NEWSLINE

Calcot eyes acquisition of SWIG
The possible combination of Calcot and Southwestern Irrigated Cotton Growers (SWIG), two of the nation’s oldest cotton marketing cooperatives, is two steps closer to becoming reality. Calcot’s board of directors, voting unanimously via conference call on June 27, agreed in principle to acquire SWIG’s three warehouse facilities (two in New Mexico, located in Las Cruces and Artesia, and one in Fabens, Texas) and to take over the marketing of SWIG members’ cotton for the 2006 season.

That action follows a June 21 membership vote in Las Cruces, where SWIG cotton grower-members overwhelmingly gave their assent to cease operations and liquidate the company. Over 95 percent of the voting membership was in favor of the proposal. The two cooperatives have been discussing the possibility of combining operations for several months.

Financial details have not been made public, but if the merger comes to fruition, growers in New Mexico and around the El Paso, Texas, area, will see their cotton marketed by the 79-yearold cotton co-op based in Bakersfield, Calif. Currently, Calcot markets only cotton produced in California, Arizona and South Texas.

“Assuming all details can be worked out to mutual satisfaction,” Calcot President Robert W. Norris said, “we will own and operate what are currently SWIG facilities. We look forward to meeting all of our new members, working with them in the months ahead and providing the excellent service and financial returns that Far Western cotton growers have come to expect from Calcot.”

Calcot owns and operates 145 warehouses in California and Arizona. SWIG has 21 warehouses. Currently, the two co-ops’ combined market totals about a million bales of cotton each year, with similar cotton qualities and varieties. The vast majority of sales by both co-ops are to overseas markets. Calcot, formed in 1927, has about 1,200 grower-members and SWIG, formed in 1926, has about 200 growermembers.

Garfield purrs for Swiss Valley
As his 263 million readers worldwide well know, Garfield the cat never met a lasagna he didn’t like. But it turns out Garfield is also pretty fond of chocolate milk. In addition to being the most widely syndicated cartoon character in the world (Garfield appears in 2,600 newspapers) the moody feline is also now appearing on milk cartons, including Swiss Valley Farms chocolate milk.

The release of the co-op’s Garfield milk cartons in June was timed to coincide with the release of the second Garfield movie: “Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.” The cooperative is using Garfield in its advertising and promotion throughout the summer.

Garfield has already appeared on Swiss Valley skim chocolate and 1 percent chocolate milk in schools, which the co-op reports have been popular with students. One school foodservice manager wrote to Swiss Valley, saying: “I just wanted to tell you what a great idea it was to put Garfield on the milk cartons. All of the children from K-12 noticed and wanted to get their milk. Terrific!”

Swiss Valley Farms is a four-state cooperative owned and controlled by 1,100 dairy producers, with headquarters in Davenport, Iowa. It has 700 employees and annual sales of $425 million.

Energy & environment focus
of Farmer Co-op Conference
The 9th annual Farmer Cooperatives Conference will be held Nov. 1–2 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis South, Minn. This year’s theme will be “Opportunities for Cooperatives: Renewable Energy and Environmental Management.” Renewable energy topics will focus on: New cooperative member service opportunities in environmental management sessions will include: Updates on the conference and registration information will be posted on the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives website at: www.wisc.edu/uwcc/fc/fc.html

Faulkner deputy under secretary
for USDA Rural Development
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has appointed of Douglas L. Faulkner to serve as deputy under secretary for rural development. “Renewable fuels are a vital component of America’s energy independence and an important financial opportunity for our nation’s farmers,” said Johanns. “Doug Faulkner brings an impressive background in the energy field to USDA and will help us achieve our goal of advancing the development of renewable fuels technology.”

Faulkner most recently served as principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the U.S. Department of Energy and has had a long association with USDA, working closely with the department to promote energy development in the areas of biomass, solar, hydrogen and efficiencies. He has served as a senior policy advisor to two secretaries of energy and earlier this year received the secretary of energy’s award for excellence. His first job in Washington, D.C., was as an aide to the late Edward Madigan, a former Illinois congressman and secretary of agriculture.

