In the Spotlight
Amy Hempstead: ‘Moving our co-op forward’
Title: General Manager.
Co-op: United Farmers Cooperative, Lafayette, Minn.
Co-op Description: United Farmers Cooperative is a 75-year-old general farm supply and marketing cooperative with more than 1,500 members in southern Minnesota. Annual sales: $65 million. Co-op operations include: grain, feed, agronomy, petroleum, farm equipment, consumer products, convenience stores. 80 employees. 11-member board of directors and five advisory members. United Farmers merged with Lesueur Farmers Elevator in January 1998. UFC is affiliated with Cenex, Land O'Lakes and Harvest States cooperatives.
Background. Grew up on a Minnesota farm. Earned bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in finance from the University of Minnesota. Worked for the St. Paul Bank for Cooperatives for 16 years until moving into the top spot at United Farmers in December 1997.
Career achievement: "Working with cooperatives and seeing their ideas successfully come to fruition." First woman to hold general manager's position at United Farmers Cooperative.
Work philosophy. "I have a very strong focus on customer service and the need for our co-op to add value to our members' businesses. I believe in looking to the future, and like working with our board of directors, employees and patrons to develop exceptional ideas. Through strategic planning, we want to make sure we're on the leading edge of meeting our customer needs."
Biggest challenges: "Keeping up with the rapid changes in agriculture, continuing to provide value to members, keeping qualified people to serve our producer-members."
Biggest rewards: "Working with people, planting the seeds and implementing ideas that are moving our co-op forward. In the cooperative system, we need to be progressive, open-minded and willing to 'think outside of the box."' Goals: "Provide exceptional products and services to help add value for our farmer-owners. That includes providing additional technological services and access to systems that will position our members better for the future."
On recruiting more women to leadership positions in co-ops: "Get people involved in co-ops at a younger age. Young Producer programs are specially good because they encourage young men and women to attend annual meetings and other co-op events, to get more familiar with co-op operations, and demonstrate how co-ops can be beneficial to serve the needs of agriculture. I'm also a strong believer in speaking to kids on career days to promote the field of agriculture. Education is the key to building the awareness that there are many opportunities in agriculture."
Personal: Born in 1958; raised on a crop and cattle farm in
southeastern Minnesota. One daughter, Kaitlyn, age seven. 
Co-op pioneer honored as first member of Oklahoma Ag Hall of Fame
S.F. "Pamp" Howe, who helped bring
electricity, water service and health insurance to rural Oklahoma, has become the first
inductee into the Governor's Oklahoma Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Howe, of Nebo., Okla., received the honor March
17, 1998 at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City. Governor Frank Keating presented the
award.
"Mr. Howe has not only watched our state
grow up, he has helped it to grow up," Gov. Keating said.
Howe, 83, also addressed the crowd of
government officials, news teams, legislators, friends, and family after being presented
with the award. He received a standing ovation.
During his career, Howe served in leadership
positions on various dairy coops, and later was called on to help out troubled electric
and rural water district boards.
"It wasn't enough that he helped insure
our state's dairymen had a reliable market for their milk," said Keating. "He
went on to serve on the People's Electric Cooperative Board, as president of the Oklahoma
Association of Electric Cooperatives, and on the Murray County Rural Water District. He
also headed the Southern Region of Associated Milk Producers."
Still active in production agriculture, Howe
manages 3,000 acres of Nebo, Okla., ranchland with his son, Pat. Howe also serves as board
secretary for the People's Electric Cooperative.
    |