EXECUTING VISION AND STRATEGY WITH SUCCESS

"The collapse of Farmland has some farm groups worried that co-ops are losing their ability to compete with big food companies." (New York Times, September 16, 2003)

Madison, Wis.-An upcoming national conference will tell a different story. Cooperatives are redefining their visions and creating new strategies to remain competitive market forces. The Sixth Annual Farmer Cooperatives Conference is being held in Kansas City, Missouri, October 30-31, 2003. The theme for this years conference is "Executing Vision and Strategy with Success". The sessions will tackle some of the most difficult situations cooperatives face, including changing business structures and closing local plants and branches. Cooperative leaders will also share how they have dealt with diverse membership issues, creating strong brand recognition, and financing with non-traditional equity arrangements.

Cooperative leaders from some of the nations most successful co-ops will be presenting at the conference: Foremost Farms, CHS Inc., Ag Processing Inc, West Central Cooperative, National Grape Growers, Land OLakes and CoBank. Nationally recognized cooperative scholars, investment bankers, and attorneys will also present their views on how co-ops can remain at the top of their game.

Sponsors for this conference include: Farm Foundation, Lindquist & Vennum PLLP, Badgerland Farm Credit Services, CHS Foundation, CoBank, Dairy Farmers of America, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Land OLakes, NCFC Education Foundation, The Cooperative Foundation and West Central Cooperative.

The UW Center for Cooperatives established the Farmer Cooperatives Conference in 1998 with the objective of providing co-op directors, managers, government, and academia with information on major trends and issues impacting agricultural cooperatives. Information on the conference can be found at www.wisc.edu/uwcc/farmercoops03/index.html.

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