NEWSLINE
National Cooperative Bank
shortens name to NCB
National Cooperative Bank has
changed its name to NCB and has
adopted a new logo as part of a twoyear
brand research and development
effort. “Our simplified name and new
corporate identity are a direct result of
the valuable feedback from our customers,”
NCB President and CEO
Charles E. Snyder says. “While NCB
enjoys a highly loyal customer base, we
wanted to more effectively articulate
the multi-faceted financial services we
can provide.”
Since being chartered by Congress
in 1978, NCB has answered the
financial needs of America’s cooperatives
and member-owned businesses.
Its primary markets include the basic
ingredients of vibrant communities:
housing, education, healthcare, cultural
centers, local businesses and social
services. In addition, NCB has a growing
community banking network in
southwestern Ohio.
NCB has first-hand understanding of
the challenges facing cooperatives, having
become a co-op in 1981. Today, it
has more than 2,600 customer-owners
and more than $6.19 billion in assets
under management.
NCB, Snyder says, will continue to
pioneer the creation and delivery of
highly valued, innovative financial services,
such as securitizing cooperative
assets on the secondary market, using
New Market Tax Credits for the growth
of charter schools and community
health clinics, taking the first Alaska
Native Corporation to Wall Street via a
private placement, and crafting custom
programs for small business members of
franchises such as Ace Hardware and
Dunkin’ Donuts.
“The cooperative community is one
of America’s best-kept secrets, given its
substantial contributions to our economy
and society. In the financial arena, at
times, the same could be said about
NCB,” continues Snyder. “By re-branding,
the bank sends a clear and more
disciplined message to the marketplace,
and makes the temptation to refer to
NCB as a best-kept secret a thing of the
past.”
National Beef acquires
Vintage Natural Beef
National Beef California, a subsidiary
of National Beef Packing Co.,
has acquired Vintage Foods Limited
Partnership, of Los Angeles, Calif. The
transaction was structured as an asset
purchase and includes the Vintage™
Natural Beef brand. The Vintage brand
is marketed as a natural beef that is
antibiotic- and hormone-free, with consistent
genetics. Vintage Natural Beef
only uses cattle that are 20 months or
younger, a high percentage of which
grade USDA Prime and USDA Choice.
National Beef entered the rapidly
growing market for natural beef in
April 2004 with Naturewell™ Natural
Beef and expanded its product line in
April 2006 with the introduction of
NatureSource™ Natural Angus Beef.
Kansas City-based National Beef is
the nation’s fourth largest beef processor.
Its majority owner is U.S. Premium
Beef, making National Beef the only
major beef processing company in the
United States with a majority of its
ownership held by beef producers. Its
sales exceed $4 billion annually and it
holds a 14 percent market share.
“The Vintage™ Natural Beef brand
is established on the West Coast and
will strengthen our natural beef line of
products,” USPB CEO Steve Hunt
says. “Having the Vintage brand will
give our sales staff another option for
marketing natural beef programs to our
retail customers and will enable us to
better serve the growing consumer market
for naturally raised beef.”
National Beef also acquired
California-based Brawley Beef LLC in
June. Brawley contributed its assets in
exchange for an ownership interest in
U.S. Premium Beef. National Beef will
own and operate the Brawley Beef processing
facility in Brawley, Calif., a
state-of-the-art beef processing plant
constructed in 2001, with capacity to
process over 400,000 cattle annually.
Record sales year for PCCA;
$28.9 million for members
Fueled by record cotton production
in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, Plains
Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA)
set a new record in fiscal 2006 for gross
sales at $1.24 billion, up from $1.03 billion
in 2005. The cotton co-op also set
records for volume of cotton handled
and marketed, warehouse receipts and
warehouse net margins. Cash payments
of $28.9 million are being made to
members, including $13.8 million in
cash dividends, $6.6 million in stock
retirements and $8.5 million in retirement
of per-unit capital retains.
The co-op’s overall net margins of
$27.8 million virtually matched the
$27.9 million recorded the previous
year.
