Transcript Farmer Cooperatives Series Impacts

Farmer Cooperatives Series
Impacts
• What has FC series accomplished ?
• Things I’ve learned in 6 years from FC
• What will you do because of FC2003
– Board Room?
– Follow up?
• Have Coops Changed/Improved with FC
Influence?
• Next Level of Learning
What Has FC Accomplished?
• Farm Foundation’s and Planning Group
Goals:
• Raising today’s issues that will be
tomorrows problems
– inform public decision-making
– engage research community
– create a dialog among influential players
• Year 1 Challlenge: Create Incentive to go to
a new conference: CEO’s/Board Members
Things I’ve Put to Use
• Down-cycle/life cycle
– Jack Gherty
• Virtual Cooperation
– Hog Inc
• Closing Cooperatives
– Dakota Pasta
– 20:80 rule
• Bigness:Smallness
– Big in market/small in
counryside-DFA
• Global ViewI
– global with US hdqtr v.
us company with
international salesFarmland
• One co-op does not fit
all-each has own
challenges/opportuniti
es: multi vs single
purpose, bargaining’
commodity vs branded
Things I’ve Put to Use
• Equity
– more tools avail
– outsidecapital not a
substitute for
members’capital
– member capital
structure issues as
critical
• Boards and Managers
– outside directors
– board size matters
• Financial Measurement
– transparency of returns
to member investment
is vital
– create v. destroy value
in co-op enterprises
• Producers Expectations
– Pos. Outrageous
Services-Alberta Wheat
– Undersell/Under realize
co-op potential
What will you do with FC 2003
Have Co-ops Changed/Improved
• More Focus on Financial Performance-math
less “fuzzy”
• More Focus on Strategy
• More Focus on Membership Issues
• More Focus on capital-outside???
• More Focus on Legal Framework
• More Focus on Relevant Research
• Crisis still appears to drive change
– “offense vs. defense”
Ideas for Next Level
• Need Forum for Big Ideas
– $250 M Co-op R/D Fund -for Lifesciences to
obtain valuable “intellectual property”
• Mike Marten- VP U of Florida
– Transferring government assistance to
cooperatives- eg. Managed stocks and
inventories;crop insurance, marketing orderscoop development and research
• Randy Torgerson
Ideas for Next Level
• Less emphasis on Business Strategy and
Business Practices
• More emphasis on unique characteristics of
cooperatives
– debilitating factors
– advantage creation factors
• Panels: Directors/Asking Managers What
If’s- Anderson/Henehan Questions
– Aligning Cooperative Business with
Cooperative Purpose
Happy Halloween!