Volume 50, No. 3 December 2011

COOPERATION IN NEBRASKAOFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL

IN THIS ISSUE...2011/12 Education Programs .............. 1Annual Meeting ................................. 1President’s Message .......................... 2We Support Agriculture ...................... 2Hall of Fame ...................................... 3Annual Meeting Minutes .................... 5Scholarship Program ........................... 6Community College Outreach ............. 7Legislative/Regulatory Update ............. 8Antitrust Reminder ............................ 8Calendar of Upcoming Events .............. 9

(continued on page 4)

The 2011/12 director educationprograms will begin next week with theDirector/Manager Workshops beinghosted in Ogallala on December 13 andin York on December 14. We areanticipating an exciting lineup ofprograms due to the changes made thisyear.

Since our programs ended last year,the Council’s Board of Directors andExcellence in Cooperative EducationCommittee have studied the educationprograms in depth. As a result of thisstudy, the consensus of the group wasthat the programming needed to beelevated to meet the needs of today’smore complex cooperative businesses.

To elevate the programs, we willutilize regionally and nationally recog-nized speakers as facilitators. Bybringing in recognized experts in theirfields, we can provide local directorswith the most current research andinformation dealing with cooperativeissues.

We are excited about the speakers wewill be utilizing and hope that localdirectors will be able to attend these newupgraded offerings.

This year’s programs include:

DIRECTOR/MANAGERWORKSHOPS

The Director/Manager Workshopswill be held in Ogallala on December 13and in York on December 14. This

year’s program is titled “What Goes Up,Must Come Down.”

Bill Helming, Economist fromOverland Park, KS, will provide a macroeconomic view of where our economy isat and, more importantly, where it maybe going in the future. Helming hasstudied economic and agricultural issuesfor many years and is author of the bookWhat Goes Up, Must Come Down.

During the afternoon session, we willfocus on how cooperatives need to planfor this very uncertain future. DonWiseman will lead discussions that willcenter on how cooperatives can thrive inthis new environment. Cooperatives inthe past few years have invested signifi-cantly in “speed and space.” Is that stillan appropriate strategy? How will theflow of investor capital into the grainindustry affect cooperatives and the flowof grain? These as well as many othertopics regarding strategic position forcooperatives will be discussed.

DIRECTOR CERTIFICATIONPROGRAM

DCP will be conducted at the KearneyHoliday Inn on January 3-4. The fourphases of this program cover all aspectsof directors’ responsibilities to help themdeal with the challenges they face asdecisionmakers. DCP is designed toaccelerate the process by which direc-tors become active, effective board

(continued on page 6)

2011/12 Education Programs

The 66th Annual Meeting of theNebraska Cooperative Council was heldat the Kearney Holiday Inn & Conven-tion Center on November 18, 2011. Atotal of 201 people attended themeeting and Hall of Fame luncheon.

On Thursday evening, prior to theAnnual Meeting, the Council hosted areception for all members. The partnersof the Crosby Guenzel LLP law firmonce again provided the beverages forthe reception.

The morning session of the AnnualMeeting began with a presentation byJay Rempe, a director of We SupportAgriculture (WSA). Jay discussed thepurpose of WSA which is to build abroad coalition to respond to the agendaof the Humane Society of the UnitedStates and other organizations that seekto negatively impact animal agriculture.

AnnualMeeting

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011Page 2

President’s MessageLast month, the

Council’s 66thAnnual Meeting wasconducted in Kearney.We were very pleasedwith the attendancethis year as 201people attended our

noon luncheon. The Legal, Tax &Accounting session, conducted byCrosby Guenzel LLP, addressed variousimportant issues that cooperativemanagement teams need to be aware of.This year’s program included a presen-tation by We Support Agricultureconcerning their mission/ objectives as itrelates to the Human Society of theUnited States (see article below). I wasvery pleased with the positive feedbackfrom the membership about the meetingand agenda.

I do want to call to your attentionthat the Council’s Board of Directorshas authorized a Congressional Fly In toWashington DC in the first quarter of2012. The fly in objective focus will beupon three issues: MF Global Bank-ruptcy and the impact upon localcooperatives; OSHA inspections; andthe importance of the Capper VolsteadAct upon cooperatives. These issueshave a significant impact upon coopera-tives in Nebraska. We expect to havefour managers, four producer directors,our legal counsel and myself participatein same.

