celebrating the greatest public-private partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 17

50 Years at the Top

Founded to salvage blemished fruit, Tree Top today is

industry leader for apple products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 14

A Legacy of Cooperation & Innovation

Blue Diamond: 100th anniversary as co-op that made

U.S. world leader for almonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 4

Out of Darkness

Against industry opposition, REA helped ‘wire’ farms,

rural areas at remarkable rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 18

Bargaining

Sustaining Their Industry

Sugar growers are example of how co-ops can help producers

strengthen their position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 4

Beginning Farmers

Better Beginnings

FarmStart offers a helping hand to new farmers and

ag co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 8

Communications

CCA honors go to Krisle, Brooks, Dumont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 27

Communications plays a major role in co-op’s success . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 8

Communications: the critical link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 2

Cool. Funny. Sweet!

America Crystal designer-tees wow members & judges . . . . . . .July/Aug. 24

Doing it right: TFC Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 22

Examples of state co-op council activities: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 31

Food for Thought

Winning print ad helps horse owners realize that

economy and quality can ride together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 26

Get Ready

Co-op Month is coming — what outreach effort will

your co-op make? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 10

Horizons-themed report a winner for Aurora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 23

Making Hay with ‘Bailout’

‘Cooperative America’ theme inspires TFC’s

Publication of the Year winner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 21

Reality Check

Year-to-year comparison failed to tell story, so

CHS annual report provides perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 18

Something’s new at Iowa’s NEW Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 31

State cooperative councils adapting to help members

in turbulent times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 28

United’s new communicator also a ‘logo cop’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 29

Community

Community Wind

Maine island community lowering energy costs with

wind-power project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 20

The Little Co-op That Could

Vermont food co-op overcomes initial skepticism to win

hearts (and wallets) of city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 12

University course promotes co-op development to meet

community needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 16
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 43

Conferences

Cellulosic biofuel development must balance need to

maintain soil quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 19

Co-ops Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

Farmer Co-op Conference sees opportunity for co-ps

that adapt to structural changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 18

Tour helps co-op concepts come alive for future

cooperative leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 16

Co-op Centers

Filling the Gap

At 25, Arthur Capper Co-op Center a major force for

co-op education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 10

Co-op Development

An American Farmer in Afghanistan

Equity Livestock co-op member says volunteer stint

challenging, but also rewarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 34

AREC strives to help struggling poultry producers . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 28

California Center for Cooperative Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 30

Cooperative Development Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 24

Everything under the Nebraska sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 22

Fifth Season Cooperative

Having progressed from conception to incorporation,

fledgling co-op faces questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 26

High Plains Food helps consumers gain access to

local/regional foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 32

Indiana Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 19

Kentucky Center for Agriculture & Rural Development . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 17

Keystone Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 28

MidAtlantic Food Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 29

Montana Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 26

Nebraska Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 21

“Not just a job, but a future”

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to help

struggling neighborhoods prosper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 12

Ohio Cooperative Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 31

Rural Electric and Telecommunications

Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 20

Taking Root

Co-op Month special section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 14

The Little Co-op That Could

Vermont food co-op overcomes initial skepticism to win

hearts (and wallets) of city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 12

University course promotes co-op development to meet

community needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 16

Value Added Agriculture Development Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 27

Co-op Month

Co-op Month celebrated at USDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 30

Get Ready

Co-op Month is coming – what outreach effort will your

co-op make? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 10

Key messages for Co-op Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 12

Co-op Principles/Advantages/Impact

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small

producers tap local markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 20

Uniquely Cooperative: Equity Redemption

Survey tracks trends in how co-ops redeem member equity . . .May/June 30

What Cooperatives Do

Market access, countervailing power and yardstick roles

enhance economic efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 4

Crafts

Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber . . . . .Nov./Dec. 8

Credit

A ‘Green Miracle’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 4

Better Beginnings

FarmStart offers a helping hand to new farmers and ag

co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 8

Merger creates Farm Credit East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 10

