Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes of the Business Meeting of NCR-194, Research on Cooperatives Tuesday, November 2, 2004 Fairmont Hotel Kansas City, Missouri Administrative Advisor: Sarahelen (Sally) Thompson Department of Agricultural Economics Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907 Chair Evert Van der Sluis Department of Economics South Dakota State University Brookings, SD 57007 Vice-Chair Michael Boland Department of Agricultural Economics Kansas State University Manhattan KA 66506 Secretary Phil Kenkel Department of Agricultural Economics Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK 74075 Treasurers Michael Boland and David Barton Department of Agricultural Economics Kansas State University Manhattan KA 66506 Members in Attendance: David Barton Michael Boland Michael Cook Anthony Crooks Joan Fulton Roger Ginder Peter Goldsmith Steve Guebert Shermain Hardesty Brian Henehan Roger Herman Susan Hine Phil Kenkel William Nelson Frayne Olson H. Christopher Peterson Burton Pflueger Evert Van der Sluis Kim Zeuli Other Individuals Attending: Georgeanne Artz Alena Bosse Molly Chambers Trent Craddock Vernon Eidman Elaine Farmer Mary Holmes RaNae Isaak John Jones Jennifer Keeling Fredy Kilima Fabiona Lastoria Juan Liu Chris Merrett Bradley Plunkett Leslie Shuler Judy Turpin Donald Waltz Barbara Whitelaw Christopher Wilson Call to Order Chairman Evert Van der Sluis called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. Approval of minutes from the 2003 Annual Meeting Secretary Phil Kenkel distributed the 2003 meeting minutes. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Kim Zeuli and seconded by Joan Fulton. Motion carried. Nominating Committee Report Jim Baarda, Roger Ginder and Kim Zeuli gave the nominating committee report. The committee recommended an officer slate consisting of: Mike Boland-Chair, Phil Kenkel-Vice Chair and Sue Hine-Secretary. There were no further nominations from the floor. A motion to elect the recommended slate of officers by acclamation was made by Chris Peterson and seconded by Burton Pflueger. Motion carried. Treasurers Report Mike Boland presented the financial report. Prior to the meeting expenses, the organization had a balance of $5,823. Mike reported that NCR-194 had received $2,000 for student scholarships from the CHS Foundation and dispersed approximately $4,000 in total scholarships. The projected balance after the 2004 meeting expenses was $1,541. A motion to approve the financial report was made by Chris Peterson and seconded by Phil Kenkel. Motion carried. Reauthorization Report Evert Van der Sluis reported on communications received from NCR-194 Administrative Advisor Sally Thompson on the new nomenclature for projects. This requires NCR-194 to designate itself as either a Coordinating Committee (NCCC-194) or an Education/Extension & Research Activity (NCERA-194). The description for a Coordinating Committee is activities that provide a mechanism for addressing critical regional issues where multistate coordination or information exchange within a function (research, extension or education) have expected outcomes, convey knowledge and our peer reviewed. The description of an Education/Extension Research Activity is Activities that serve to integrate education (academic and/or extension) and research on a particular topic where multistate coordination or information exchange within a function (research, extension or education) have expected outcomes, convey knowledge and our peer reviewed. The NCR-194 executive committee recommended the NCERA designation because the committees activities include research, extension and education. A lengthy discussion ensued. A motion was made by Chris Peterson and seconded by David Barton that the group pursue the NCERA designation contingent upon further investigation by the executive committee to confirm that the committees outcomes are consistent with the requirements of the NCERA designation. Motion carried. Annual Report Joan Fulton passed on information from Administrative Advisor, Sally Thompson, that the committee needed to complete and file an annual report on the NMIS system. Mike Boland volunteered to coordinate and draft the report. Evert Van der Sluis recommended that each committee member provide Mike Boland with a short paragraph on their activities. 2005 Annual Meeting Evert Van der Sluis led a discussion on the time, place and format for the 2005 annual meeting. Mike Boland reported that the current format appears to offer sufficient time for sharing research results. Thirteen papers were submitted for the 2004 meetings and all submissions were presented, 10 as papers and 3 as poster presentations. William Nelson commented that the ability for students to attend both the annual Farmer Cooperatives Conference and NCR-194 meeting helped justify the scholarship support from the CHS Foundation. The consensus of the members present was to continue coordinating the NCR-194 Annual Meeting with the Farmers Cooperative Conference. The group expressed a preference for timing the NCR-194 meeting following the Farmer Cooperatives Conference and for a combined time format of either Monday through Wednesday or Wednesday through Friday. Kim Zeuli reported