Next month, the Nebraska Legislaturewill convene it’s 60-day legislativesession. There are 391 legislative billsbeing carried over from last year’ssession. The big issues before thelegislators this year include: the State’s

Budget, Commission on IndustrialRelations, federal health care compli-ance; and the Child Welfare System. Anitem of importance to cooperativeswhich may be addressed is the One-CallNotification System (see page 8). Ibelieve we’re well positioned for theupcoming legislative session. Our goal isto provide the members with weeklyupdates throughout the session.

This past year, the Council’s Boardand Excellence in Cooperative EducationCommittee have spent a significantamount of time studying our educationalprograms. The results of this study havebeen major changes in our educationalprogramming, particularly in the area ofpresenters. These changes have beenimplemented to help provide the highestlevel programming possible for localcooperative directors. The educationarticle on page 1 and the educationbooklet that was forwarded to allmanagers and directors provide you withthe background on all our programs andpresenters.

This will mark the first year we havedone our programming without utilizingthe University of Nebraska Institute ofAgriculture and Natural Resources. Wecontinue to support the Universitymission, but we felt that we needed toelevate the speakers to utilize morenationally and regionally recognizedfacilitators.

Suffice it to say, we are anxious tounveil these new offerings and, moreimportantly, to gather your input at theconclusion of the programs.

I strongly encourage yourcooperative’s management team to takeadvantage of this year’s programming.

In closing, I want to extend bestwishes for a happy holiday season and aprosperous new year to each of therespective cooperative managementteams and their families.

In the cooperative spirit, I remain....Robert C. Andersen

On September 13, We SupportAgriculture was formed to educateNebraskans about modern agriculturalmethods and to also defend agricul-ture against attacks and misinforma-tion about modern technology used toraise livestock.

In the past few years, animal rightsgroups, such as the Humane Societyof the United States, have actively ledballot initiatives and legislative effortsin other states for the purpose ofrestricting animal agriculture. Thisextreme agenda by animal rightsactivists would severely impactagriculture and the entire economy ofthe state if it were to be enacted.

The groups that have cometogether to form We Support Agricul-ture are the Nebraska Cattlemen,Nebraska Farm Bureau, NebraskaPork Producers, Nebraska PoultryIndustries, and the Nebraska State

We Support AgricultureDairy Association.

The primary goal of the group isto have the resources in place torespond to a ballot initiative if/when itis proposed by animal rights activists.These activist groups are traditionallyvery well funded so it will be impor-tant that Nebraskans work togetherto stop any intrusion on our agricul-tural industry.

Jay Rempe, one of the directors ofWe Support Agriculture, provided apresentation at our Annual Meeting.He provided the background on thethreats that activist groups such asthis present and the infrastructurethat is being put in place to rapidlyrespond to any challenge from theactivist groups.

You can find more informationabout We Support Agriculture atwww.wesupportag.org.

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011 Page 3

Elliott and Taylor Inducted intoCooperative Hall of Fame

The Council welcomes

Monsanto -Lincoln, NE

as a new SupportingMember for 2011/12.

NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCILAddress ........ 134 S 13th St.,Ste 503 , Lincoln NE 68508-1901Office Hours ................................. 7:45 am to 4:30 pm CTPhone / Fax ............... (402) 475-6555 / (402) 475-4538E-mail / Website ......... ncoopc@nebr.coop / www.nebr.coop

BOARD OFFICERSBOARD OFFICERSBOARD OFFICERSBOARD OFFICERSBOARD OFFICERSJim Chism, Imperial ..................................... Board ChairpersonDavid Briggs, Alliance ..................................... Vice ChairpersonBruce Favinger, Hastings ............................................. Secretary

BOARD DIRECTORSBOARD DIRECTORSBOARD DIRECTORSBOARD DIRECTORSBOARD DIRECTORSJerrell Dolesh ......................................................... Battle CreekRon Heerten ............................................................. AinsworthJohn Oehlerking ........................................................ ElmwoodRandy Robeson ........................................................... BrainardDave Schneider ............................................................ WaverlyMike Hechtner, CoBank - Omaha ................ Participating Member

STAFFSTAFFSTAFFSTAFFSTAFFRobert C. Andersen, President .................. boba@nebr.coopEd Woeppel, Educ/Program Dir. ..................... edw@nebr.coopGlenda Gaston, Office Mgr/AA ............ glendag@nebr.coopDeb Mazour, Program Coord/AA ................. debm@nebr.coop

On November 18, 2011, the Councilinducted two new individuals into theNebraska Cooperative Council Coopera-tive Hall of Fame. They are Larry Taylorof Columbus, and Robert Elliott,inducted posthumously, of Alliance.