“Early in the season, we recognized
the potential for a record crop,” said
PCCA President and CEO Wally
Darneille. “So, we built new warehouses
at our facilities in Sweetwater,
Texas, and Liberal, Kan., and leased
additional storage capacity.” The
record receipts contributed to the
Warehouse Division’s combined net
margins of $10.9 million, a significant
increase from $8.4 million the previous
year.
Of 6.6 million bales processed by the
co-op’s Marketing Division, about 4.5
million were marketed electronically
and through PCCA’s pools, Darneille
said. This division reported net margins
of $4.8 million, the second highest in its
history.
“PCCA’s wholly-owned subsidiary,
TELMARK Inc., also set new records
for the volume of cotton handled, the
number of loans processed on behalf of
its customers, and profits that contributed
to the Marketing Division’s
bottom line,” Darneille reported.
For the second consecutive year, the
combined volume of cotton delivered to
PCCA’s marketing pools set a new
record. The pools reported combined
net margins of $15.7 million.
Significant highlights for PCCA’s
pool marketing efforts included
increased export sales and improved
sales to key domestic mills. Sales to
Mexico increased more than 80 percent
from the previous year.
PCCA’s Textile Division faced
numerous challenges during the fiscal
year, including a surge of imported
denim jeans from Asia. “The overwhelming
amount of foreign apparel,
combined with one of the worst-ever
back-to-school shopping seasons in
2005, kept retail inventories at levels
that were not sold off until April of
2006,” Darneille explained. “The division
ended the year with a net loss of
$3.9 million, but actually produced a
positive cash flow of almost $1.7 million.
Once conditions had improved
near the end of the fiscal year, our
denim mill was able to get back to a full
operating schedule.”
Groundbreaking for largest
biodiesel plant in Iowa
Construction began in September in
Algona, Iowa, on the state’s first 60-million-
gallon biodiesel plant. Renewable
Energy Group Inc. (REG) is partnering
with East Fork Biodiesel of Algona in
this state-of-the-art biodiesel project, taking
a minority interest in the plant while
also providing construction services.
The $70-million plant is expected to
begin production in about one year.
Soybean oil will be used as its primary
feedstock. Construction plans also call
for the development of a pre-treatment
area for other types of feedstock,
including animal fats or other oils.
Overall, the project is expected to
create about 100 jobs during the construction
phase and more than 25 new
jobs as the plant opens. Forecasted
annual biodiesel sales for East Fork
Biodiesel are $144.6 million.
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. was
formed through the combination of
West Central Cooperative’s biodiesel
business and Renewable Energy
Group LLC’s biodiesel plant construction
business, and has produced
and sold biodiesel for more than 10
years through its predecessor companies.
Survey shows support
for biofuel incentives
Four in five U.S. adults (80 percent)
strongly or somewhat agree
that national and state governments
are not doing enough to promote
production of biofuels, according to
a new survey released by the
Biotechnology Industry Organization
(BIO). The survey, conducted by Harris
Interactive, also found that 82 percent
of adults say national and state governments
should provide financial incentives
to biofuels producers to encourage
the production and availability of biofuels.
More than two out of three adults
(69 percent) would use American-made
biofuels even if these fuels cost slightly
more than conventional gas.
CHS purchases additional
US BioEnergy ownership
CHS Inc. has acquired additional
ownership in US BioEnergy
Corporation, a renewable fuels firm.
The federated co-op paid $35 million
for the shares, and brings CHS ownership
in US BioEnergy to 25.57 percent.
Its total investment in the corporation
is now $105 million.
US BioEnergy Corporation is a producer
and marketer of ethanol and distillers
grains. The company currently
operates one ethanol plant, which is in
the process of expansion, and has three
additional ethanol plants under construction.
Upon completion of these
initiatives, the company will own and
operate four plants with combined
expected ethanol production capacity of
300 million gallons per year.
CHS Inc. is a diversified energy,
grains and foods company owned by
farmers, ranchers and cooperatives from
the Great Lakes to the Pacific
Northwest and from the Canadian border
to Texas, along with thousands of
preferred stockholders.
