NEWSLINE

Wisconsin's Karg new field editor

         Pamela Karg, Baraboo, Wis., is now the field editor of Rural Cooperatives magazine, published bi-monthly by USDA Rural Development. As field editor, she writes several feature stories in each issue as well as assists in editing articles. Karg's cooperative knowledge was formed at Foremost Farms USA, a Wisconsin-based dairy cooperative, during which time she earned numerous writing and photography awards from the National Milk Producers Federation and the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA). In 1991, Karg received CCA's Michael Graznak Award, presented annually to an outstanding young cooperative communicator. She went on to serve CCA as a director and as its president. In 1995, Karg opened her own communications business and now writes for cooperative publications, agricultural and dairy newspapers and magazines, commercial television and community radio.

Gold Kist, Cotton States Insurance founder dies

David William Brooks, 97, retired founder of Gold Kist Inc. and of Cotton States Insurance Companies, died Aug. 5 in an Atlanta hospital. Brooks obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture from the University of Georgia and began teaching agronomy at age 19, making him one of the youngest faculty members at the university. In recent years, he served in a visiting position which, he pointed out, made him the oldest professor on campus.
        Brooks left the university in the early 1930s to form Georgia Cooperative Cotton Producers Association. In 1974, the company was renamed Gold Kist Inc. With annual sales of more than $2 billion, Gold Kist is the second largest poultry processor in the United States. Brooks served as general manager of Gold Kist until he retired in 1968. Brooks organized Cotton State Mutual Insurance Co. (CSIC) in 1941 to provide farmers with a source of fire and windstorm insurance. He served as chairman of the board of CSIC until 1983. It now serves 10 states in the Southeast and had sales of $265 million in 1998.

Three California cooperatives merge 

        More than 98 percent of the members of California Milk Producers, San Joaquin Valley Dairymen and Danish Creamery Association approved merging the three cooperatives, effective Aug 1, 1999. The new cooperative is named California Dairies Inc. and will be the nation's second largest dairy cooperative in terms of milk volume. California Dairies will annually market 13 billion pounds of milk from 700 members through five manufacturing plants. Until 2001, the three chief executives of the predecessor cooperatives will function as executive vice presidents.

Glencoe, AMPI consider merger 

        Glencoe Butter and Produce Association, Glencoe, Minn., has signed a letter of intent to negotiate a merger with Associated Milk Producers Inc., New Ulm, Minn. AMPI and Glencoe will immediately begin negotiating a definitive agreement to merge the two cooperatives. Glencoe members own an agricultural services division and dairy manufacturing plant. The plant produces barrel cheddar and provolone cheeses. AMPI dairy farmer-members share in the ownership of manufacturing plants in the Upper Midwest. In 1999, the combined cooperatives will market five billion pounds of milk and manufacture a full line of consumer-packaged dairy products.

Land O'Lakes, Swiss Valley partners

         Land O'Lakes, St. Paul, Minn., and Swiss Valley Farms, Davenport, Iowa, announced a joint venture to combine the fluid milk and cultured dairy product businesses of the two organizations. Following approval by directors, the cooperatives proposed the formation of the alliance on or about Oct. 1, 1999. The venture, with combined annual revenues of $480 million, would bring together the cooperatives' six Midwestern milk and juice bottling plants and two cultured dairy product plants. The Land O'Lakes plants are in North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Swiss Valley plants are in Iowa and Illinois.

Carey named UDA executive director

         Dermot T. Carey has been named executive director of United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA) in Tempe. Carey was with Michigan Milk Producers Association before joining UDA in 1993 as director of operations. He is an honors graduate from the University College Cork, Cork City, Ireland, where he majored in dairy and food technology, engineering, microbiology and chemistry.

MMPA pays equity capital retains 

        The Michigan Milk Producers Association issued $4 million in equity payments to producers who shipped milk with the company in 1987 and 1988. Included in the cash payments was the final payment of the cooperatives Equity Capital Retain Program, which was discontinued in 1987. Along with the balance of the Equity Capital Retains, the $4 million payment included all 1987 equity and half of 1988 equity. Earlier this year, MMPA members received $1.9 million in cash payments generated from the cooperative's 1997-98 fiscal year.
        "It is not easy in today's dairy industry to finance a cooperative exclusively from its profits, which MMPA has done since 1987," Kirkpatrick says. "The need to stay competitive requires MMPA management to continually review our plants and operations while providing a competitive pay price to our members."

LOL Answer Farm celebrates 25 years

         The Land O'Lakes Answer Farm, one of the nation's leading crop and livestock research facilities, celebrated its 25th anniversary in September. The farm maintains a 180-cow dairy unit; uses more than 1,400 calves and 300 litters of pigs in animal nutrition, management and health research annually; and has a seed research system supported by more than 700 local cooperative test plots. The celebration recognized the Answer Farm's long heritage of developing new products, services and technologies which deliver value to producers by helping them maximize production efficiency, increase productivity and enhance profitability.

USWP now Spring Wheat Bakers

         There's a new name and marketing strategy in place for the United Spring Wheat Processors at its new plant in McDonough, Ga. The cooperative is using the name Spring Wheat Bakers for both its products as well as its identity with members, grain procurement partners, flour mining partners and suppliers, reports Gary Lee, chief executive officer and president. The plant is the first national par-bake co-manufacturer in the country. It will manufacture frozen dough and partially baked frozen bread products for the foodservice and in-store grocery markets. The cooperative is owned by 2,800 spring wheat growers in Minnesota, Montana and North and South Dakota. Its headquarters is located in Fargo.