The induction ceremony was held inconjunction with the Council’s AnnualMeeting luncheon at Kearney.

Both Larry’s and Robert’s familyreceived a framed certificate commemo-rating their induction into the Hall ofFame from Council Board Chair JimChism. Larry and Robert will bepermanently recognized with a plaqueoutlining their outstanding achievementswhich will be on display at the Council’soffice.

Larry and Robert provided significantleadership to the cooperative systemover the years, and that leadership is stillapparent today. Their accomplishmentsare as follows:

Larry Taylor...Larry Taylor...Larry Taylor...Larry Taylor...Larry Taylor...Larry began his 45-year career in 1958 as a night-timegrain dryer operator at Farmers Coop-

erative in St. Edward.He was named generalmanager of FarmersCooperative in Fullertonin 1980, and in 1986he returned to St.Edward as generalmanager.

By the time Larry retired in 2004, thecooperative had merged with Fullerton,Genoa, Columbus, and Platte Center toform Tri Valley. In 2003, Tri Valleymerged with cooperatives in O’Neill andOakland to form Central Valley Ag.When Larry began managing in 1980,he had 11 employees and sales of $8million. By the time Tri Valley mergedto form CVA, Tri Valley had 75 employ-ees and sales of $80 million. In 1994Larry was able to acquire facilities atMonroe. Those facilities have trans-

formed and serve as a major hub forCVA today.

In addition to his local cooperative,Larry also served on the board ofFarmers Commodity Corporation, theforerunner to FC Stone, for 12 yearswhen the company experienced substan-tial growth. Larry served on theFarmers Commodity TransportationBoard from 2000-2006 and also servedas chair of the Northeast Nebraska Co-op Managers Association.

One of his nominators summed upLarry’s leadership by saying, “As adirector, you always knew where youwere with Larry in charge. You couldleave a meeting, knowing it was all outon the table.”

Robert Elliott...Robert Elliott...Robert Elliott...Robert Elliott...Robert Elliott...Bob was raised ona farm on the California coast andmoved to Nebraska to operate hisfamily’s farm afterreceiving a Master’sDegree in agricul-ture.

Throughout hisfarming career, Bobwas a dedicatedadvocate for farmersand cooperatives. He served on theboard of directors of Westco in Alliancefor nine years with five of those years asboard chair. As board chair, Bob wasinstrumental in setting the direction forWestco to become a successful coopera-tive. While serving as chair of theWestco board, he also served on theboard of the New Alliance Bean & GrainCompany.

In 1996 Bob was elected to theboard of directors of Cenex Inc. Hewas the first director elected to repre-sent a region consisting of Nebraska,Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas,and New Mexico. Bob continued hisservice on the board as Cenex Inc.merged with Harvest States to create

CHS Inc. In 2004, Bob was elected asfirst vice chairman of the CHS Inc.board, a position he held until hisuntimely death in 2006.

In addition to his cooperative service,Bob also served as president of theNebraska Wheat Growers Associationand the Hemingford ScholarshipFoundation. One of his nominatorssummed up Bob’s contribution to aboard by saying “His natural intellectcombined with his education and passionfor cooperatives allowed him to ask thethoughtful, probing questions essentialto good decision making.”

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011Page 4

Annual Meeting (continued from page 1)

Following Jay’s presentation, thebusiness session convened with theFinancial Report, Chairman’s Report,Excellence in Cooperative EducationCommittee Report, Political ActionCommittee Report, and the President’sReport.

Following the business session, EricBrown, General Manager of the Ne-braska Rural Radio Association, providedan update on the Network and intro-duced Craig Larson and Dwight Lanewho will be providing leadership for theNetwork upon Eric’s retirement inAugust 2012.

