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        Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) has acquired Mission Valley Textiles, Inc. (MVT) in New Braunfels, Texas. The farmer-owned cotton cooperative, headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, purchased 100 percent ownership of the textile company for $25 million and financed the acquisition with working capital.
        Patrons' equity in PCCA currently totals more than $100 million with only $12.5 million in term debt. Prior to the acquisition, PCCA’s board of directors and delegate body unanimously agreed it would be beneficial for the cooperative's members.
        "This acquisition is just the sort of thing for which our current financial strength was built-" said Van May, PCCA’s president and chief executive officer. "It allows us flexibility in attempting to enhance an already excellent textile operation."
        May specifically cited MVT's reputation in the textile marketplace. "The marketing, creative and sales expertise of the Mission Valley staff, coupled with PCCA’s financial strength and manufacturing expertise, should provide real synergy," May said. "Each brings a unique set of strengths which should complement the combined operation very well."
        PCCA’s total employment figure stands at 1,350 following the acquisition. MVT is a large U.S. manufacturer of yarn-dyed woven fabrics. Its product mix includes both apparel fabric and home furnishings such as upholstery fabrics, "top-of-the-bed" and craft trade fabrics. Apparel fabric sales comprise approximately 70 percent of MVT's total volume.
        The company's competitive advantages in the U.S. market include customer service, fashion trends, cycle time, reputation, and a flexible and adaptable workforce that is skilled in fancy fabrics, explained Darryl Lindsey, PCCA’s Textile Division chief operating officer.
        "Through global fashion market research, MVT remains on the cutting edge of apparel fabric design and is known for its response to customers' needs by re-designing styles to accommodate changing consumer preferences," Lindsey said. "This diversity enables MVT to sell to a broad range of customers, from major designer brands and specialty stores to private labels and department store chains both domestically and internationally," added Lindsay.
        May also noted the timing of PCCA’s expansion was another important consideration. "The timing seems right for PCCA to move into a broader arena of fabric merchandising, but the primary focus will continue to remain on basic denim production which has been such a consistent margin provider for PCCA members for many years," he said.
        "The net of it all is that we believe there is more money to be made for our membership in textiles than we are currently enjoying, and this acquisition helps move us in the direction of capturing more of those margins," said May. "It should give us opportunity to add more value to more cotton and improve our returns to PCCA’s members."
        The cooperative's total annual gross sales are approximately $1 billion. During the past five fiscal years, PCCA has distributed $152.7 million to its members in the form of dividends, stock retirements and revolvement of per-unit capital retains. "The acquisition of MVT should enable PCCA to increase these payments to its members," May said, "and that will have an added economic impact on every community served by this cooperative."

The boards of directors of Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (TNC) and Alabama Farmers Cooperative (AFC) have unanimously authorized exploration of possible ways the organizations could work together in providing products and services to their members. TFC, headquartered at LaVergne, Tenn., has 70 member cooperatives that operate some 150 retail outlets across the state. Sales last year were a record $429.4 million. AFC, based at Decatur, Ala., has 50 member cooperatives with 82 stores in Alabama, the southwest corner of Georgia, and the panhandle of Florida. Its sales reached $288.6 million in 1997.

Southern States Cooperative of Richmond, Va., has purchased the wholesale and retail farm supply assets of Gold Kist, a farmer cooperative headquartered at Atlanta, Ga. The transaction is scheduled to close by October. Included in the purchase are 100 Gold Kist retail farm supply stores, peanut and grain buying stations, cotton gins, fertilizer plants and terminals, crop protection distribution centers, feed mills, and related operations located primarily in the Southeast and Texas.

Norman Jones, 62, chief executive officer of GROWMARK Inc., since 1987 has announced plans to retire Dec. 31. Jones is a 34-year veteran of the GROWMARK system of farm supply and grain marketing cooperatives, based in Bloomington, 111. Jones indicated he was stepping back to adopt a more relaxed life style. Meanwhile, Glenn Webb, chairman of the board, said that due to the depth of management talent within the organization, the board will focus on internal candidates to replace Jones.

   The newly organized California Electric Users Growers' Cooperative (CEUC) has received a $60,000 USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant to conduct a statewide program of awareness and membership development.
        As the only effort in rural California designed to assist farmers in lowering their electric energy bills, CEUC was formed this spring as a result of energy deregulation in California. Its 12 charter members have a combined membership of more than 11,500 farmers.
        The organization recently signed a favorable electric supply contract with New West Energy of Phoenix, Ariz. So far, CEUC has achieved overall savings of 3 percent on the total electric bill for its members-growers and cooperatives.

Lowering farmer's energy costs to pump irrigation water is a goal of the new California Electric Users Growers' Cooperative. (Photo by Catherine Merlo)

Farmland Industries, Inc., is forming a grain-based alliance with ConAgra, Inc. Based in Kansas City, Mo., Farmland Industries is one of North America's largest farmer-owned cooperatives, while Omaha-based ConAgra is the country's largest independent food company. The unique alliance includes two entities. The first is Concourse Grain, LLC, an organization created to improve the position of wheat moving through the Farmland System. The second involves joint ownership of ConAgra's Atwood-Kellogg subsidiary, which will provide grain merchandising services to members and customers. Concourse Grain will market wheat originated by Farmland and certain wheat originated by ConAgra, thus providing both domestic and global consumers with access to multiple classes of wheat. International consumers will be served from multiple export points across the U.S.
In addition, Farmland purchased a 50-percent stake in Atwood-Kellogg, which will be renamed Farmland-Atwood, LLC. This entity will function as an independent provider of risk management, financial and grain support services and grain brokerage. The alliance is one of the most significant enhancements to Farmland's grain business since it merged six years ago with Union Equity Cooperative of Enid, Okla.

