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With this newsletter we offer our stakeholders an update on the activities of the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives
and perspectives on issues in the cooperative world at large. The newsletter is targeted to a broad range of perspectives, from policy makers to academics,
cooperative business leaders to cooperative and community developers, and the interested public.
Cooperatives are unique in their structure and orientation. Operating in the marketplace, cooperatives strive to balance value equations that include both
financial and service components for their member-owners. Cooperatives engaged in ongoing operations must solve this equation repeatedly as member requirements
and market conditions change. And when the market fails to adequately serve a particular set of economic needs, the promise of the cooperative business model is
often looked to as a vehicle for collective entrepreneurial efforts that can create jobs, fuel wide-ranging community economic impacts, and foster the growth of both
tangible and intangible community assets.
These issues have ongoing relevance across the worlds of policy, business, and academic research, and underlie our research, education, and outreach activities.
NEWSLETTERFALL 2011
Innovative Co-op Solutions for Small Farmers, Community Wellness
When the Farley Center a local incubator farm, began to explore how a small group of independent vegetable producers could work together more profitably, they looked to the
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives for assistance.full article...
Cooperatives and Human Capital in Agriculture
Center Director and Associate Professor Brent Hueth presented research on board behavior in agricultural cooperatives at the Joint Annual meeting of the Agricultural & Applied Economics
Association and the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association in July.full article...
Farmer Cooperatives Conference Returns to Twin Cities November 3-4
The Center presents the 14th Annual Farmer Cooperatives Conference, a national conference that offers strategic thinking on current agricultural cooperative issues and trends. This year's
event will be held in Minneapolis on November 3-4.full article...
Center Builds Connections with Business, Law Schools
While cooperatives play an important role in a variety of economic sectors, most professionals in the legal and business sectors have only a passing familiarity with the cooperative
business model and how it compares with other business and organizational structures.full article...
Managing the Cooperative Life Cycle
This article summarizes a new staff paper by Brent Hueth, Associate Professor and Director of the UW Center for Cooperatives.
To function successfully over time, organizations must adapt to changing circumstances, both internal and external. Cooperatives share "life cycle" adaptations that are common across business
organizations, but also face challenges that are unique.summary article...