The Voting Delegate Caucus was thenheld. During the caucus, both DavidBriggs, manager of Westco in Alliance,and John Oehlerking, Bd Chair ofMidwest Farmers Co-op in Elmwood,were re-elected to Board positions.

The last session of the morning wasthe Legal, Tax & Accounting Workshop.Rocky Weber, Bill Kutilek, and TomJeffers of the Crosby Guenzel LLP lawfirm, discussed anti-trust liability,contract administration, Section 199-PerUnit Retains, and the duty of litigantsregarding business records.

The Hall of Fame luncheon featuredphotographer Joel Sartore as speaker.Mr. Sartore provided a stunning

presentation of nature from his viewbehind the camera lens.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremonyfollowed with Larry Taylor of Columbusand Robert Elliott of Alliance (posthu-mously) being inducted into the Hall. Acomplete article on Larry’s and Robert’saccomplishments is on page 3.

Jay Rempe (at podium) informs AnnualMeeting participants about the formation andmission of We Support Agriculture.

Bob Andersen introducesluncheon speaker JoelSartore (right),photographer forNational Geographicand other magazines andauthor of several books.

The noon luncheon was a time for fellowship among cooperative friends.

Members of the Elliott family who were present for Bob’s posthumousintroduction into the Hall of Fame (from left) NCC President BobAndersen, NCC Board Chair Jim Chism, Matt Elliott, Jayne Elliott,Thomas Elliott, Kim McMillan, and NCC Vice Chair David Briggs.

NCC President Bob Andersen (far left) and NCC Board Chair Jim Chism (farright) are pictured with Bonnie and Larry Taylor of Columbus followingLarry’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011 Page 5

The minutes of the Council’s 66th Annual Meeting are provided below. Council Management Policy provides that minutesmust be mailed to all meeting participants. If no written objections are received within 10 days of mailing, they are deemed tobe accepted and shall be the official record of the meeting. If a written objection is timely received, action will be taken at thenext meeting. Please notify the Council (134 South 13th Street, Suite 503, Lincoln, NE 68508-1901) by December 18 ifthere are any objections/errors in the minutes as reproduced below. If not, they shall be deemed accepted as distributed.

NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL 66th ANNUAL MEETING MINUTESNEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL 66th ANNUAL MEETING MINUTESNEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL 66th ANNUAL MEETING MINUTESNEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL 66th ANNUAL MEETING MINUTESNEBRASKA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL 66th ANNUAL MEETING MINUTESNOVEMBER 18, 2011NOVEMBER 18, 2011NOVEMBER 18, 2011NOVEMBER 18, 2011NOVEMBER 18, 2011

CALL TO ORDERThe 66th Annual Meeting of the

Nebraska Cooperative Council con-vened at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, November18, 2011, in Ballroom I of the Holiday Inn& Convention Center in Kearney. JimChism, Chairperson of the Board ofDirectors, presided.

SPECIAL THANKSChism thanked the Participating &

Supporting Members and other spon-sors for providing today’s refreshmentbreaks.

WE SUPPORT AGRICULTUREJay Rempe

Chism introduced the first speaker,Jay Rempe, Director of “We SupportAgriculture.” A question and answerperiod then followed.

2010/11 FINANCIAL REPORTRobert Andersen, NCC President,

presented the 2010/11 Financial Report.He reported that the Council’s Boardhad reviewed and accepted the 2010/11Financial Report and that a full-scopeaudit in accordance with the appropriateauditing standards had been con-ducted. Andersen reported that theauditors have expressed an unqualifiedopinion.

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORTJim Chism, Chairperson of the Board

of Directors, presented the Chair-person’s Report. He introduced theCouncil’s directors and recognized thecommittee members and membershipfor their support of Council programs.

EXCELLENCE IN COOPERATIVEEDUCATION (ECEC) REPORT

Bruce Favinger, Chair of the ECECcommittee, presented the backgroundof the ECEC, the importance of educa-tion, and future programming. Includedwithin same was the addressment ofthe discontinuance of the NebraskaCooperative Council Distinguished

Professorship in Agricultural Economicsat the Institute of Agriculture and NaturalResources, and the decision to seek toelevate the Council educational pro-gramming by using regionally ornationally recognized speakers basedupon topics or issues.