Southwest Cheese opens in N.M.;
to have $1.2 billion regional impact
The Southwest Cheese plant in
Clovis, N.M., opened Oct. 6, and is
expected to have a major impact in the
region’s economy while solidifying New
Mexico as a leading dairy state. Already
ranked No. 7 among the states for milk
production, New Mexico is one of the
fastest growing dairy production areas,
as is West Texas.
At full capacity, the plant will take in
140 milk tankers daily, producing
40,000 pounds of cheese every hour and
processing 275,000 pounds of whey
every day. Southwest Cheese, which
employs more than 200 people, is
expected to record $340 million in sales
this year while having a $1.2-billion
economic impact on the regional economy.
The $190 million joint venture is
one of the largest investments in the
dairy industry worldwide in the past few
years. The plant is owned 50 percent by
Glanbia PLC, the No. 1 U.S. producer
of American-style cheddar cheese, and
50 percent by the Greater Southwest
Agency, consisting of Dairy Farmers of
America (DFA), Select Milk Producers,
Zia and Lonestar.
“Clovis was an ideal choice of location
for the plant,” says Southwest
Cheese President and CEO Maurice
Keane. “New Mexico has production
advantages that include good climate,
ready supply of feed and great neighbors.
In addition, being right in the
center of a strong milk supply will naturally
reduce transport costs for farmers.”
DFA CEO Rick Smith said, “It’s
exciting to see this partnership project
come to fruition. Not only has the plant
created an important new market for
milk in the region, but it has met the
goal of maximizing market opportunities
for the benefit of all the stakeholders.”
The 340,000-square-foot plant produces
40- and 640-pound blocks of
Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby and
Pepper Jack cheeses, along with highquality
whey products.
Analysis says CWT boosts
milk checks by 40 cents
An independent economic analysis of
the impact of Cooperatives Working
Together (CWT) has found that the
dairy self-help program has raised farmers’
prices by at least 40 cents per hundredweight
since it began operations in
2003. The analysis was performed by
Dr. Scott Brown of the University of
Missouri, who is often called on by the
U.S. Congress to assess agricultural
economic issues.
Brown examined the impact of
CWT’s herd retirements, plus its ongoing
export-assistance program, while
also taking into consideration other factors
affecting the dairy supply in
2003–2006, such as the relative shortage
of Canadian dairy replacements. His
analysis showed that CWT alone was
responsible for a minimum 40-cent
average increase in prices from
2004 –06, apart from the other factors
affecting the market.
The cumulative impact of CWT
from the start of 2004 through the first
half of 2006 is $1.97 billion in additional
producer revenue, according to
Brown’s evaluation.
So far, the CWT-funded export program
has shipped the milk equivalent of
approximately 500 million pounds to
foreign nations, which Brown’s analysis
showed as boosting farm prices by nine
cents just through the first half of this
year. Exports prior to 2006 were minimal
and thus had little impact on prices
prior to this year.
Starting with July’s milk production,
CWT member cooperatives and individual
farmers have begun contributing
10 cents per hundredweight, an increase
of 5 cents per hundredweight from the
initial level of commitment. The higher
assessment will run through 2007, and
ensures that CWT will be able to fund
additional herd retirement efforts, as
well as its ongoing export assistance
program.
DFA, Justice Dept. settle
Southern Belle antitrust case
The U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) and Dairy Farmers of America
Inc. (DFA) have resolved an antitrust
case involving the co-op’s acquisition of
Southern Belle Dairy Co. LLC. DFA
will divest its interest in Southern Belle,
as will DFA’s partner, the Allen Family
Limited Partnership (AFLP). DOJ said
that the divestitures restore the benefits
of competition — lower prices and better
quality services — to schoolchildren
and their families in Kentucky and
Tennessee.
DFA and AFLP will sell their interests
in Southern Belle to Prairie Farms
Dairy Inc. The Antitrust Division has
approved Prairie Farms as the buyer.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky
joined the Department in its settlement.
“This settlement restores competition
for school milk contracts essential
to the nutrition programs that serve
schoolchildren in 100 school districts in
Kentucky and Tennessee,” said Thomas
O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General
in charge of the Department’s Antitrust
Division. In April 2003, the DOJ’s
Antitrust Division and the Commonwealth
of Kentucky filed a lawsuit in
U.S. District Court in London, Ky.,
challenging DFA’s acquisition of its
interest in the Southern Belle.
