A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 2, 1999
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) The 15th Pennsylvania
Cooperative Director Institute will
be conducted here at the Nittany
Lion Inn, Jan. 27 - 29.
While the ’99 Institute is tar
geted to new directors, many in
cumbent directors will find great
value in the program.
Topics include director “bas
ics,” cooperative finance, legal is
sues for cooperative directors, and
developing board practices which
lead to efficient and effective use
of board time.
Current directors, those who
have a desire to become directors,
and those interested in learning
more about the governance and
decision making process behind
successful cooperatives are en
couraged to attend.
Educators and public officials
who work with cooperative stake
holders may also find the school
useful to improve their knowledge
of cooperatives.
Lany Doyle, executive vice
president of Ag First Farm Credit
Bank, will keynote the confer
ence. Larry will share his philoso
phy for cooperative excellence
and outline key issues facing co
operatives and their boards in the
coming years.
Jetty Ely, cooperative develop
ment consultant with USDA Rural
Business Service, will review
roles and responsibilities of co
operative directors and changes
implied by the dynamic business
environment. Doyle and Ely,
along with a cadre of experienced
directors and managers, will fa
cilitate a workshop addressing key
issues for the coming years, sug
gesting solutions and board strate
gies.
Day two of the ’99 school is de
voted to business, finance, and
strategic issues. Terry Barr, chief
economist and vice president.
1592 Old Line Rd., Manheim, PA 17545
(717) 665-5960
“A WINNING COMBINATION ”
With PCDART YOU are in control of
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For more information about this powerful tool
Lancaster DHIA serves Southeastern and
Southcentral Pennsylvania
Pa. Cooperative Director School Jan. 27
agriculture trade and policy for the
National Council of Farmer Co
operatives, will provide a view of
current economic environment
and emerging trends. Potter Little,
senior portfolio manager for Co-
Bank, Denver, Colo, will return to
conduct a workshop on business,
finance, capitalization, and equity
issues.
Dr. Bruce Anderson, Cornell
professor of agribusiness manage
ment, will keynote the Thursday
afternoon session by addressing
the question of what cooperative
boards have to do to survive in the
new millennium. A panel of ex
perts including Dennis Mullen,
CEO of Agri-Link Foods; John
Johnson, CEO of Cenex-Harvest
States; and Chuck Cruickshank,
procurement manager. Land O’
Lakes eastern operations, will
highlight the Thursday afternoon
program. They will share their
“Co-op Story” and address the
question of what boards and direc
tors must do to be successful.
Other issues facing cooperative
leaders and their organizations, in
cluding director liability, board
evaluation, and the all-important
topic of communication, will be
addressed in session topics and in
formal discussions among partici
pating directors and managers.
The institute faculty includes
university personnel, cooperative
staff, and business leaders. Thirty
minute breaks have been contin
ued this year to provide plenty of
opportunity for directors, man
agers, and presenters to share
ideas, concerns, and challenges.
Some participants argue that this
is where the real education goes
on. Regardless of tire method,
Pennsylvania Director Institutes
consistently cam high marks from
participants. Other speakers in
clude Chris Fox, legal counsel,
Agway, and Brian Henehan,
Lancaster
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senior extension associate from
Cornell and executive secretary of
the Northeast Cooperative Coun
cil; Tom Croner, director of the
Dairy Farmers of America; Pro
Fac; and others.
Daryl Heasley, leadership con
sultant, will conduct a self-assess
ment and leadership workshop
Wednesday morning prior to the
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Whether you raise horses, beef
cattle, sheep or dairy cows - pas
ture improvement can be a long
run hedge against high feed
costs. Likewise, establishing
new pastures takes careful plan
ning to assure maximum
returns from your investment in
money and labor.
To help meet a statewide
need for better pastures,
Maryland cooperative extension
agricultural educators have
teamed up with the Advanced
Technology Center for
Agriculture and Business
Development at Carroll
Community College in
Westminster to offer a four-ses
sion live classroom series of
evening classes during January
through the Maryland
Interactive Distance Learning
Network.
The two-way Videoconference
system will enable University of
Maryland professionals to pro
vide simultaneous instruction at
four locations on soil fertility,
seeding rates, weed control, poi
sonous plants, shade and shel
ter, rotational grazing, animal
nutrition, animal/plant interac
tions, fencing and equipment
opening lunch.
The Pennsylvania Cooperative
Director School is supported by
the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture. Planning is done in
consultation with an 11-person
committee of cooperative leaders.
This is the ISth director school in
a series which began in 1983. The
Pennsylvania Director Institute
has graduated about 400 directors
Videoconference Set
On Better Pastures
and environmental considera
tions.
Advance registration for the
course is required by Jan. 6. To
register call (410) 386-8097 after
Jan. 3. There is a $5O charge.
Checks are payable to Carroll
Community College, or provide
your credit card information.
Classes will be conducted
from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the
following dates:
MCCONNELSBURG (Fulton
Co.)- Penn State Cooperative
Extension will be offering two
computer-based classes for agri
cultural producers in the coming
months.
On Jan. 7, Penn State
Cooperative Extension Farm
Management agent Andrew
Martin will be conducting a sem
inar on computer basics for
farmers from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at the Fulton County Extension
Office.
This introductory session is
designed to familiarize farmers
with computers and their opera
tion. There is a $l5 registration
fee for this program to cover the
cost of the computer lab, lunch,
Computer Classes
30
and 70 plus management leaders
in the past 14 Institutes.
For more information about the
Institute, contact Dick Poorbaugh
at (814) 863-0644 or e-mail
RWP2@psu.edu. The address is
Cooperative Business Education
and Research Program, Penn State
University, 206 Armsby Building,
University Park, PA 16802.
•Monday, Jan. 11
•Wednesday, Jan. 13
•Wednesday, Jan. 20
•Monday, Jan. 25.
Class locations are at Carroll
Community College in
Westminster, Charles
Community College at La Plata,
Garrett Community College at
McHenry, and Montgomery
College at Rockville.
and instructional materials,
On Feb. 2-3, Penn State
Cooperative Extension specialist
Larry Jenkins and Farm
Management Agent Andrew
Martin will be holding a comput
erized farm record-keeping
workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. at the Fulton County
Extension Office in
McConnellsburg. This workshop
will afford farmers the opportu
nity to utilize Quicken and to
receive instruction in setting-up
and customizing this financial
record-keeping program for
their own farm business. There
is a $l5 registration fee for this
program and seating is limited.