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE(PAC) REPORT

David Briggs, Vice Chair of the Boardof Directors and Chair of the PACcommittee, presented the backgroundof the PAC, voluntary contributionsreceived to date, and the 2012 Ne-braska Legislator elections. Headdressed the upcoming 2012 candi-date interviews.

PRESIDENT’S REPORTRobert Andersen provided the

President’s Report for the prior yearwhich included the addressment oflegislative and regulatory issues andeducational programs as well as thechallenges before the association.

ERIC BROWNChism introduced Eric Brown,

Manager of the Nebraska Rural RadioAssociation (NRRA). Brown provided anupdate of the NRRA and introducedCraig Larson and Dwight Lane who willbe providing leadership for the networkupon Brown’s retirement.

BREAKA short break was observed.

VOTING DELEGATE CAUCUSELECTION RESULTS

Upon reconvening the morningsession, Chairman Chism reported theresults of the Active Member VotingDelegate Caucus:

Producer Director: John Oehlerking,Director from Elmwood, was reelectedfor a four-year term.

Manager: David Briggs, Presidentat Alliance, was reelected for a four-yearterm.

LEGAL, TAX & ACCOUNTING WORK-SHOP

Chism introduced Attorneys RockyWeber, Tom Jeffers, & Bill Kutilek withthe Crosby Guenzel LLP law firm. Theattorneys addressed the followingissues:

• Cooperative Anti-trust Liability• Enforceable Contract Administration• Section 199 - Evidence of Intent

Regarding Per Unit Retains• Business Records / Electronic

Records / Duties of LitigantsThe attorneys then answered

questions from meeting participants.The Legal, Tax & Accounting Work-

shop concluded at 11:51 a.m.

LUNCHEONThe membership luncheon com-

menced at 12:07 p.m. with PresidentAndersen presiding.

JOEL SARTOREAndersen introduced the keynote

speaker, Joel Sartore, Photographer forNational Geographic, Audubon Maga-zine, Time, Life, Newsweek and SportsIllustrated. Sartore showed some veryinteresting pictures he has taken overthe years. A question and answerperiod then followed.

HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONSAndersen introduced the two (2)

candidates selected for induction intothe Nebraska Cooperative Council Hallof Fame: Bob Elliott of Alliance (posthu-mously) and Larry Taylor of Columbus.

ADJOURNMENTAndersen declared the meeting

adjourned at 1:47 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Bruce Favinger, Recording Secretary

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011Page 6

2011/12 Education Programs(continued from page 1)

Scholarship ProgramFor the 2012/13 academic year, the NCC Education

Foundation will award up to four $950 scholarships at UNL-IANR, one $650 scholarship at NCTA, andone $650 scholarship at Chadron StateCollege.

Posters and brochures/application formswere forwarded to cooperative managers onDecember 1. Additional application formscan be found on the home page of the Council’s website atwww.nebr.coop or by contacting Deb at the Council office at402/475-6555. Completed applications must be returned tothe appropriate college by April 15, 2012April 15, 2012April 15, 2012April 15, 2012April 15, 2012.

members. Program objectives are:• to provide a clear understanding of

the board’s roles and responsibilities andhow these differ from those of themanager

• to provide working knowledge ofsuccessful cooperative planning andmonitoring of results

• to help participants understandcooperative financial statements andtheir use in making decisions

• to provide hands-on experience incooperative problem solving

• to enable directors to gain insightinto the operations of other co-opsthrough interaction with other partici-pants

Facilitating the four phases will be EdWoeppel, Council staff (Phases 1 and4); Roger Ginder, retired, Iowa StateUniversity (Phases 2 and 3); TomHouser, CoBank (Phases 2 and 3);Rocky Weber, Crosby Guenzel LLP lawfirm in Lincoln (Phase 1); and DonWiseman, retired manager (Phase 4).

BOARD OFFICER SEMINARAND SPECIAL DIRECTORSEMINAR

On January 30 and 31, the Councilwill host back-to-back programs to allowdirectors to attend two programs in onetrip, cutting down travel time for someof our members.

The Board Officer Seminar (BOS) willbe held at Embassy Suites in Lincoln onJanuary 30. The morning program willfeature a session addressing boardevaluations. Many local cooperativeboards are considering the use of aboard evaluation to boost the efficiencyof the board. During the session, DonWiseman will discuss the concept of acollective board evaluation and of doingindividual board member evaluations.