that the 2005 Farmer Cooperatives Conference was tentatively planned for Minneapolis, MN. Student Registration Fees and Financial Support Evert Van der Sluis and Mike Boland reported on student scholarships for the Farmer Cooperatives Conference and the NCR-194 meeting. Evert commented on problems with student requests past the deadline and encouraged the group to do a better job of alerting students of the opportunity and application deadline. William Nelson commented that it would be appropriate for NCR-194 to charge registration fees for students receiving scholarships if the student registration waivers would adversely impact NCR-194s finances. Kim Zeuli commented that two individuals who had registered for the Farmer Cooperatives Conference but were unable to attend, had asked that their registration fees be used to fund students. Resolution of Appreciation A motion thanking the CHS Foundation and the Ralph K. Morris Foundation for their support of the meeting and thanking CALS Outreach for facilitating the registration process was made by Joan Fulton and seconded by Chris Peterson. Motion carried. Journal of Cooperatives Roger Ginder reported that the 2003 edition of the Journal of Cooperatives was being published and that the journal was accepting articles to complete the 2004 edition. Several committee members commented on the lengthy review process (over one year in some cases). Roger reported that NCFC was interested in being the copyright home for the journal and assisting with distribution. Student Research Recognition William Nelson reported that NCFC Education Committee is interested in bringing back the student research recognition and that NCR-194 may be able to manage the process. Mike Boland will follow up with NCFC and William Nelson and report back to NCR-194. Coop Text Book Dave Barton reported on the cooperative text book project. Dave Barton suggested that a conference be held to revise and complete the project. Dave and Mike expressed optimism that the project could be completed in the coming year. Other Business Randy Torgerson encouraged the group to lobby for research funds from USDA RD. A motion thanking Evert Van der Sluis for his dedicated service as chair was made by Phil Kenkel and seconded by Brian Henehan. The motion was approved. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

Objective 1. To promote and coordinate timely research on cooperatively owned business organizations for agricultural marketing, agricultural input supply, vertical coordination through value added processing, and rural services. Accomplishments during 2004 The establishment of NCR-194 has greatly facilitated collaboration and interaction among individuals conducting research on cooperatives. NCR-194 members continue to be actively involved in joint research projects and cooperative agreements between USDA, Cooperative Services and the Land Grant institutions. NCR-194 members are making full use of the committees infrastructure to communicate the results of their research to each other. During 2004 NCR-194 members disseminated research results during the annual meeting. NCERA-194 members also used the NCERA-194 web page and the list serve (described in more detail below) to communicate with each other. NCERA-194 members, as well as others interested in cooperatives, accessed the selected papers presented at the each all meetings from the web page which can be found at: http://www.agecon.ksu.edu/accc/ncr194/Default.htm . Members also made use of the List Server (ncr-194-net@macc.wisc.edu) to facilitate communications among members. Messages sent to the list server are forwarded to all NCERA-194 participants. Objective 2. To serve as a forum for industry and government decision makers in management and staff research positions to interact with land grant researchers and extension specialists to share research results and discuss implications for cooperative business organizations, their producer members, farm structure, efficiencies in food production and distribution, the environment and economic well being of rural communities. Accomplishments during 2004 The 2004 annual meeting of the NCERA-194 was held in the Fairmont Hotel in Kansas City on November 2, 2004, immediately following the Farmer Cooperatives Conference. Attendance included nineteen NCERA-194 members and 20 non-members. The 2004 annual meeting consisted of a one-day forum, attended by industry and government representatives as well as representatives from universities. Industry representatives from Farmland Industries, Cenex Harvest States, Land O?Lakes, and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives attended the conference and other represented the government sector. The meeting also included university faculty from western Canadian provinces, providing international linkages in today?s global market place. Additionally, one of our members, Chris Petersen, serves on the board of directors for CoBank. The representation from academics, industry and government, enabled strong and positive interaction between academics and others. Among the individuals attending, approximately 64% worked at academic institutions (including those working for one of the nation?s cooperative centers, as well as