Date:

Thursday, February 1, 2018 - 8:00am to Friday, February 2, 2018 - 3:30pm

Hampton Inn and Suites

327 E. Fir Ave.

Fresno , CA

Info

Welcome to the tenth year of the Agricultural Cooperative Directors and Executives Leadership Training program.

This program is designed to promote director excellence and teamwork wtih management by providing you tools to apply to your cooperative’s challenges and opportunities.

For the first day’s agenda we’ve put together a program linking governance, finance and strategy, which we think will help participants make better, holistic decisions tied directly to your mission. We’ve teamed up with Morrison and Company, a business advisory firm that has worked with many California cooperatives and others in the food and agriculture industries to develop strategies and business plans, introduce new product or business lines, improve human resource and organizational efficiencies, and secure an impressive number of federal grant funds for financing new ventures. As part of their work, they’ve become integral parts of dozens of cooperatives and other food companies, and we believe their combined ‘30,000 ft.’ perspective and boots-on-the-ground experience will bring new ideas to this program. Back by popular demand, Dr. Phil Kenkel returns to lead a session providing perspectives and guidance on governance, working with management, and making the link between coop financial health and member benefits.

We also continue the tradition of looking at successful and transformed cooperatives with their representatives. Dr. Michael Boland is returning with a new set of case studies ranging from California to Ireland to explore how they have carved out successful paths in their industries and how they’ve dealt with internal and external threats.

Click Here for the Registration Brochure

Click here for CPE Credit Information

Workshops

February 1: The Intersection Between Governance, Finance, and Strategy

Morrison & Company: The Four Ps to Cooperative Success: Purpose, Planning, Perseverance, and Performance

Purpose: If your cooperative didn’t exist, would anyone create it? Would it look the same? Coops that have thrived over the years recognize their unique purpose and position in the marketplace and capitalize on it. Defining and coalescing around your organization’s primary reasons for existing is essential for success. Topics include:

Understand and communicate your primary reason for existence and your unique place in the market: “Who are we?”
How your reason for existence should drive your core values, secondary values, and aspirational values.

Planning: A Cooperative above the rest; how the right strategy can lead to success. When a cooperative’s core purpose becomes clear, the difference between where it is and where it needs to be can seem daunting. It needn’t be; this can be the time for a cooperative to invest in changing its trajectory and the future of the business.

Create a compelling yet practical strategy with an approach that breaks down strategy from the 30,000 foot perspective to the interrelated activities that make your strategy achievable.

Perseverance: Look! A squirrel! How a short attention span and quick fixes derail long-term goals. The best laid plans go awry if not executed properly and it’s easy to get distracted. The ability to adapt appropriately to achieve the mission (purpose) is critical to success and an ongoing process. Create clarity in purpose and strategy, allow for flexibility in execution, and provide healthy accountability at all levels of the organization.

To achieve these ends, coops must recruit and retain the right people, adapt effective and non-bureaucratic performance planning, institute proper rewards, and continually work to create a healthy organization.

Performance: Long-term financial planning strategies relevant to cooperatives; balancing debt solutions, managing equity/debt, and cash flow. A business has to perform to succeed, and sooner or later that boils down to money. How strategy can inform a cooperative’s decisions in planning its cash and equity needs while targeting competitive returns/refunds for its grower-members.

CPE CREDITS: 2.0 in Business Management and 1.0 in Finance

Dr. Phil Kenkel: Taking Your Board to the Next Level

Internal Alignment: A board of directors is a team and great teams don’t just happen, they have to be built and nurtured. All boards needs to understand their key roles and responsibilities and have efficient processes. Great boards understand the need to build mutual respect and teamwork while avoiding “group think”. Internal alignment is an on-going process of building the oversight and decision making processes of the board.

Case Study: When to Record a Dissenting Vote

Alignment with the CEO: The success of the cooperative is built on a team effort between the CEO and Board. That teamwork does not come naturally as the CEO and Board have different backgrounds, different information sets, different time perspective and different decision processes. Alignment between the CEO and board is an on-going process with adjustments and feedback from each side. This section discusses the barriers to alignment between the CEO and board, the need for on-going adjustments and the key role of the board chair.

Case Study: When to Hold an Executive Session

Alignment with Strategy: Many cooperatives have an annual strategic planning sessions. Few boards of directors actually “own the strategy” and integrate their long terms goals and visions into board operations and decision making. An aligned board has clarity in regard to the cooperative’s strategy which allows it to establish priorities and balance time between monitoring performance and analyzing future conditions. Strategic alignment helps the board through decisions involving capital expenditures, acquisitions, divestitures and profit distribution.