Over the noon hour, we will have aunique opportunity to tour the Nebraska

State Penitentiary. While on tour, wewill learn more about the penal systemand see the prison from the “inside,out.”

The afternoon session will feature theever-popular open forum discussion withAttorney Rocky Weber. The discussionin this session is far ranging and coversnumerous topics that board leaders needto be aware of.

The day will conclude with a casualdinner for all participants.

On January 31, the Special DirectorSeminar–Collaborative Leadership forChange–will also be hosted at EmbassySuites in Lincoln. This seminar willcombine an understanding of personalitytypes with the concept of collaborativeleadership and its impact on the abilityof the management team to functioneffectively. The entire board/managerteam is encouraged to participate so thatspecific relationship concerns can beaddressed.

Special emphasis will be placed onhelping individuals diagnose specificsituations and adopt an effectiveleadership response. Practical skills

which can be used immediately tostrengthen the functioning of the board/management team will be developed.

The seminar will also include discus-sion on conflict management, problemsolving, and other areas involvingrelationships within the board/manage-ment team, the cooperative, and thecommunity.

Dr. Vern Barrett, retired from UNL,will facilitate the day-long program.

COOPERATIVE ISSUESSYMPOSIUM

The Cooperative Issues Symposium(CIS) will be held at Embassy Suites inLincoln on February 9. CIS is acompletely new program that theCouncil will be offering this year. Thesymposium is designed to address aspecific cooperative issue each year.The delivery of the program is designedto provide attendees with balanced in-depth information as well as currentdevelopments relating to the topic.

This year, the focus of the Sympo-sium will be on cooperative finance.Over the past few years, financing oflocal cooperatives has become muchmore complex due to the amount offunds that cooperatives need to operate.High commodity and input prices have

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011 Page 7

forced cooperatives to borrow 2.5 to 3times as much just to meet cash flowneeds.

At the same time, new federalregulations as a result of the Dodds-Frank legislation may impact financingand risk management for cooperatives.

To address these issues, we havedesigned the following program:

• Dr. Chris Peterson, in his Finance101 to 901 presentation, will providein-depth information regarding financingof businesses, all the way from verybasic financing to the more complicatedfinancing that is becoming morecommonplace today.

• Brian Klatt from CoBank willprovide a candid look at the syndicationof loans that are becoming morecommon for Nebraska cooperatives.

• Representatives of Kanza Coopera-tive in Iuka, KS will provide an overviewof the financial strategies they haveimplemented. Included in their plan is arevised income distribution strategy thatincludes using and capturing the taxbenefits of Section 199 at the co-oplevel through distributing patronageincome to retained earnings and revisingtheir unallocated equity redemptionprogram to phase out age of patron andphase in a revolving fund method.

• Attorney Rocky Weber will discussthe “rights of lenders” in sophisticatedfinancing arrangements that coopera-tives are entering into.

COOPERATIVES FORTOMORROW

Cooperatives For Tomorrow (CFT) isdesigned for cooperatives that areseeking additional input to help deter-mine the proper strategic position forthe cooperative. Whether through rapidgrowth or evolving business practices,cooperatives are being forced to changeat a more rapid pace to be able to meetthe needs of their members.

CFT features a variety of speakersand presenters that normally would notbe available to local directors in Ne-

braska. We utilize nationally knownspeakers from both the academic andcooperative systems to provide localdirectors with the opportunity to obtaina different viewpoint on issues facingtheir cooperative.

The program is intended to bethought provoking and to challengelocal directors to think in a broad sensewhen determining the correct strategicposition for the cooperative.

CFT will be held on February 10 atEmbassy Suites in Lincoln. This is theday following the Cooperative Issues

Symposium which will allow directors toattend two programs in one trip.

Speakers for the day are:• Mark Pearson...Mark Pearson...Mark Pearson...Mark Pearson...Mark Pearson...Mr. Pearson is

one of the funniest and most insightfulag speakers in the country today. Hisag background spans 5 generations infarming. He hosts the nationallysyndicated public television program“Market to Market” and the highlysuccessful daily farm program “The BigShow” on several Midwest radiostations.