The DOJ lawsuit charged that DFA’s
acquisition reduced competition
because it gave DFA ownership interests
in two dairies — the Southern Belle
dairy and the nearby Flav-O-Rich dairy
in London — that competed against
each other for school-milk contracts.
As a result, the acquisition reduced the
number of independent bidders for
school milk contracts from two to one
for 45 school districts in eastern
Kentucky, and from three bidders to
two for 55 school districts in eastern
Kentucky and Tennessee.
The federal district court initially dismissed
the case, granting summary judgment
for DFA. DOJ successfully
appealed the dismissal to the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which
reversed the district court and sent the
case back for trial. Before trial began,
DOJ and DFA reached their agreement.
USDA issues more than
$1 billion in electric loans
USDA Rural Development is issuing
more than $1 billion in loans to electrical
cooperatives nationally to expand
and improve electrical services in rural
America.
In early September, Agriculture
Secretary Mike Johanns announced
more than $776 million in loans to
electric utilities in 16 states to provide
service to more than 10,000 new customers
and to make infrastructure
improvements, including new generating
facilities and lines.
“Our rural communities need reliable
electric service in order to support
business expansion and broaden economic
opportunities,” Johanns said.
“These loans will open the door to
growth in rural America by enabling
cooperatives to improve distribution
systems and serve additional customers.”
One loan, for almost $38 million, is
being made to the Coast Electric Power
Association of Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Funds will be used to restore distribution
systems damaged by Hurricane
Katrina. Southwest Electric Cooperative
of Bolivar, Mo., will use a $9-million
loan to build 119 miles of new
distribution line and make system
improvements for 2,447 new customers.
Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative
of Portola, Calif., will receive an
$11 million loan to construct a new
generation facility which will serve
residents of California and Nevada.
Later in September, Johanns announced
that 10 electric cooperatives
serving rural residents in 15 states will
receive an additional $234 million in
loans to improve infrastructure, erect
new lines and provide service to 6,200
new customers.
“Our electric cooperatives are rural
America’s lifeline,” said Johanns. “USDA
has invested close to $23 billion since
2001 to maintain and improve electric
service across the nation, part of a firm
commitment to improve the quality of
life for the communities, businesses and
families who live in rural America.” A
complete list of the loan recipients is
available at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
USDA awards $22.6 million
in VAPG & minority co-op grants
USDA is awarding $22.6 million in
grants to 194 applications in 40 states
and two territories. The funds come
from its Value-Added Producer Grant
(VAPG) and Small Minority Producer
Grant (SMPG) programs.
“These grants support farm families
in rural America by helping them to
market their commodities and increase
their financial returns,” says Agriculture
Secretary Mike Johanns. “I’m pleased to
announce that some of these funds will
focus on development of alternative
fuels from renewable energy sources —
part of President Bush’s comprehensive
national energy policy.”
A total of 41 energy related valueadded
grants are being awarded at a
combined funding level of $4.7 million.
Examples include an award of $300,000
to the Midwest Biodiesel Producers
LLC of South Dakota for working capital
to fund a start-up biodiesel plant.
Barton County Ethanol Producers,
LLC of Missouri, is receiving $299,900
for working capital to run an ethanol
facility in southwest Missouri.
A portion of the Value Added Grant
funds were designated for applicants
requesting less than $25,000. USDA is
funding all 61 eligible project applications
received in this category.
Examples of value-added grants that
are not energy related include a grant of
$255,800 to Innovative Growers LLC
of Iowa to fund a unique, chemical-free
way to process soybeans and market its
soy product. Another example is a grant
of $107,520 to Lauren Farms Inc. of
Mississippi to develop promotional
materials and commercial quantities of
two ready-to-prepare prawn products.
Wisconsin’s Alto Dairy Cooperative was
awarded $230,000 to promote and market
its Black Creek Classic Cheddar.