An in-depth analysis of issues facing farmer cooperative members, directors and chief executive officers is featured in the 1998 edition of the American Cooperation yearbook published by the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in Washington, D.C. A new feature this year will is a chapter on legal and legislative issues. Topics range from a discussion of the 75th anniversary of the Capper-Volstead Act and cooperative tax provisions to electricity deregulation and cooperative bargaining. Other chapters focus on cooperative business structure, international business ventures for cooperatives, education, cooperative success stories and value-added activities. For further information about American Cooperation, contact Matt Lloyd at mlloyd@ncfc.org.

James Roof, 66, an agricultural economist specializing in dairy cooperatives with USDA’s Agricultural Cooperative Service, died July 6 in an auto accident near his home on Kent Island, Md. Roof earlier had been an assistant manager for Valley of Virginia Cooperative Milk Producers Association (then Alexandria Dairy). Fluent in Spanish, Roof served a number of foreign assignments in the Western Hemisphere and later in Uganda and France. He retired from the USDA in 1990. He is survived by his widow, three sons and five grandchildren.

The need for more semolina for its manufacturing facilities has prompted Dakota Growers Pasta Company at Carrington, N.D., to construct a second mill adjacent to its existing site. In February, the cooperative acquired a pair of facilities in Minneapolis and nearly doubled its pasta production capacity. President Tom Dodd said the existing mill grinds only enough durum for Carrington with the balance contracted to an outside supplier. Quality and cost control are the main advantages of the vertically integrated system, said Dodd. The mill has state-of-the-art equipment and the cooperative has perfected the milling process to achieve high efficiencies. The cooperative's members also raise about 35 percent of the durum wheat harvested in North Dakota. Meanwhile, a seventh pasta line is being added at Carrington. The cooperative now offers more than 70 different shapes and flavors of pasta.

Toulu Thao is leading California's Hmong farmers to economic self-sufficiency through a cooperative. (Photo by Catherine Merlo)

        Representatives of California's Hmong farmers celebrated two major milestones June 27 in Fresno. The grand opening of their new office space in a historic building in downtown Fresno coincided with the formal granting of USDA funds totaling more than $121,000 to help Hmong farmers with cooperative education.
        The five floors of office space will be used for the recently incorporated Hmong-American Cooperative as well as the new Hmong Multicultural Center, said Toulu Thao, president of Hmong American Community Inc.
        "We are very pleased with our progress," said Thao. "Our Hmong-American Cooperative was incorporated in May, and we are now marketing our produce under our own label."
        An estimated 100,000 Hmong live in the San Joaquin Valley They produce some 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables. The Hmong have been struggling for economic self-sufficiency since they arrived in the United States in 1980 from Southeast Asia. Currently, Hmong-American Cooperative counts 99 members.
        The USDA funds will be used to continue efforts to develop and provide co-op education for the organization. Of the total funding, $59,500 comes from Rural Business-Cooperative Service and $62,000 from USDA’s Risk Management Agency The money also will fund education for better farming and business techniques, a new business plan and help with risk-management studies.
        The space in the 80-year-old building was donated to the Hmong organization by its owners, Carton and Margaret Taylor. Thao hopes Hmong farmers will have their own packing house, distribution center and marketing staff within two years.

Sept. 16-18 has been set for the annual Member and Public Relations Conference in Chicago sponsored by the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. The conference, which attracts cooperative communication and public relations executives from across the nation, will explore the theme, "Toward a New Future." The cast of speakers will include Don Schriver, executive vice president of Dairy Farmers of America; Steve Hoefer, senior vice president of Agway, Inc.; Al Higley, public relations executive with John Deere; and Bruce Weindruch, founder and owner of The History Factory. Topics will include marketing a cooperative's history; using technology to communicate effectively, building cooperative leadership and blending corporate cultures. Conference site will be Indian Lakes Resort, 14 miles west of Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Paul Hazen has been selected as the new chief executive officer and president of the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) in Washington, D.C. The action follows the retirement of Russell Notar on July 31. Hazen is the former executive director of Rural Housing Inc., a developer of cooperative housing in Wisconsin. He joined NCBA in 1987 and has been its chief operating officer since 1995. He is also the chair of the Telecommunications Cooperative Network. Hazen said his priorities are to expand NCBA’s membership and double the size of its domestic and international cooperative development programs. He also plans an education initiative and will work to create more global business opportunities for cooperatives.

        Rural Cooperatives magazine garnered two writing awards in the recent writing competition sponsored by the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA).
        Editor Catherine Merlo took the top two awards in the Informative/Investigative Feature writing category. She earned first place for "Hope for the Hmong" (Special Issue 1997) and second place for "A Co-op for the Cowboys" (January/February 1998).
        "Hope for the Hmong" looked at the struggles of California's Hmong farmers and their efforts to achieve economic self-sufficiency through a produce marketing cooperative.
        "A Co-op for the Cowboys" covered the start-up of U.S. Premium Beef, the new Midwest-based cooperative launched by cattle producers to capture beef profits from the ranch to the retail shelf.
        The CCA writing competition drew 260 entries from cooperative communicators from across the U.S. Merlo became editor of Rural Cooperatives in November 1997.

Rosemary Mahoney, a former cooperative development specialist for four years with USDA’s Agricultural Cooperative Service, predecessor of today's Rural Business-Cooperative Service, has been named executive director for Cooperative Development Services (CDS) in Madison, Wis. For the past six years, she was a regional representative in Central Europe for VOCA/ACDI, the international development arm of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives at Washington, D.C. A native of Illinois, Mahoney holds a master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois. CDS is affiliated with the state cooperative councils in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.