The Council implemented a newinitiative this fall to reach a new audi-ence made up of the ag students atNebraska’s community colleges. Thefocus is to raise awareness of thecooperative business model for both thestudents and instructors at the commu-nity colleges. By creating a positiveimage and better understanding of thecooperative system, these students (whoare potential future employees orpatrons) will be better prepared tochoose the role cooperatives play in thefuture.

The Council has been in contact withall the two-year colleges that offer agprograms. These include SCC-Beatrice,NCC-Norfolk, NCTA-Curtis, CCC-Hastings, and CCC-Columbus.

To date we have provided a presenta-tion at CCC-Hastings and two at NCC-Norfolk. A date is scheduled for CCC-Columbus and we are working with

Community College OutreachSCC-Beatrice and NCTA-Curtis toschedule presesentations.

The presentations are a “Co-ops101" that staff has developed. Includedin the presentation topics are whatdifferentiates the cooperative businessmodel from other business models,structure and governance of a coopera-tive, patronage and equity revolvement,careers, and facts on Nebraska coopera-tives. In addition to the presentation byCouncil staff, we have also recruited alocal cooperative manager to join thepresentation to discuss career opportu-nities in cooperatives. To date, 75students and instructors have attendedthese presentations.

While the focus on this presentationhas been on the community collegelevel, we have also had contact with theUNL Department of Ag Economics todiscuss a similar presentation for ageconomics students.

NCC Education & Program Director Ed Woeppel (standing at left) and Bob Fifield (seated,lower right), CEO of Cooperative Producers Inc in Hastings, talked to college students atCCC-Hastings about cooperatives and career opportunities.

(continued on page 9)

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011Page 8

National Labor RelationsBoard

On August 25, 2011 the NationalLabor Relations Board (NLRB) issued afinal rule requiring most private sectoremployers to notify employees of theirrights under the National Labor Rela-tions Act by posting a “notice.” Compli-ance with this rule became mandatoryon November 14, 2011.

This notice generally notifies employ-ees of their rights to organize andbargain collectively with their employersand to engage in other protectedconcerted activity or to refrain fromengaging in such activity. The NationalLabor Relations Act likewise protectsemployees from certain types of em-ployer and union misconduct.

In addition to physically posting thisnotice, employers will be required topost the notice electronically if theemployer uses such means of communi-cating with employees concerningemployment issues.

In conferring with legal counsel, wehave determined those cooperativeemployees, while engaged in activitiesrelated to agriculture, are not employeesof agricultural employers and thereforethe cooperatives are not exempt fromthis new rule.

On September 27 the Councilprovided information regarding thisrequirement to members, and onNovember 9 we provided our memberswith the website to order the posterswhich is www.laborlawposters.com.

One Call Notification SystemDuring the 2011 legislative session,

the One Call Notification - DiggersHotline became an issue in regards tosoil sampling. LB 484 was introducedto address the issue of whether or notthose doing soil sampling needed tocontact the Diggers Hotline.

Legislative / Regulatory UpdatesLB 484 did not advance during the

2011 legislative session. It remains incommittee and could be revisited in2012.

To address issues raised by utilitycompanies, legislative resolution LR 233was introduced by Senator Hadleycalling for an interim study to review thescope of the agricultural exemption fromthe One-Call Notification System Act.An interim hearing was scheduled forNovember 7; however when the SpecialLegislative Session was announced,Senator Fischer, Chair of the Transpor-tation & Telecommunications Commit-tee, canceled the hearing.

We will continue to monitor this issueduring the 2012 legislative session.

• Voluntary and OpenMembership

• Democratic MemberControl

• Member EconomicParticipation

• Autonomy andIndependence

• Education, Training andInformation

• Cooperation amongCooperatives

• Concern for Community[Principals adopted by the InternationalCooperative Alliance in 1995]

THE COOPERATHE COOPERATHE COOPERATHE COOPERATHE COOPERATIVETIVETIVETIVETIVEPRINCIPLES:PRINCIPLES:PRINCIPLES:PRINCIPLES:PRINCIPLES:

Visit our website atwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.nebr.nebr.nebr.nebr.nebr.coop.coop.coop.coop.coop

The Nebraska Cooperative Council’s Board of Directors have adoptedan antitrust policy regarding conduct at Council meetings. Informationregarding this policy was forwarded to supply/marketing members onSeptember 13. As of December 8, we have received signature confirma-tion from 36 of the 41 supply/marketing cooperatives.

