Local farmers see what makes Co-op work
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Michael Bell and Edwin Grissom of Rock Island and Hershel Wells of McMinnville, were among the 42 participants. They are members of Warren Farmers Cooperative, one of the 63 member-owners of Tennessee Farmers Cooperative. As the state’s premier farm supply organization, the member Co-ops operate 150 retail locations located in 84 of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
“Customers of Co-ops rarely get the chance to see the many resources required to keep the quality products and services offered at their local stores one step above the competition,” said Jeff Griggs, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative director of education and training. “The trip has become one of our key education tools to demonstrate the value of Co-op affiliation.”
The weeklong journey began on Monday morning, Aug. 1, with many of the participants arriving early for a tour of facilities at TFC’s headquarters complex in LaVergne. The entire group met with TFC department managers and key personnel before boarding a bus for St. Louis, Mo.
On Tuesday, the group visited Monsanto’s Chesterfield Village Research Center, where the company focuses on biotech research and product development.
After the Monsanto visit, the Tennesseans enjoyed a night at Busch Stadium as they watched the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins by a score of 3 to 1.
Wednesday’s activities kicked off with a visit to Dairy King Farms, a diversified dairy and grain operation at Rosamond, Ill., approximately 90 miles northeast of St. Louis.
From the farm, the tourists traveled to the Windy City suburb of Chicago Heights where Co-op’s signature red steel t-fence posts and t-post clips are made. In the steel business since 1893, the Chicago Heights Steel plant takes rail steel and recycles it, reheating the used rails and splitting them to fashion the sturdy steel t-fence posts.
Wednesday night in Chicago, the group enjoyed a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan as the guest of CF Industries, the interregional cooperative that has since made its initial public offering (IPO) as a publicly traded company.
Thursday morning was spent sightseeing from the Sears Tower, which rises one-quarter of a mile (1,454 feet) above Chicago, with 110 stories and 4.5 million gross square feet of office and commercial space. The group then visited the Chicago Board of Trade and saw the frenzied opening of the institution where global commodity futures are bought and sold.
Leaving Chicago, it was time to get back to the farm again with a stop at Fair Oaks Dairy in northeast Indiana. One of the largest dairies in the U.S., the farm features more than 24,000 dairy cows on 17,000 acres.
The last stop before heading home on Friday was FFR Cooperative in Lafayette, Ind., where the group heard from crop experts and toured the variety test plots. FFR Cooperative conducts plant-breeding, field research and testing, and agronomic services funded through genetic fees and contract services, and is owned by TFC and three other regional cooperatives.
Throughout the week, the group heard presentations from the TFC personnel, who explained the structure of the local, regional, and interregional cooperatives, and gave insight into Tennessee agricultural facts from the 2002 Farm Census.
“We appreciate the participants in this tour taking the time to spend a week with us,” said Griggs. “It’s very important that our member owners realize the great resources and expertise that are available at their local Co-op.”