Projects
New Initiatives, Projects in Progress, Completed Projects

New Initiatives

• Executive Training Program for the Directors and Managers of the New Generation Processing Cooperatives

The New Generation Cooperatives (NGC), in processing agricultural products for the branded product market, face a new set of issues and require a better qualified board of directors. The purpose of this proposal is to develop an executive level professional training program for the directors and upper level management of these processing cooperatives. It is part of a long term commitment to serve the NGCs and to assist in making these farmer cooperatives successful.

This proposal, spawned by a multi-state steering committee, has been prepared cooperatively by the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota and the Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives, North Dakota State University. The program benefits from the comparative advantages of both entities.

Projects in Progress

• University Education on Cooperatives

There are three objectives within this project proposal. They are:

• Develop teaching modules for post secondary agriculture, business, accounting and law instructors on the cooperative form of business.
• Provide training for the identified instructors on the use of the modules developed in objective 1.
• Develop and maintain current teaching materials, case examples, and other cooperative materials in electronic form for distribution on the Internet's World Wide Web.

Completed Projects

• Farmers' Attitudes Toward Agricultural Cooperatives on the Northern Plains

The need for this project is addressed in terms of three major objectives.

• Compare characteristics and attitudes of two groups of farmers--members of new, emerging, value-added agriculture cooperatives in the northern plains (North Dakota and parts of South Dakota and Minnesota with other farmers in the region).
• Ascertain primary agricultural lenders' perceptions of profitability of new cooperative ventures and the reflection of this perception to their clientele.
• Identify the dimensions and levels of confusion and dissatisfaction of members of marketing cooperatives regarding allocation of cooperative benefits, cooperative finance, control, and the extent that interests of diverse groups are satisfied.

• Strategies for Rural Cooperative Development

Three objectives are given:

• Identify potential opportunities for cooperatively owned rural businesses in North Dakota.
• Determine conditions required for successful rural cooperative development.
• Compare investor and non-investor characteristics and attitudes toward investment in cooperatives and other investment alternatives.

• Non-Agricultural Cooperative Business Opportunities in the Great Plains

The purposes of this agreement are to:

• Identify the magnitude of rural development opportunities and to illustrate the problems of establishing new non-farm cooperatives in the Northern Plains as a development strategy for bringing economic vitality to local communities.
• Develop a plan of action to address these problems by creating a comprehensive way to enable the development of outreach and pre-development activities that will lead to more cooperative businesses in rural communities where needs are identified and economic feasibility can be demonstrated.