Regional Network Boosts Competitiveness

Diverse interests in Minnesota come together to tap

new business opportunities, markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 26

Dairy

Dairy co-op survey reveals financial performance trends . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 22

Dillard built stronger MMPA, able to adapt to market trends . . . .May/June 36

Functional types of dairy cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 24

Galarneau new MMPA leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 36

Organic dairy market also hurt by low prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 15

Directors/Governance

Aligning member interests and democratic control . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 8

Education

AFC sees 4-H, FFA as key to future of ag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 16

Audrey Malan among ACE honorees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 35

Co-op Month celebrated at USDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 30

Examples of state co-op council activities: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 31

eXtending Co-op Knowledge

Extension Service website to include co-op education area . . .Sept./Oct. 35

Filling the Gap

At 25, Arthur Capper Co-op Center a major force for

co-op education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 10

Get Ready

Co-op Month is coming – what outreach effort will your

co-op make? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 10

Key messages for Co-op Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 12

Look Who’s Minding the Store

Student-run supply co-ops short-lived, but the concepts

they teach live on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 13

Project Pathway

4-H sees science, technology as crucial to building

competitive workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 14

State cooperative councils adapting to help members in

turbulent times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 28

Students and co-op leaders reap lasting benefits from program . . .May/June 13

Tour helps co-op concepts ‘come alive’ for future

cooperative leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 16

What Cooperatives Do

Market access, countervailing power and yardstick

roles enhance economic efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 4

Environment

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in

wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

Flour Power

NW wheat growers find success with eco-marketing strategy . .Jan./Feb. 12

“Not just a job, but a future”

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to

help struggling neighborhoods prosper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 12

Solar co-op will double Ohio’s PV-energy output . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 15

Urban farming strides forward with new greenhouse cooperative .Nov./Dec. 16

Farm Supply and Services

Ag co-op sales and income second highest on record . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 4

Canadian farmers see benefits of local farm machinery co-ops . . .Sept./Oct. 12

Making Landmark a leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

$122 billion in ’08 sales sets record for Top 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 24

Something’s new at Iowa’s NEW Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 31

The most important thing I learned about running a co-op . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

United’s new communicator also a ‘logo cop’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 29

Finance/Tax/Legal

Controlling Counterparty Risk

How country elevators can protect against the downside . . .March/April 24

Heat by the Bushel

New co-ops supplying members with corn for

home-heating fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 27

“Not just a job, but a future”

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to

help struggling neighborhoods prosper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 12

Regional Network Boosts Competitiveness

Diverse interests in Minnesota come together to tap

new business opportunities, markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 26
44 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Uniquely Cooperative: Equity Redemption

Survey tracks trends in how co-ops redeem member equity . . .May/June 30

Why the asset-building movement matters for co-op members . . .Nov./Dec. 24

Food Co-ops

California experiencing surge in food co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 30

Co-op builds community around food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 34

La Montanita Food Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 33

MidAtlantic Food Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 29

The Little Co-op That Could

Vermont food co-op overcomes initial skepticism to

win hearts (and wallets) of city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 12

Foreign Co-ops

Aligning member interests and democratic control . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 8

An American Farmer in Afghanistan

Equity Livestock co-op member says volunteer stint

challenging, but also rewarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 34

Canadian farmers see benefits of local farm machinery co-ops . . .Sept./Oct. 12

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in

wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

A Green Miracle

Co-op playing key role as Iraq rebuilds farm sector . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 4

Iraqi women learn poultry production from USDA advisor . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 7

La Coop federee: a strong network for farmers and consumers . . .Sept./Oct. 12

Forestry

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in

wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

Fruits, Nuts, Vegetables

Cowiche Growers: dedicated to producing quality

fruit and spreading co-op concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 15

50 Years at the Top

Founded to salvage blemished fruit, Tree Top today

is industry leader for apple products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 14

A Legacy of Cooperation & Innovation

Blue Diamond: 100th anniversary as co-op that made

U.S. world leader for almonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 4

