South Dakota College Students Learn about Cooperatives During the National Farmers Union Conference on Cooperatives a Success

March 13, 2015 – By #South Dakota Farmer Union

South Dakota College Students Learn about Cooperatives During the National Farmers Union Conference on Cooperatives a Success

Thirty students from Lake Area Technical Institute joined more than 150 college students from 25 states and Puerto Rico to participate in the 2015 National Farmers Union (NFU) College Conference on Cooperatives held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Feb. 19-22, 2015.

“This is an opportunity for the cooperative community to teach young people about cooperative business principles and to show them that there are great careers in these dynamic, ethical and community-minded businesses,” said NFU President, Roger Johnson.

Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI) students attended as guests of South Dakota Farmers Union. During the event they learned how cooperative businesses are adapting to changing environments and heard from cooperative experts from across the nation on why member-owned businesses are thriving in industries ranging from senior housing to healthcare.
 “Before this trip, I honestly didn’t even know what a cooperative was, compared to what I know now,” said Wesley Will, a Precision Ag Technology student from Delmont. “Through this experience I learned that there are many different types of cooperatives and there are many different reasons as to why you would form a cooperative – the main reason being that you want to get together with others to make a service or product more feasible.”

To bring cooperative education to life, students toured housing, retail, and marketing cooperatives in Minneapolis and St. Paul. They also visited the headquarters of CHS Inc., the nation’s largest agricultural cooperative, and the Mill City Museum, built into the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill. Students heard from cooperative leaders, farmers and government experts who explained current challenges they face.

“This trip opened my eyes up to the fact that there are different cooperatives out there than the agriculture ones I am familiar with,” says Philip Vreugdenhil, a Precision Agriculture student from Parkston. “This experience gave me a much better understanding of what cooperatives are than I could ever learn from a classroom setting.”

Presenters ranged from members, directors, employees and managers of traditional and value-added agricultural cooperatives to representatives of housing and worker-owned co-ops, as well as consumer cooperatives such as REI and natural foods co-ops. These professionals offered insights on cooperative development here and abroad.

“Farmers Union remains true to its roots of both being an advocate for cooperative businesses and offering education programs,” said Johnson. “Our own history is very closely tied with the cooperative movement. Cooperatives were made possible by legislative activity and organized by farmers and ranchers to strengthen the economic opportunities in rural and urban communities. Farmers Union has a strong commitment to providing cooperative education not only to our own members, but also to the general public, and especially to young people, many of whom are just learning about the cooperative way of doing business.”

The conference was organized by National Farmers Union and sponsored by the CHS Foundation, CoBank, Farmers Union Industries Foundation, NFU Foundation, The Cooperative Foundation, CHS Inc., Minnesota Cooperative Education Foundation, Federated Youth Foundation and Organic Valley.

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Last Modified: 07/07/2015 12:49:23 pm MDT