Faulkner will work closely with Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr to coordinate the activities of the USDA Energy Council that Johanns announced last December.

Thatcher to manage CHS Foundation
The CHS Foundation has named Jennifer Thatcher as the new manager of the CHS Foundation, an independent, private foundation affiliated with CHS Inc. that actively supports the future of rural America, agriculture and cooperative business through education and leadership development. “Jennifer brings a strong financial management background, as well as a strong interest in community development,” said William Nelson, CHS Foundation president. “She will be a great addition to the staff that works with the CHS Foundation.”

In this role, Thatcher will work closely with Nelson to manage the business operations for the CHS Foundation, with responsibility for financial management, as well as involvement with program development. Thatcher will also play similar roles with the corporate giving area for CHS Inc. and for The Cooperative Foundation, a private foundation managed by CHS staff through a lease agreement.

Edelweiss Graziers Co-op formed
Edelweiss Graziers Cooperative has been formed by a small group Wisconsin dairy farmers to create specialty, grass-based cheese from the milk of their rotationally grazed dairy herds. The Wisconsin Ag Connection reports that the co-op aims to combine the craftsmanship of master cheesemaker Bruce Workman at Edelweiss Creamery and the milk of grass-fed cows from three Wisconsin dairy farms.

Dairy Business Innovation Center Founder and Chairman Dan Carter said the new grass-based cooperative is an outstanding example of Wisconsin dairy farmers continuing to find innovative methods in responding to industry demands. “Consumers are seeking more signature cheeses with bolder flavors, and grass-based cheeses are next on the horizon to help meet that demand,” he told the newspaper. The co-op hoped to have cheese ready for sale in July.

Wisconsin’s Black Creek
Cheddar goes nationwide
Alto Dairy Cooperative is partnering with Winona Food Inc. to market newly branded Black Creek Classic Cheddar nationwide. The co-op reports that this naturally aged, hand-selected cheese has passed the rigorous standards imposed by the Wisconsin master cheesemakers at Alto Dairy Cooperative. These artisans represent generations of cheesemakers who have turned the quality milk from Wisconsin’s family dairy farms into delicious premium cheeses.

“My dad taught me how to make cheese,” master cheesemaker Gregg Palubicki said. Carrying on the family tradition, Palubicki inspects each batch of Black Creek Cheddar to assure it meets the highest standards.

Alto and Winona were recently honored by the International Dairy Foods Association for creating a new look for Black Creek Cheddar cheeses. The unique, wedge shape, black wrapping and attractive label took Black Creek to the top spot in the Best Package Redesign for Cheese category, earning one of IDFA’s 2006 Achieving Excellence Awards.

National Beef acquires Brawley Beef
National Beef Packing Co. LLC and its majority owner, U.S. Premium Beef LLC (USPB), have completed acquisition of Brawley, Calif.-based Brawley Beef LLC. Brawley is contributing its assets in exchange for an ownership interest in U.S. Premium Beef.

For National Beef, the acquisition of Brawley Beef creates a new relationship with its owner/producers in Arizona and California. Moreover, Brawley Beef’s location 100 miles east of San Diego and its extensive retail, food service and further-processing customers along the West Coast will enable National Beef to grow its presence to serve the western United States with high-quality beef products.

As part of the acquisition, National Beef will own and operate the Brawley Beef processing facility located in Brawley. This state-of-the-art beef processing plant, constructed in 2001, has capacity to process over 400,000 cattle annually.

Kansas City-based National Beef is the nation’s fourth largest beef processor. Its majority owner, U.S. Premium Beef, makes National Beef the only major beef processing company in the United States with a majority of its ownership held by beef producers. With sales exceeding $4 billion annually and a 12 percent market share, it is owned by more than 2,000 cattle producers from 37 states.