Gardens/Garden Supply

Grow Food, Grow Hope

Local food, new skills sprout in Ohio community gardens . . . .July/Aug. 36

People’s Gardens sprouting nationwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 39

Urban revitalization, beautification are goals of Urban

Roots co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 40

Grain

Milling co-op crucial to Maine’s organic dairy farms . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 25

Something’s new at Iowa’s NEW Co-op . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 31

United’s new communicator also a ‘logo cop’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 29

Health & Home Services

Paradise Home Care Co-op meets critical need . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 16

Housing

University promotes co-op development to meet needs . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 16

Legal/Legislative

Capper-Volstead Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 9

Celebrating the greatest public-private partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 17

Communications plays a major role in co-op’s success . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 8

Electricity service transformed rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 11

Examples of state co-op council activities: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 31

Financial and legal aspects of succession planning for

family-owned businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 11

Justice, USDA set workshop dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 35

Out of Darkness

Against industry opposition, REA helped ‘wire’ farms,

rural areas at remarkable rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 18

State cooperative councils adapting to help members in

turbulent times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 28

Succession planning for family-owned businesses is critical

for rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 9

Livestock & Poultry

AREC strives to help struggling poultry producers . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 28

Assistance for new mobile slaughter efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 6

Campbell County Beef Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 18

Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to help grow

local foods movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 4

Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber . . . . .Nov./Dec. 8

Iraqi women learn poultry production from USDA advisor . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 7

Management

Dillard built stronger MMPA, able to adapt to market trends . . . .May/June 36

Galarneau new MMPA leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 36

Making Landmark a leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

The most important thing I learned about running a co-op . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

Why the asset-building movement matters for co-op members . . .Nov./Dec. 24

Marketing

Ag co-op sales and income second highest on record . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 4

Controlling Counterparty Risk

How country elevators can protect against the downside . . .March/April 24

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small

producers tap local markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 20

Co-ops Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

Farmer Co-op Conference sees opportunity for co-ps

that adapt to structural changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 18

Dairy co-op survey reveals financial performance trends . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 22

Fifth Season Cooperative

Having progressed from conception to incorporation,

fledgling co-op faces questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 26

50 Years at the Top

Founded to salvage blemished fruit, Tree Top today is

industry leader for apple products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 14

Flour Power

NW wheat growers find success with eco-marketing strategy . .Jan./Feb. 12

Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to help grow

local foods movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 4

A Legacy of Cooperation & Innovation

Blue Diamond: 100th anniversary as co-op that made U.S.

world leader for almonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 4

Making Landmark a leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 17

$122 billion in ’08 sales sets record for Top 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 24

Organic farmers increasingly turn to cooperative business model .May/June 34

Sustaining Their Industry

Sugar growers are example of how co-ops can help

producers strengthen their position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 4

Mergers

Merger creates Farm Credit East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 10

Purchasing Co-ops

Purchasing cooperative provides savings for members . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 32

Renewable Energy

Biofuel Prometheus

Like its namesake, Promethean Biofuels hopes to better

mankind with new energy source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 36

Cellulosic biofuel development must balance need to

maintain soil quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 19

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in

wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

Community Wind

Maine island community lowering energy costs with

wind-power project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 20

Co-op business model well suited for next-generation

biofuel development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 2

Co-ops Can Thrive In Uncertain Times

Farmer Co-op Conference sees opportunity for co-ps

that adapt to structural changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 18

Heat by the Bushel

New co-ops supplying members with corn for

home-heating fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 27
Rural Cooperatives / November/December 2010 45

NRCO helping rural electrics pursue renewable energy . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 10

State Co-op Councils

Examples of state co-op council activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 31

State councils adapting to help members in turbulent times . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 28

State and regional cooperative councils in the U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb.30

Statistics

Ag co-op sales and income second highest on record . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 4

Dairy co-op survey reveals financial performance trends . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 22

$122 billion in ’08 sales sets record for Top 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 24

