Recently added articles from Rural Cooperatives:
Growing world population presents challenge and opportunity for U.S. farmers.(Commentary)
Jul 01, 2009; Policinski, Chris ... The extraordinary increase in agricultural productivity is one of America's greatest A yet least acknowledged--success stories. It's a story of creating opportunity for U.S. producers, while also meeting our responsibility to feed a hungry world. For nearly 90 years, Land ...
Dairy co-ops maintain steady market position.
Jul 01, 2009; Ling, Charles ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dairy cooperative members in the United States marketed more than 150 billion pounds of milk in 2007, maintaining a steady market share for co-ops during the five-year period between 2002 and 2007. This and other findings are the results of a survey of all ...
Traditions run 100-years deep at Tillamook County Creamery.
Jul 01, 2009; Todd, Anne ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The two photos were taken 93 years apart. But the grainy, black-and-white photo taken on the Hurliman dairy farm in 1915 and the color digital photo snapped at the same location in 2008 tell a story of an unbroken chain of traditional, pasture-based dairy ...
Ripe time delivery: Carolina growers form co-op to supply farm-to-school market.
Jul 01, 2009; Brockhouse, Bill ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] North Carolina has 2,513 elementary and secondary schools with 1.44 million students. That's a lot of hungry mouths to feed. These schools are increasingly turning to North Carolina produce growers for a wide variety of nutritious, freshest-possible foods, ...
Capper-Volstead, revisited.(Legal Corner)
Jul 01, 2009; Smith, Stephanie M. ... In today's uncertain times, the Capper-Volstead Act is not without reach of legislative change. Capper-Volstead was enacted to address economic issues that faced agricultural producers. It gives agricultural producers a limited antitrust exemption to market their production on a ...
New life for an old town: wine co-op helps transition from tobacco while boosting agri-tourism.
Jul 01, 2009; Thompson, Stephen ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the picturesque farmland of historic St. Mary's County in Southern Maryland, a cooperative of wine-grape growers is working to build a new industry that can help take the place of a lost cash crop. For ...
Rural advocate Dallas Tonsager to lead USDA Rural Development.(Interview)
Jul 01, 2009; Campbell, Dan ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dallas Tonsager, a South Dakota farmer with wide-ranging experience working with agricultural cooperatives and in key government positions, is the new under secretary for USDA Rural Development. Tonsager will oversee a total portfolio of more than $100 ...
Creating co-op fever: hard lessons learned.
Jul 01, 2009; Patrie, Bill ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Without a compelling vision, co-ops are not sustainable A vision (according to Peter Senge in "The Fifth Discipline") is the answer to the question: "What do you want to create?" That is a very positive question. It implies that you can create ...
City slickers: co-op boosts Montana ranches that offer working vacations.
Jul 01, 2009; Healy, Donna ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Trailed by lone riders, the black Angus cattle came together along the grassy bench in slow moving dribs and drabs. In the valley below, a creek, muddy with runoff, cuts through a band of brush and trees. A panorama of snowcapped mountains ...
'09 Co-op Hall of Fame inductees played crucial role in co-op movement.
Jul 01, 2009 ... Five cooperative business leaders were recognized at the annual Cooperative Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony at Washington's National Press Club in May. The Hall of Fame, the cooperative community's highest honor, recognizes those who have made heroic contributions to cooperative ...
Succession planning critical to future of small Iowa meat-processing plants.(Co-op Development Action)
Jul 01, 2009; Schultz, Madeline ... The Iowa Alliance for Cooperative Business Development (IACBD) is introducing the cooperative succession model as a creative solution for dealing with the declining numbers of small meat-processing operations in Iowa. Cooperative succession involves selling or otherwise transferring ...
Shift to multifunctional agriculture complicates biofuels development.
Jul 01, 2009; Gray, Thomas W. ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the past decade, understanding the multifunctional nature of agriculture has emerged in scientific and farm policy debates. New language and new terms are emerging. Talk about MFA at farm meetings these days may not be referencing the Missouri ...
E85 signs sprouting along Wisconsin Interstates.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Drivers heading for one of Wisconsin's biggest fun spots may notice a change along their route this summer. The first set of E85 highway signs, sponsored by the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, was installed May 14 along Interstate 90 near the ...
Wisconsin co-op to link local farms and institutions.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... The Producers & Buyers Co-op was launched June 12 with an event at the Eau Claire County Exposition Center in Wisconsin. The co-op, which links local farms with institutions, shared an information booth with its business partner, Sacred Heart Hospital. The co-op facilitates ...
United Co-op returns record $2.37 million in cash to members.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... United Cooperative released a record $2.37 million in cash to its patron members this spring. The refund resulted from a successful year that saw the co-op ring up $429 million in sales and earn profits of almost $15 million. United Cooperative is based in Beaver Dam, Wis., with locations ...
USDA offers $25 million loan to reopen SoyMor Biodiesel.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced June 24 that USDA Rural Development has approved a $25 million loan to help a Minnesota biodiesel facility diversify its operations and significantly expand the production of advanced biofuels. "The investment announced today helps fulfill the ...
NCBA supports role for co-ops in national healthcare reform.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... As Congress debates what shape healthcare reform will take, the cooperative business model has entered prominently into the discussion, a development that the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) is hailing. "Cooperatives save money for members by aggregating demand for ...
AgStar sells three ethanol plants.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... AgStar Financial Services of Mankato, Minn., in May announced the sale of three of the six ethanol plants it acquired last March through the bankruptcy of VeraSun Energy. Neither sale involves new ownership by farmer cooperatives. Green Plains Renewable Energy, Omaha, Neb., has ...
Fishermen create new CSF: Cape Ann Fresh Catch.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... Cape Ann Fresh Catch, a new community-supported fishery (CSF), was launched in June by a group of Massachusetts fishermen. According to an article in the Cape Ann Beacon, about 750 shareholders living from Jamaica Plain to Gloucester have signed up for fish deliveries from the co-op. ...
DFA launches Texas plant expansion.(Newsline: Co-op developments, coast to coast)
Jul 01, 2009 ... Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA) has begun a $39.4-million project to expand and install new equipment at its plant in Schulenburg, Texas. A new packaging line will be added, nearly doubling the plant's capacity. The plant also is upgrading and adding equipment for its wastewater ...