Under the Small Minority Producer
Grant program, $1.5 million is being
awarded to cooperatives in seven states
and two U.S. territories. Funds are provided
for cooperatives or associations of
cooperatives whose primary focus is to
assist small minority producers and
whose membership and/or governing
board is composed of at least 75 percent
minority members.
In Colorado, a cooperative will conduct
a feasibility study relating to
the establishment of an organic beef
business. A Native American-operated
bison cooperative based in
South Dakota will receive funds to
train representatives from 57 tribes
in bison management.
Since 2001 the Bush
Administration has committed more
than $136 million to value-added
agricultural investments.
Value-Added Producer Grants
may be used for planning activities,
such as feasibility studies or business
plans, or to provide working capital
for marketing value-added agricultural
products and for farm-based
renewable energy projects. Eligible
applicants are independent producers,
farmer and rancher cooperatives,
agricultural producer groups
and majority-controlled producerbased
business ventures.
Value-added products are created
when a producer takes an agricultural
commodity, like milk or vegetables,
and processes or prepares it in a
way that increases value to consumers.
A complete list of the grants is posted
at: www.rurdev.usda.gov.
USDA awards $25.8 million for
distance learning, telemedicine
USDA Rural Development has
awarded $25.8 million in grants for 103
distance learning and telemedicine
(DLT) projects that will provide
improved educational and medical services
to residents of 38 states. Under
Secretary for Rural Development
Thomas Dorr made the announcement
during a USDA Rural Developmentsponsored
broadband telecommunications
workshop in Charleston, W.Va.
“This program connects communities
to medical services and educational
opportunities they would not otherwise
have,” said Dorr. “Our focus is to
ensure that all rural Americans have
access to state-of-the-art services
through our rapidly expanding telecommunications
system.”
USDA’s DLT program was created
to encourage, improve, and make
affordable the use of telecommunications,
computer networks and related
technology for rural communities to
improve access to educational and/or
medical services. Fifty seven of the
grants announced will fund projects
designed to provide improved medical
service and 46 will provide improved
educational opportunities. Since 2001,
483 grants totaling over $166 million
have been awarded under the program.
A complete list of the successful
DLT applicants is available at:
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
Blue Diamond’s Howard Isom
ends long co-op board service
Howard Isom, a board member of
Blue Diamond almond growers since
1988 and its chairman for 16 years, is
retiring from the board this fall. Isom
led the cooperative through a period of
tremendous change and growth for the
almond industry.
“After 18 years, it’s time to back out
and do something else,” Isom told the
Chico Enterprise-Record. Isom is a recipient
of the Farmer Cooperative Director
of the Year Award from the National
Council of Farmer Cooperatives, which
praised him for being a strong believer
in cooperative principles and a tireless
leader for the cooperative as it
improved its efficiency and developed
new products and markets.
California’s almond crop has grown
from about 500 million pounds when
Isom was elected to the board, to more
than 1 billion pounds today.
In a recent interview in the co-op’s
member and customer publication,
Almond Facts, Isom recalled that when
he became chairman, the major task was
to make the cooperative more efficient
than its competition. “The board and
management had to take a hard look at
the culture and organization of Blue
Diamond,” he recalled. Other changes
were made that led to a stronger position
of board independence.
“We began to do a more vigorous
job of establishing policy, monitoring
policy, succession planning and managing
the budgeting process to get our
costs in line. For Blue Diamond to
achieve its potential, we had to change
the culture of the organization.” It was
a slow and difficult process, Isom
recalls, but a successful one.
Swiss Valley Farms purchases
Shullsburg Creamery facilities
Swiss Valley Farms Co. has acquired
property and facilities from the
Shullsburg Creamery in Shullsburg,
Wis., to accommodate growing
demand for Swiss Valley products. The
purchase, effective Sept. 14, includes a
dairy-foods plant, a cold-storage warehouse,
a dry-storage facility and a
waste-water treatment facility, all located
on 18 acres on the west side of
Shullsburg. Shullsburg Creamery will
continue to lease a portion of the facility
from Swiss Valley, a Davenport,
Iowa-based dairy cooperative owned by
1,100 farmers with annual sales of $425
million and 700 employees.