those with extension, research and teaching appointments, and students), 21% were employed at federal (U.S. Department of Agriculture) or state government institutions (Kansas Department of Commerce), 13% were from abroad (mainly Canada, but also Greece), and 2% had an industry background. Several NCERA-194 members in attendance were members of other national research projects such as WCC-72, NE-165, National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives and other complimentary groups. Through their participation these members worked to coordinate NCERA-194 member research with that of other complimentary projects. Ten research papers were presented at the meeting and three research projects were presented during a poster session. Full text versions of all of the research papers and posters were posted on the NCERA-194 web page which can be found at: http://www.agecon.ksu.edu/accc/ncr194/Default.htm. Topics of papers presented at the meeting included, but were not limited to, traditional and innovative ways to finance agricultural cooperatives, policy aspects related to investments in cooperatives, a international comparison of cooperative models, the impacts of Farmlands bankruptcy on local cooperatives, current legal issues related to agricultural cooperatives, implications of identity preservation for cooperatives, and future viability of the Federated cooperatives. Topics of poster presented included, but were not limited to, assessing drivers of economic behavior in cooperatives, an analyses of the financial performance of cooperatives after engaging in mergers, and comparing alternative ways in which agricultural cooperatives? directors are selected. The one-day meeting was concluded with a banquet, held jointly with the Farmer Cooperatives group. The banquet speaker was Mr. Steven Hunt, CEO of US Premium Beef. The banquet served to facilitate a high degree of interaction between academics, industry representatives, and individuals working on government. Another important objective of NCR-194 is to attract young individuals to cooperative development. Progress toward this objective was achieved during 2004 through the successful pursuit of scholarships to enable a small number of students and/or early career faculty members to participate in both the NCERA-194 meeting and the Farmers Cooperative Conference. NCERA-194 member Mr. William Nelson, representing the Cooperative Foundation, was instrumental in making scholarship funds available. The availability of the these scholarship funds further serve as an indication of the successful working relationships between NCERA-194 members working in industry and in academic settings. Summary During 2004, NCERA-194 demonstrated numerous measurable outcomes consistent with its stated purpose and objectives. Notable accomplishment included the annual meeting attended by 39 researchers and industry professionals, presentations on 14 research projects which were also disseminated in full text form on the NCERA-194 web site and active use of the NCERA-194 list server to coordinate and facilitate on-going member research. NCERA-194 continues to be an important vehicle for individuals of diverse backgrounds from across North America and elsewhere to meet and explore ways in which research, education and outreach activities can enhance the development and survival of rural cooperatives. As discussed above, the group continues to make excellent progress in this regard.

PUBLICATIONS: NCREA-194 2004 ANNUAL MEETING David Barton. "A Comparison of Traditional and Newly Emerging Forms of Cooperative Capitalization" paper David Barton. "A Comparison of Traditional and Newly Emerging Forms of Cooperative Capitalization" presentation Phil Kenkel and Amy Hagerman. "Impact of the Farmland Bankruptcy on Oklahoma Cooperatives" paper Phil Kenkel and Fredy Kilima. "Optimal Fertilizer Warehousing and Distribution for Farm Supply Cooperatives" presentation Phil Kenkel and Fredy Kilima. "Optimal Fertilizer Warehousing and Distribution for Farm Supply Cooperatives" paper Shermain Hardesty and Vikas D. Salgia. "Comparative Financial Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives and Investor-Owned Firms" paper James Baarda. "'Outside' Cooperative Equity: Obligations, Trade-Offs, and Fundamental Cooperative Character" paper Michael A. Cook, Brad Plunkett, Frayne Olson, Fred Parker, Molly Chambers, Elaine Farmer and Kristi Livingston (GICL Team A). "Capital Formation in Cooperatives. Economic Analysis of State Incorporation Initiatives: A Pilot Framework" presentation Christopher Merrett. "The Political Economy of Scale: The Role of Closed-Membership Cooperatives in Rural Development" presentation Jennifer Keeling."Lessons in Cooperative Failure: The Rice Growers Association Experience" paper Kim Zeuli and Mark Rickenbach. "Incentives to Join Forestry Cooperatives" presentation Anthony Crooks."The Horizon Problem and New Generation Cooperatives: another look at Minnesota Corn Processors" paper Sue Hine and Jim Pritchett."A Sweet Deal? Real Options Analysis of A Thick Juice Plant in Western Colorado" poster Julie Hogeland."Family Farm or Factory Farm? How Cooperatives Struggled with Member and Co-op Identity in the Pork Industry" poster paper