USDA, DOE to host
renewable energy
conference

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman have announced that the two agencies will cohost a national renewable energy conference to help create partnerships and strategies necessary to accelerate commercialization of renewable energy industries and distribution systems, the crux of President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI). The conference, Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance, is scheduled for Oct. 10-12, 2006, in St. Louis, Mo.

“Keeping America competitive calls upon us to work together to expand sustainable, market-driven, domestic energy sources,” Johanns said. “The October conference will build upon the President’s vision for overcoming our energy challenges and help create new wealth opportunities in rural communities.”

“Never has reducing our dependence on foreign oil been such a pressing issue,” Bodman said. “We have the will and the means to replace significant quantities of foreign oil with homegrown fuel. We are hopeful this conference will identify major impediments and critical pathways to get more domestically grown, renewable energy sources out of the laboratory and into consumers’ hands as soon as possible.”

The conference will focus on biomass, wind and solar research and commercialization. It will seek to identify major impediments, review challenges and make recommendations to help accelerate renewable energy technology development; examine key incentives that would help promote certainty and reduce risk for investors and developers in the marketplace; review challenges of developing new distribution systems and raise public awareness. The conference should be relevant for those from diverse sectors, including agriculture, energy, transportation, financial and investment, federal and state government and elected officials.

Information and on-line registration for the October conference will be available on the Internet at: www.advancingruralenergy.com



CCA honors Jordan, Bryant as top communicators

Saluted for her “commitment to success” and as “a mentor and a model of doing things right,” the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) presented Lani Jordan, director of communications for CHS Inc., with the H.E. Klinefelter award, its highest honor, during its annual meeting in Portland, Ore., in June. The award is bestowed to individuals who have made significant contributions to the art of co-op communications.

Jordan “provides the best of the best in co-op communications,” said award presenter Janet Schoniger of CoBank, winner of the award in 2005. “She is driven by a love for writing and a passion for telling a story.”

Katrice “K.D.” Bryant, from Jackson Electric Cooperative in Georgia, was the recipient of the Michael Graznak Award, presented to a young communicator under the age of 36, in recognition of her “sustained excellence, creativity, insight and performance.”

“Katrice brings an enthusiasm and commitment to every communications task she undertakes,” says Randall Pugh, president and CEO of Jackson EMC.

Jordan develops the annual communication strategy for CHS, is chief media spokesperson for the organization, is speech writer for the board and senior management and is responsible for the co-op’s annual meeting. She also produces the annual report and handles a wide range of other communications responsibilities. She joined the cooperative in 1985 after a 10-year career as a journalist.

A three-time CCA Writer of the Year, Jordan is also a past Graznak award winner. She served six years on the CCA board and was president of the organization in 2000-01.

Bryant is responsible for development and production of marketing communications vehicles, including customer and business-to-business publications, website content, trade show graphics, billboard advertising and radio and television content for Jackson EMC. She also serves as editor-in-chief for customer, employee and business-tobusiness publications and is responsible for managing a $1.2 million project budget.

Top award winners in CCA’s annual Communications Competition included:

— Publication of the Year: Sarah Dorman of West Central Cooperative, Iowa, for the co-op’s annual report;

— Photographer of the Year: David Lundquist, CHS Inc./Land O’Lakes, for a portfolio of work;

—Writer of the Year: Lani Jordan, CHS Inc., and Patty Miller, Land O’Lakes (tie);

— Special Projects, Best of Class: Sarah Bratnober, Organic Valley Family of Farms, for a co-op calendar.

USDA’s Rural Cooperatives magazine won five awards in the competition, including: first place for news writing, won by assistant editor Stephen Thompson for his coverage of the 2005 Farmer Cooperative Conference; third place for best use of photos in a magazine; third place for best magazine cover; honorable mention for writer of the year, won by editor Dan Campbell; and honorable mention for portrait photography, won by Stephen Thompson.

For a complete list of contest winners and more information about CCA, visit: www.communicators.coop.


July/August Table of Contents