Tree Top pays $19.4 million
to members for ’05 crop
Following completion of processing
another large apple and pear crop, Tree
Top, Selah, Wash., has returned an
$11.05-per-ton profit to its growerowners
for their 2005 processing fruit.
“This represents the 14th consecutive
year this cooperative has returned a
profit to its grower-owners,” CEO Tom
Stokes says.
In September, Tree Top’s board
approved final payments to members
of $10.6 million, payable in October.
For the 2005 crop, the co-op will have
provided total proceeds for members
of $19.4 million on 454,000 tons of
apples and pears. Total proceeds equal
the amount the fruit would be worth
on the open market plus the profit Tree
Top generates through the sale of juice
and other items created by processing
that fruit.
“Our industry continues to become
more competitive each year,” Stokes,
says. “To ensure we maintain our premium
position in the marketplace, we made
significant facilities changes this past
year, upgraded many of our production
lines, introduced some new products and
worked hard to find more efficient ways
to run this business. For the second year
in a row, higher energy costs, which also
impacted our packaging costs, adversely
impacting our bottom line.”
Tree Top is a grower-owned cooperative
with 1,322 members in Washington,
Oregon and Idaho.
United Co-op pursuing merger
United Cooperative, Beaver Dam,
Wis., and Co-op County Partners,
Baraboo, Wis., have begun a merger
study. If members approve the merger, it
would create one of Wisconsin’s largest
farmer-owned supply cooperatives, the
Beaver Dam Daily Citizen reports.
United Cooperative is a diversified
grain, agronomy, feed, seed and energy
cooperative that serves more than 2,800
voting members. Co-op Country
Partners’ business is complementary and
serves about 800 voting members.
With 2005 sales of $121 million
and $57 million, respectively, the two
co-ops began researching options to
work together in grain procurement
and marketing. These talks led to the
merger study, says United Cooperative
Board Chair Howard Bohl, a dairy
producer from Beaver Dam. “Through
this merger, we can eliminate duplications
and inefficiencies, and focus our
resources on keeping equipment and
technology current, hiring and retaining
the best people and keeping the
balance sheet strong,” the Daily
Citizen reported.
Co-op Country Partners Board president
Robin Craker, a producer from
Reedsburg, said numerous efficiencies
have already been identified in the
merger plan.
Wisconsin co-op merger rejected
The voting members of Country
Horizons Cooperative, Reedsville, Wis.,
have again voted down a plan to merge
with Chilton Cooperative, Chilton,
Wis., and Progressive Farmers
Cooperative, DePere, Wis., according
to a report in the Manitowoc Herald
Times Reporter. Ballots, counted Sept.
14, failed to produce the two-thirds
majority needed to merge, according to
Bob Lowe, general manager at Country
Horizons Cooperative.
Chilton Cooperative and
Progressive Farmers Cooperative each
passed the merger proposal in July. As
a result, the three organizations’ plan
of merger has failed, said Lowe. The
three cooperatives will continue to
work together on a regular basis
through a joint venture.
Lindgren new Sunkist president;
Bee Sweet Citrus joins co-op
Timothy Lindgren has been elected
president and CEO of Sunkist Growers,
the nation’s oldest and largest citrus
marketing cooperative. A veteran of
Sunkist and the produce industry,
Lindgren served 26 years as president
of Fruit Growers Supply Co. (FGS), a
cooperative affiliate of Sunkist involved
in agricultural supplies, packaging and
timberland management, before retiring
from the post in 2003.
With 31 years of experience with the
Sunkist/FGS system, Lindgren has
extensive operational knowledge of all
aspects of the Sunkist system and is well
known in the U.S. agricultural industry.
Lindgren succeeds Jeff Gargiulo, whom
he replaced in June, when he became
interim president. Lindgren’s subsequent
selection as CEO followed a
nationwide search.
Lindgren recently announced a
realignment of Sunkist’s organizational
structure, providing a more integrated
approach to operations and better use
of resources. Russ Hanlin was named
senior vice president for
sales and marketing, while
Michael Wootton was
named senior vice president
for corporate relations
and administration.