If your cooperative has not returned a signed form to the Council,please do so at your earliest convenience.

Antitrust SignatureReminder

Cooperation in Nebraska ... December 2011 Page 9

CALENDAR OFUPCOMING EVENTS...

December 2011December 2011December 2011December 2011December 20111 31 31 31 31 3 D/M Workshop - Ogallala Valentino’s

Conference Room1 41 41 41 41 4 D/M Workshop - York Holiday Inn

January 2012January 2012January 2012January 2012January 201233333 Director Certification Program,

Phases 1 & 3 - Kearney Holiday Inn44444 Director Certification Program,

Phases 2 & 4 - Kearney Holiday Inn44444 Nebraska Legislature Convenes2 32 32 32 32 3 NCC Legislative Advisory Committee

Meeting - Lincoln Embassy Suites3 03 03 03 03 0 Board Officer Seminar - Lincoln

Embassy Suites3 13 13 13 13 1 Special Director Seminar - Lincoln

Embassy Suites

February 2012February 2012February 2012February 2012February 201299999 Cooperative Issues Symposium -

Lincoln Embassy Suites1 01 01 01 01 0 Cooperatives For Tomorrow Seminar

- Lincoln Embassy Suites1 61 61 61 61 6 NCC Board Meeting - Lincoln

Cornhusker Marriott

March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012March 20126-86-86-86-86-8 Congressional Fly In to Washington

DC

April 2012April 2012April 2012April 2012April 20121 51 51 51 51 5 NCC Scholarship Program

Application Deadline

Every other Friday, the Nebraska RuralRadio Network provides the Council withcomplimentary network airtime to present a3-4 minute update on current cooperativeissues. This allows the Council to have onemore method of communicating with ourmembers.

The radio spots air at approximately1:15pm MT on KNEB and at 2:17 pm CTon KRVN and KTIC. Our scheduled airtimes over the next few months are:

December 9 & 23January 6 & 20

February 3 & 17March 2 & 16

NCC RADIO SPOTS

• Brian Briggeman...Brian Briggeman...Brian Briggeman...Brian Briggeman...Brian Briggeman...As aneconomist for the Omaha Branch Officeof the Federal Reserve Bank of KansasCity, Brian’s research interests wereagricultural finance, food demand andpreferences, and agribusiness manage-ment. Brian has recently been namedthe Director for the Arthur CapperCooperative Center at Kansas StateUniversity.

• Barry Flinchbaugh...Barry Flinchbaugh...Barry Flinchbaugh...Barry Flinchbaugh...Barry Flinchbaugh...Dr.Flinchbaugh is an award-winningProfessor of Agricultural Economics atKansas State University and a long-timeadvisor on ag policy to politicians ofboth parties. He served as Chairman ofthe Commission on 21st CenturyProduction Agriculture authorized in the

2011/12 Education Programs(continued from page 7)

1996 Farm Bill. Dr. Flinchbaughapplies his vast knowledge and experi-ence in agriculture, economics, andpolitics to create a straightforward andentertaining blend of these three topics.

• Ernie Goss...Ernie Goss...Ernie Goss...Ernie Goss...Ernie Goss...Dr. Goss is the JackA. MacAllister Chair in RegionalEconomics at Creighton University inOmaha. He has published over 80research studies focusing primarily oneconomic forecasting and on thestatistical analysis of business andeconomic data. Dr. Goss produces amonthly business conditions index forthe nine state Mid-American region andthe three state Mountain region. Heinitiated a survey of bank CEOs in ruralportions of eight states.

NCC MISSION STNCC MISSION STNCC MISSION STNCC MISSION STNCC MISSION STAAAAATEMENTTEMENTTEMENTTEMENTTEMENTTo defend, protect and enhance the agricultural cooperative

movement through pro-active programs in education, legislation,

government affairs, communication, and regulatory issues.

Wishing you aWishing you aWishing you aWishing you aWishing you averyveryveryveryvery

Merry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry Christmasandandandandand

Happy New YearHappy New YearHappy New YearHappy New YearHappy New Year