Sugar

Sustaining Their Industry

Sugar growers are example of how co-ops can help

producers strengthen their position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 4

Sustainable/Local/Organic

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small

producers tap local markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 20

Fifth Season Cooperative

Having progressed from conception to incorporation,

fledgling co-op faces questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 26

Grow Food, Grow Hope

Local food, new skills sprout in Ohio community gardens . . . . . . .July/Aug. 36

High Plains Food helps consumers gain access to local/regional

foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 32

Laughery Village Co-op meeting need for local food . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 19

Milling co-op crucial to Maine’s organic dairy farms . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 25

Organic dairy market also hurt by low prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 15

Organic farmers increasingly turn to co-op business model . . . . . .May/June 34

Shuttered factory to see new life as food hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 29

Technology

Biofuel Prometheus

Like its namesake, Promethean Biofuels hopes to better

mankind with new energy source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 36

Cooperatives delivering broadband to rural Missouri

communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 18

Heat by the Bushel

New co-ops supplying members with corn for home-heating

fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 27

Project Pathway

4-H sees science, technology as crucial to building

competitive workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 14

Utility Co-ops

Celebrating the greatest public-private partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 17

Cooperatives delivering broadband to rural Missouri

communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 18

Electricity service transformed rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 11

EJ Water Co-op provides vital service in rural Illinois . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 26

Out of Darkness

Against industry opposition, REA helped ‘wire’ farms,

rural areas at remarkable rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 18

Value Added

A Legacy of Cooperation & Innovation

Blue Diamond: 100th anniversary as co-op that made

U.S. world leader for almonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 4

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small producers tap local

markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 20

50 Years at the Top

Founded to salvage blemished fruit, Tree Top today is

industry leader for apple products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 14

Flour Power

NW wheat growers find success with eco-marketing strategy . .Jan./Feb. 12

Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to help grow

local foods movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 4

Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber . . . . .Nov./Dec. 8

Worker-owned co-ops

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in

wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

“Not just a job, but a future”

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to help

struggling neighborhoods prosper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 12

Solar co-op will double Ohio’s PV-energy output . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 15

Urban farming strides forward with new greenhouse cooperative .Nov./Dec. 16

AUTHORS

Allen, Gray

A Legacy of Cooperation & Innovation

Blue Diamond: 100th anniversary as co-op that made

U.S. world leader for almonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 4

Bagley, Scott

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a leader in

wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

Barrett, Seleise

Filling the Gap

At 25, Arthur Capper Co-op Center a major force

for co-op education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 10

Berner, Courtney

Fifth Season Cooperative

Having progressed from conception to incorporation,

fledgling co-op faces questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 26

Borst, Alan

Community Wind

Maine island community lowering energy costs with

wind-power project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 20

Cooperative Food Hubs

Food hubs fill the ‘missing middle,’ helping small

producers tap local markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 20

Organic farmers increasingly turn to co-op business model . . . . . .May/June 34

Campbell, Dan

Communications: the critical link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 2

“Not just a job, but a future”

Goal of Evergreen family of worker co-ops is to help

struggling neighborhoods prosper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 12

The Little Co-op That Could

Vermont food co-op overcomes initial skepticism to

win hearts (and wallets) of city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 12

Urban farming strides forward with new greenhouse co-op . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 16

Canales, Judy

Co-op role in rural development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 2

Chesnick, David

$122 billion in ’08 sales sets record for Top 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 24

Clamp, Christina

University course promotes co-op development to meet needs . . . .Jan./Feb. 16

English, Glenn

Celebrating the greatest public-private partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 17

Erickson, Jim

Project Pathway

4-H sees science, technology as crucial to building

competitive workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 14

Eversull, E. Eldon

Uniquely Cooperative: Equity Redemption

Survey tracks trends in how co-ops redeem member equity . . .May/June 30

Goheen, Alicia

Filling the Gap

At 25, Arthur Capper Co-op Center a major force

for co-op education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 10
46 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives

Habenstreit, Linda C.