In other Sunkist news,
Bee Sweet Citrus is joining
Sunkist. Founded in 1987,
the Fowler-Calif. packer
has a product list that
includes navel and Valencia
oranges, lemons, grapefruit, mandarins
and several exotic specialties, such as
minneolas and pummelos. Bee
Sweet brings more than six million
cartons of citrus annually
into the Sunkist system. The
fruit will continue to be packed
under the familiar Bee Sweet,
Sweetheart, Royal Bee and
Abeja labels, but now will also
wear the Sunkist brand.
In a key marketing issue, the
U.S. International Trade Commission
and the U.S. Commerce
Department have initiated antidumping
duty investigations on imports
of lemon juice from Argentina and
Mexico, pursuant to a petition filed by
Sunkist. The co-op charges that the
imports are being sold in the United
States at unfair prices, below both their
own third-country prices and their own
cost of production, causing material
injury to the domestic U.S. lemon juice
industry.
USDA funds 1890s to promote
jobs, co-op & business growth
USDA has awarded $1.5 million to
14 1890 land-grant universities. The
funds will assist in the creation of new
businesses, promote the growth of
cooperatives and provide new employment
opportunities through the promotion
of Rural Development programs.
“USDA’s partnership with the 1890
Institutions makes it possible for rural
entrepreneurs to get the assistance they
need in order to compete, both here at
home and in the global marketplace,”
said Deputy Agriculture Secretary
Chuck Conner. “These universities
have a rich history of helping rural residents
in historically underserved areas.”
Through a longstanding partnership
with USDA Rural Development, the
1890 Land-Grant Institutions have provided
technical assistance and opportunities
for business building throughout
the areas they serve. For example, West
Virginia State University provides economic
outreach services in 11 rural
counties in southern West Virginia.
Fort Valley State University in Georgia
uses USDA funds to promote economic
development, create businesses and
expand cooperative development opportunities.
Kentucky State University will provide
business development assistance to
the communities of Cadiz, Dawson
Springs, Eddyville, Elkton, Greenville,
Oak Grove and Princeton. A complete
listing of the successful applicants is
available at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
Pilgrim’s Pride bids for Gold Kist
Gold Kist Inc. has rejected as inadequate
an unsolicited offer from
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation to purchase
all of the outstanding shares of Gold
Kist common stock for $20 per share in
cash. The transaction is valued at about
$1 billion, plus the assumption of Gold
Kist’s debt of $144 million.
Gold Kist Inc., once the nation’s
largest poultry cooperative before it
converted to a stock corporation, said in
an Oct. 12 letter from its CEO, John
Bekkers, that “Our board unanimously
determined that the offer is inadequate
and doesn’t fully reflect the value of
Gold Kist.”
Pilgrim’s says its offer represents a
premium of about 55 percent over Gold
Kist’s closing stock price of $12.93 on
Aug. 18, the day the offer was
announced.
If the takeover is successful, Pilgrim’s
Pride would grow to about the same size
as industry leader Tysons Foods, which
processes 33 million birds per weak and
holds 25 percent of the market.
Illinois co-ops partner to form Total Grain Marketing
Total Grain Marketing (TGM) LLC has been formed
through a partnership between two Illinois local farmer
cooperatives — Effingham-Clay Service Co. in Effingham
and Wabash Valley Service Co. in Grayville — with
regional cooperative GROWMARK Inc. of Bloomington,
Ill. The partnership creates one of the largest cooperative
grain operations in Illinois.
TGM includes the former assets of Huisinga Grain
Inc. and Willow Hill Grain Inc., which were recently purchased
by GROWMARK. Effingham-Clay will integrate
its current grain operations with those of TGM. Randy
Handel, Effingham-Clay general manager, will manage
the day-to-day operations of the combined business.
“Our partnership with Wabash Valley Service Company
and GROWMARK provides access to more end-user markets,
and strengthens the package of grain services we provide
our producers,” Handel says.
Wabash Valley will merge the Willow Hill plant food
and crop production services into existing Wabash Valley
operations.
GROWMARK CEO Bill Davisson says, “This partnership
is a result of the GROWMARK Member Partnering
program, which benefits local producers, the member
cooperative shareholders and the shareholders of GROWMARK.”
