A Sampling of Cooperative Projects in the Upper Midwest

MOPRO, Inc. is holding share offering meetings during January in southern Minnesota. MOPRO is a farmer owned cooperative that hopes to begin construction of egg production barns this spring. Plans call for growth to a 2.5 million hen capacity in three years.

Lakewinds Natural Foods Cooperative has completed an expansion that makes it the largest food co-op in the Metro Area. The 11,500 square foot store on Minnetonka Boulevard features a new meat department and a full size deli.

North American Bison Cooperative is planning to double the capacity of their slaughtering plant to 10,000 head this year. The New Rockford, ND cooperative will raise the capital by selling 2,500 delivery rights shares.

Farmland Industries, Inc. has purchased the "Farmstead" brand name and some of the pork processing assets of Seaboard Corporation. Seaboard had closed an Albert Lea, MN hog slaughtering plant that produced the "Farmstead" products.

Valley Wool Growers Association held their annual meeting on January 15 in Page, ND and voted to go ahead with a feasibility study of constructing a processing plant for marketing premium lamb products.

Dakota Growers Pasta Co. reported net margins of $1.4 million for the first fiscal year of operation. The Carrington, ND cooperative produced 100 million pounds of pasta in a year when durum what market prices nearly doubled.

North American Fish Farmers Cooperative moved into a remodeled office in Binford, ND during November. The offices are across the street from their Heartland Fisheries processing plant.

Foremost Farms more than doubled membership numbers to 7,400 dairy farmers with the most recent Morning Glory Farms merger. The cooperative hopes to pare operating expenses by $10 million to help members compete in a market driven dairy industry.

South Dakota Soybean Processors has started construction of their $32 million processing plant in Volga. The plant should be ready to start crushing the 1996 crop for 2,200 South Dakota and Minnesota members.

LaSalle Farmers Grain Company completed an expansion project at Madelia, MN this past fall. The expansion included a new silo with a capacity of 400,000 bushels, rail sliding for 100 hopper cars and an automated scale.

Minnesota Valley Alfalfa Producers Cooperative is one of three finalists bidding for funding by Northern States Power Company's biomass energy project. The Granite Falls cooperative is also being considered for a U.S. Department of Energy sponsored program that could generate up to $3.9 million in start-up funds.

Northern Plains Premium Beef has named James Rainey, retired president of Farmland Industries, as interim CEO. The cooperative has offices in Towner, ND and is raising capital to build a cattle slaughtering facility.

Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative has completed sales of 20,200 units of preferred stock to capitalize a $62.9 million expansion at their Wahpeton, ND sugar refinery.

The 21st Century Club has been organized by the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Corn Growers Association. The purpose of the organization is to finance feasibility studies of farmer owned value added processing plants.

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