A Green Miracle

Co-op playing key role as Iraq rebuilds farm sector . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 4

Harris, Peter

Aligning member interests and democratic control . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 8

Holcombe, Gloria

Filling the Gap

At 25, Arthur Capper Co-op Center a major force for

co-op education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 10

Lebel, Colette

Canadian farmers see benefits of local farm machinery co-ops . . .Sept./Oct. 12

Liebrand, Carolyn

Dairy co-op survey reveals financial performance trends . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 22

Ling, K. Charles

What Cooperatives Do

Market access, countervailing power and yardstick

roles enhance economic efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 4

Mayberry, Anne

Cooperatives delivering broadband to rural Missouri

communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 18

Electricity service transformed rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 11

EJ Water Co-op provides vital service in rural Illinois . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 26

Out of Darkness

Against industry opposition, REA helped ‘wire’ farms,

rural areas at remarkable rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 18

NRCO helping rural electrics pursue renewable energy . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 10

McCulloch, Heather

Why the asset-building movement matters for rural

co-op members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 24

Mikkelson, Susann

High Plains Food helps consumers gain access to

local/regional foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 32

Miller, Maria

Tour helps co-op concepts ‘come alive’ for future

cooperative leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 16

Miracle, Sharon

50 Years at the Top

Founded to salvage blemished fruit, Tree Top today

is industry leader for apple products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 14

Narduzzo, Paul

Controlling Counterparty Risk

How country elevators can protect against

the downside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 24

Parker, Bob

Chipping In

Austrian co-ops play role in making nation a

leader in wood biomass energy production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 6

Pike, Sarah M.

AREC strives to help struggling poultry producers . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 28

Pitman, Lynn

Co-ops Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

Farmer Co-op Conference sees opportunity for

co-ps that adapt to structural changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 18

Reynolds, Bruce

Sustaining Their Industry

Sugar growers an example of how co-ops can help

producers strengthen their position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 4

Roemer, George

An American Farmer in Afghanistan

Equity Livestock co-op member says volunteer stint

is challenging, but also rewarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 34

Schwartz, Adam

When co-op principles collide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 2

Siemon, George L.

Organic dairy market also hurt by low prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 15

Smith, Stephanie M.

Capper-Volstead Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 9

Co-ops faced numerous challenges in 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 11

Financial and legal aspects of succession planning

for family-owned businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 11

Succession planning for family-owned businesses

is critical for rural America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July/Aug. 9

Spicer, Lynette

eXtending Co-op Knowledge

Extension Service website to include

co-op education area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 35

Swalheim, Larry

The most important thing I have learned about running a co-op .Nov./Dec. 17

Thompson, Stephen

Better Beginnings

FarmStart offers a helping hand to new farmers

and ag co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 8

Biofuel Prometheus

Like its namesake, Promethean Biofuels hopes

to better mankind with new energy source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 36

Cellulosic biofuel development must balance need

to maintain soil quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 19

Flour Power

NW wheat growers find success with

eco-marketing strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 12

Going Mobile

Co-ops operate traveling slaughter units to

help grow local foods movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 4

Heat by the Bushel

New co-ops supplying members with corn for

home-heating fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 27

Todd, Anne

Co-op Q&A (with Illinois Green Pastures Co-op) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nov./Dec. 9

Grow Food, Grow Hope

Local food, new skills sprout in Ohio community gardens . . . .July/Aug. 36

Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative

Co-op connects craft makers with locally produced fiber . . . . .Nov./Dec. 8

Regional Network Boosts Competitiveness

Diverse interests in Minnesota come together

to tap new business opportunities, markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 26

Tonsager, Dallas

Co-op business model well suited for next-generation

biofuel development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .March/April 2

Co-op Movement Gaining Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept./Oct. 2

Vilsack, Tom

USDA: Committed to Co-ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May/June 2

Wadsworth, James

State cooperative councils adapting to help

members in turbulent times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan./Feb. 28

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48 November/December 2010 / Rural Cooperatives