Author: cooperatives

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Communications

Phil Kenkel

Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair, Oklahoma State University

In a recent national project, academic researchers, cooperative managers and members, USDA, agricultural foundations and other stakeholders collaborated to identify the critical issues facing agricultural cooperatives. A two-stage Delphi survey was conducted, followed by expert panel sessions in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The material below summarizes some of the findings from the project.

Cooperatives are owned and controlled by a diverse set of users. They also operate under a unique …

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Acquiring and Maintaining Adequate Equity

Phil Kenkel

Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair, Oklahoma State University

In a recent national project, academic researchers, cooperative managers and members, USDA, agricultural foundations and other stakeholders collaborated to identify the critical issues facing agricultural cooperatives. A two-stage Delphi survey was conducted, followed by expert panel sessions in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The material below summarizes some of the findings from the project.

The major financial issue identified by the panel of cooperative experts was the need to acquire and …

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External Issues Facing Cooperatives

Phil Kenkel

Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair, Oklahoma State University

In a recent national project, academic researchers, cooperative managers and members, USDA, agricultural foundations and other stakeholders collaborated to identify the critical issues facing agricultural cooperatives. A two-stage Delphi survey was conducted, followed by expert panel sessions in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The material below summarizes some of the findings from the project.

Market Volantility
Wide spectrums of issues both external and internal to the firm impact the competitiveness, stability …

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Agricultural Cooperatives: Economics, Opportunities and Structure in a New Era of Food, Fiber and Fuel

Phil Kenkel
Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair, Oklahoma State University
Cooperative businesses are an important part of the U.S. economy and are particularly prevalent in the agricultural sector. Cooperatives operate under a business model that generates unique challenges in finance management, governance, strategy and communication. These unique challenges and the prevalence of cooperatives in U.S. agriculture have encouraged research and education efforts by agricultural economists since the early 1900’s. Cooperatives were included as a part of the mission of the Cooperative
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Need for Strategic Planning

Phil Kenkel

Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair, Oklahoma State University

In a recent national project, academic researchers, cooperative managers and members, USDA, agricultural foundations and other stakeholders collaborated to identify the critical issues facing agricultural cooperatives. A two-stage Delphi survey was conducted, followed by expert panel sessions in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The material below summarizes some of the findings from the project.

Numerous studies over the years have identified regular and effective strategic planning as a critical activity for …

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Challenges for the Board of Directors

By Phil Kenkel, Vice Chair, Cooperatives CoP and Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair, Oklahoma State University, phil.kenkel@okstate.edu.

In a recent national project, academic researchers, cooperative managers and members, USDA, agricultural foundations and other stakeholders collaborated to identify the critical issues facing agricultural cooperatives. A two-stage Delphi survey was conducted, followed by expert panel sessions in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The material below summarizes some of the findings from the project.

A wide variety of governance issues including board member …

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High School Cooperative Syllabus

 

G. McKee.

Authors: Greg McKee, North Dakota State University, gregory.mckee@ndsu.edu, and Donald Frederick, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

Summary: This page provides links to a syllabus designed for high school teachers who are interested in informing their students about cooperatives. The syllabus is designed to accompany the Co-ops 101: An Introduction to Cooperatives“book.” Whether it be part of a social studies, Ag Ed or Ag Business class, this syllabus provides an excellent teaching structure for the topic of …

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Rural Cooperative Development Centers

As of June 2012, nearly 40 Rural Cooperative Development Centers (RCDCs) were located in 26 states. The first centers were funded by the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program in 2009.

This webpage provides several types of information about the RCDCs:

 

    • Name and Website URL of U.S. Rural Cooperative Development Centers – This
…
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CHS online co-op lessons

 

CHS Lessons and Test

Cooperative Fundamentals Online Lesson

This online lesson provides an excellent summary of how a cooperative works. Prepared in an easy-to-read format, the lesson is broken into sections, and each section ends with a short knowledge check. The lesson serves as a thorough preview or review for a cooperative class or lesson.

Fundamentals Test

CHS has provided this short test to go along with the online lesson above. The test consists of 12 multiple choice questions.…

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Cooperative Businesses

Authors: Brian Henehan, Cornell University, bmh5@cornell.edu, and Bruce Anderson, Cornell University

Reviewers: Gerald White and Brent Gloy, Cornell University

Organizational Characteristics

Probably the most widely known and proven of collaborative business organizations are cooperatives. They are usually formed of many entities and are legally constituted, limited liability corporations controlled by their members. Cooperative members are often in the same industry and have common economic interests that may involve joint marketing, purchasing of supplies and/or the providing of services.

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