Cooperative Directors To Meet At Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK (Gentle
Co.) New and returning direc
tors of cooperatives can improve
their business and organizational
skills by attending tbe 16th Annual
Pennsylvania Cooperative Direc
tor Institute, Jan. 26-28 at The
Penn Stater Conference Center
Hotel at Penn State’s University
Park campus.
The director’s role in creating,
maintaining, and communicating
the value of cooperatives will be
the focus of the Institute, which
features mote than IS sessions and
informal discussions on topics
such as cooperative finance, legal
issues for cooperative directors,
developing internal controls, and
environmental concerns. Speakers
will include Pennsylvania Secret
ary of Agriculture Samuel Hayes;
Glenn Webb, chairman of the
board for GROWMARK Coopera
tive; and John Coffey, cooperative
consultant and former head of
Southern States Cooperative.
Changes in markets
and the legislative envi
ronment make this insti
tute increasingly impor
tant, said Richard Poor
baugh, director of Penn
State’s Cooperative
Business Education and
Research Program.
"The directors’ insti
tute helps close the
knowledge and skills
gaps between members,
their boards and
investor-oriented agri
businesses,’’ Poorbaugh
said. “One of the high
lights of the institute is
die opportunity to share
ideas and issues with
directors of other
cooperatives.”
The institute opens
with lunch and welcom
ing comments at noon
on Wednesday, Jan. 26.
followed by Coffey’s
keynote address on “Co
op Boards for die Next
Century: What Will It
Take?” Jerry Ely,
cooperative develop
ment specialist for the
USDA Cooperative
Business Service, will
discuss “Cooperative
Governance Roles
and Responsibilities of
Directors and the
Board” at 2:30 p.m.
That will be followed by
“Legal Implications of
Directorship,” by Chris
Fox, general legal
counsel of Agway Inc.,
an 80,000-member farm
supply cooperative.
Russ Rose, head
coach of the national
champion Penn State
Lady Lions volleyball
team, will be the speak
er at dinner at 6p.m. The
day’s activities will end
with a workshop on
cooperative board
decision-making
procedures.
On Thursday, Jan. 27,
Porter Little of Co-
Bank, a major lending
institution for coopera
tives, will present a
workshop on coopera
tive finances at 8:30
a.m. At 1:30 p.m.,
Glenn Webb of Grow
mark cooperative will
discuss “Selling Your
Cooperative: the Value
Nelson of Cenex-harvest
States cooperatives supply firm;
Irene Sorenson, manager of grow
er communications for Ocean
Spray; and Robert Naerebout of
Dairy Farmers of America, in a
panel discussion of “Measuring
Membership Value” at 3 p.m. Din
ner will follow at 6:30 pm., when
Nelson will present “With
Cooperatives, the Three Most
Important Things Are: Education,
Education, Education!”
Friday, Jan. 28 sessions open at
8 a.m. with James Dunn, Penn
State professor of agricultural eco
nomics, discussing “Trends and
Current Business Environment”
for cooperatives. At 8:45 am., the
institute will offer concurrent ses
sions for smaller-scale coopera
tives (“Is There a Future for Local
Co-Ops?”) and large operations
(“Challenges and Requisites of
Serving and Communicating
Built to fit new or used harvesters, the kit is designed for
simplicity and many years of use with minimum maintenance.
A positive drive nonslip belt powers the processing
unit. By adjusting the harvester to make a coarser
cut along with the shearing action of the processor
rolls turning at different speeds, overall output from
the harvester is increased with no additional
horsepower required.
Georgetown Manufacturing, LLC
343 Christiana Pike, Christiana PA • 610/593-2753
Membership Value to a Diverse
Membership”). At 10:45 am.,
William Nelson will present “Ten
Steps to Excellence in Leadership
and Governance.”
At noon, tbe institute’s gradua
tion luncheon will feature remarks
by Secretary Hayes. That will be
followed at 1 p.m. by Samuel
Minor, director of Agway Inc.,
who will talk about “Managing the
Not only do the rolls
constantly "self-clean”, but
the minimal space between
the pans and the rolls
creates a vacuum action
that draws the processed
silage into the spinner
chamber.
The haylage diverter is
bolted to the processor rear
door. Made of heavy-duty
stainless steel, it keeps
haylage away from the
processor rolls and in the
spinner chamber.
Contents of the conversion
kit are warranted for one
year against failures in
material or workmanship. A
typical conversion requires
approximately one day.
Madness: Capitalizing on the
Opportunity.” The institute will
close at 2 pm. with tbe presenta
tion of certificates by Secretary
Hayes and David Blandford, head
of Penn State’s department of agri
cultural economics and rural
sociology.
Registration, lodging, meals
and materials for the three-day
institute are $625. For more infer-
SILAGE
MILL
Conversion Kit
for
Gehl
Harvesters
also available for New Holland,
New Holland Self-Propelled, and
some other brands.
Most unique in the design of the Georgetown Crop
Processor is the way that the transition is made
from processing silage to making haylage. A pin,
two bolts, the diverter pan assembly, and the main
belt drive are removed and material from the cutter
head moves directly into the spinner bypassing the
rolls. The whole process takes less than a half
hour.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 1, 2000-A2l
mation, contact Penn State’s
Cooperative Business Education
and Research Program at (814)
863-0644. The institute is offered
in cooperation with Pennsylvania
Council of Cooperatives and the
Cornell Cooperative Enterprise
Program with support from the
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture.
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