Save the Date! 16th Annual Farmer Cooperatives Conference November 7-8 2013, Minneapolis, MN
Another informative and thought-provoking conference is
expected on November 7-8, 2013, when the 16th Annual Farmer
Cooperatives Conference returns to Minneapolis. The conference
will build on the success of the 2012 event, which was attended by over
160 agricultural producers and other cooperative professionals.
The 2012 conference examined the opportunities and challenges for sustaining
cooperative businesses into the future. Following the presidential election by only two days, the conference
featured several speakers who provided some early assessments of the impact of election
results on
agriculture. Both Chuck Conner,
president and CEO of National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and Dan
Glickman,
former Secretary of Agriculture under President Clinton, presented
perspectives
that were similar in many respects. The outlook for agriculture
continues to be
a prosperous one, but the possibility of movement on the Farm Bill by a
lame duck Congress facing the “fiscal cliff” remained remote.
U.S.
production agriculture will be affected by global commodity markets, biofuel policies, and consumers who are
demanding to know how their food is produced. Cooperatives
have been a influential force in the development of the sector and have the capacity
to respond to the changing landscape positively.
The strong program also included presentations on equity plan
restructuring, programs for member relationship, leadership, and international
programs, and a panel discussion and Q&A about mergers and
acquisitions. The story of the CBH grain
cooperative, and its members’ decision to maintain its cooperative status,
provided a unique insight into the cooperative advantage in an Australian
context. Presentations from the conference are available on the conference website . The
15th Annual Farmer Cooperatives Conference was made possible by the
generous support of its sponsors: CoBank, AgriBank, CHS, Dorsey
& Whitney, Farm Foundation, GROWMARK, Land O'Lakes, Lindquist &
Vennum, NCFC Education Foundation, Stoel Rives, and CliftonLarsonAllen.
Conference sponsorships allow the Center for Cooperatives to offer this
program at a lower fee, enabling a broader attendance by
cooperative board members and staff.
The upcoming 2013 conference on November 7-8 will return to the
Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. The conference location
was at capacity in 2012; early registration for this year's conference
will be available soon. Check the UWCC website
for updates as they occur.
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