Wentworth ethanol plant planned

         The Lake Area Corn Processors Cooperative is building a 40-million-gallon ethanol plant near Wentworth, S.D. The $43 million dry mill ethanol plant is the biggest construction project in the history of Lake County, S.D. It is estimated that farmers will receive an extra 10 cents per bushel of corn within a 50-mile radius of the plant. Its annual expenses are estimated at $50 million and $60 million, including $33 million for corn. Thirty-five people will be employed at the plant, which will have an approximate annual payroll of $1.3 million. Fundraising for the value-added facility is taking place this fall across South Dakota. The 12- to 14- month construcction project is expected to begin in spring 2000.

Tree Top acquires Watermill Foods 

        Tree Top Inc., a Selah, Wash., apple marketing cooperative, recently acquired Watermill Foods Inc., a Milton-Freewater, Ore., processor of frozen sliced apples, cherries and plums. Watermill markets its products around the world in bulk as value-added items to industrial manufacturers.

California Custom Foods dissolved 

        The fruit and vegetable processing and marketing cooperative Pacific Coast Producers (PCP), Lodi, Calif., has announced that California Custom Foods has been dissolved and its operations rolled back into the cooperative as Pacific Coast Producers-Flexible Packaging Division. The dissolved company had been founded as a California corporation by PCP in 1989.

Seald-Sweet celebrates 90th

        Florida's oldest sales and marketing organization marked its 90th annual meeting in Vero Beach this past summer. The cooperative is Florida's largest shipper of fresh fruit to both domestic and international customers. In addition, it markets non-citrus fresh fruits and vegetables, including Vidalia onions and Louisiana sweet potatoes. This past year, the organization formed Seald Sweet LLC to facilitate the marketing of other fruits and vegetables in North America and to expand citrus marketing opportunities in off-season months.
        "We are trying to structure our business in a way which protects the strengths and advantages of a cooperative, but, at the same time, adds the commercial flexibility of a limited liability company," noted Bruce McEvoy, Seald Sweet's chief executive officer.
        At the board meeting held in conjunction with the annual meeting, John Luther was re-elected chairman while Richard A. Fort Jr. was re-elected vice president.

Bullock to step down in 2000 

        Amid a cranberry glut hurting the entire industry, Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. announced that Thomas E. Bullock, chief executive officer, is stepping down in 2000 after three years in the top spot and 18 years with the cooperative. Bullock is the third Ocean Spray executive to announce his departure this year. According to Ocean Spray, Bullock presented a "major transition plan" to the Lakeville-Middleboro, Mass., cooperative board that will have him assist in the search for his successor before leaving.
        "One of the challenges I've faced and one my successor will face is continuing to create value for our grower-owners, who are suffering from lower-than-expected returns due to crop surpluses and low prices," Bullock says.

PLA, IPLA discuss consolidation 

        The boards of Interstate Producers Livestock Association, Peoria, Ill., and Producers Livestock Association, Columbus, Ohio, are discussing a possible consolidation. A feasibility study is being conducted, especially in light of PLA's recent announcement of similar discussions with MFA Livestock Inc., Marshall, Mo. PLA serves more than 34,000 livestock producers throughout Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and other areas of the eastern Corn Belt. ILPA serves farmers and ranchers in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri and markets nearly 2.5 million head of livestock annually.

USDA Rural Utilities Service receives Hammer Award

        Employees from USDA's Rural Utilities Service received a Hammer Award from Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government. The award was presented to RUS Administrator Wally Beyer on behalf of the RUS team. The award is given to government employees who cut paperwork, reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve customer service. RUS was cited for reducing regulatory burdens that cut more than 427 pages of regulations from the Federal Register.

DariGold now Northwest Dairy 

        After nearly a year of discussions, Darigold Farms has adopted new names. Driven by the cooperative's goal to achieve superior economic advantage for dairy farmers, both the corporate name change to WestFarm Foods and the cooperative name change to Northwest Dairy Association support its broader marketing strategy.
        From 1961 to 1988, the cooperative's name was Northwest Dairymen's Association. Its processing and marketing arm was known as Consolidated Dairy Products Co. From 1929 to 1984 the Seattle, Wash., cooperative primarily produced and marketed dairy products under the Darigold brand, and had changed its name to Darigold during the 1980s.

SWEPCO, Committee, WST withdraw Cajun Bankruptcy settlement

        Southwestern Electric Power Company, Committee of Certain Members and Washington-St. Tammany Electric Co-op have withdrawn their joint reorganization plan for Cajun Electric Power Co-op as part of a settlement reached in late August to end Cajun's four-and-a-half-year-old bankruptcy. The agreement came during a settlement conference ordered by the U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, La. Bidders wanted Cajun's non-nuclear assets and the opportunity to sell wholesale power to Cajun's 11 member distribution cooperatives.

Chugach to install world's largest assured-power fuel cell

        A new system for generating power that is virtually pollution-free and requires little maintenance will be installed for the U.S. Postal Service by Chugach Electric Association, a member-owned cooperative and the largest utility in Alaska serving customers at over 69,000 metered locations from Anchorage to the northern Kenai Peninsula and from Whittier to Tyonek.
        The new fuel cell system will be installed at the Anchorage Mail Processing and Distribution Facility. The cell system is expected to be operational early next year. It will be the world's largest assured-power fuel cell installation. The system will be owned and maintained by Chugach. Each cell will generate 200 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply electricity for nearly 150 homes.

Return to Table of Content