Case Study: Diversification of a Cotton Seed Processing Cooperative

Alignment with Member Interests: The most nebulous challenge of the board of directors is positioning the cooperative in the best long term interest of the membership. Aligning the cooperative with member interests involves aligning assets with the core membership needs, maximizing profits through efficient operations, managing the balance sheet for liquidity, solvency and adequate reserves and distributing all residual cash to members through cash patronage and equity retirement. The cooperative business model has many moving parts. The aligned board understands how to manage those parts to best benefit the members.

Case Study: A Dashboard for the Board

CPE credits: 2.0 in Business Management and 1.0 in Finance

February 1: Banquet Dinner Talk: Federal Tax Bill Updates

Eric Krienert, Moss Adams

There will be something for everyone to get excited about in the 2018 Federal Tax Bill, which became law at the end of December. Eric will provide an early analysis of the major changes and take questions about this new tax landscape. Hear what’s in store for regarding:

Section 199 Domestic Production Activities Deduction
New 199A qualified income deduction
Interest expense limitations
And other provisions that impact coops and their members

CPE Credits: 0.5 in Taxation

February 2: Case Studies in Strategy

Dr. Michael Boland, University of Minnesota

1. Stanislaus Farm Supply

2. Glanbia Dairy Cooperative (Ireland)

3. Michigan Blueberry Growers

Speakers

Thursday Feb. 1: The Intersection between Governance, Finance, and Strategy

Brent Morrison

R. Brent Morrison founded Morrison & Company in 2002. He has served processing, agribusiness, distribution, manufacturing, and other companies as an executive and advisor since 1981. Brent oversees Morrison & Company strategy and implementation, practice development, infrastructure development, and serves as an “internal consultant” to our team and clients.

Brent was formerly Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sunsweet Growers Inc., one of the nation's premier producers of juices and dried fruit products. Before joining Sunsweet, he was President of Butte County Rice Growers Association (BUCRA), an agribusinessservice and supply company.

While Senior Manager with the “Big Four” accounting firm Deloitte, Brent led the Sacramento office's Food & Consumer Products Industry Group and helped found and direct the Sacramento office forensic accounting practice, assisting clients with business-related legal issues. He was previously controller for a manufacturer of heavy equipment and structural steel components. He began his career with a predecessor firm of KPMG.

Brent holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). He is a graduate fellow of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, a two-year educational fellowship hosted by four participating universities. He is a certified Six Sigma “Champion,” the continuous process improvement methodology favored by General Electric and other major manufacturers.

Brent is a member and past President of the Far Western Chapter of the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives, a member of the Chico Rotary Club, and a past director of the California Agricultural Leadership Alumni. He has served with many professional and civic organizations, including an appointment to a state advisory board by then California Secretary of Food & Agriculture (and later USDA Secretary) Ann Veneman. A published writer, Brent wrote "The Brent Morrison Column," which appeared in several western newspapers for over eight years.

Carissa Ryström

Consultant Carissa Ryström joined Morrison & Company after several years with the Strategy and Performance Group of SRA International, Inc., a consulting firm with over 5,500 professionals in the United States and Europe. Carissa was based in the Washington D.C. office.

At Morrison, Carissa helps clients develop higher-functioning businesses and organizations, as well as build stronger leaders and leadership capabilities. A talented writer who has written everything from corporate and governmental strategy reports to collaborating on a screenplay, Carissa is also an important part of our grants team.

While at SRA International, Carissa worked with clients in a wide array of industries including agribusiness, environmental councils, and governmental agencies. Her service areas included organizational change management, strategic communications, and program implementation for clients including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prior to SRA International, Carissa was Communications & Research Associate with Vertical55, an executive consulting firm, focused on coaching and leadership development. She is Spanish-English bilingual and has experience in publishing work while previously living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Carissa holds Bachelor's degrees in International Relations and Affairs and in Spanish Language and Literature from University of Colorado at Boulder. She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Shawn Miller

Shawn Miller has extensive experience in human resources, recruiting, organizational development, and HR related services in addition to over 10 years’ experience in operations management. This distinctive combination of people and operational experience uniquely qualifies Shawn to serve Morrison clients’ “people” needs with both a professional HR background and real-world operational management experience. He manages Morrison's People Solutions services, including recruiting.

Shawn became SPHR certified (Society for Human Resources Management) in 2003 and focuses on improving clients’ overall performance and culture with recruitment and behavioral based interviewing, operational management and leadership development, and leadership training. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Cedarville University, Ohio.

Shawn previously served in Human Resources Manager and Quality & Compliance positions for NIBCO, Inc., advancing to the Administrative Manager position overseeing both human resource and quality and compliance functions. While at NIBCO (a manufacturer of valves, fittings, and flow control products that operates manufacturing facilities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Poland), Shawn oversaw all non-production related functions at assigned factory locations. His responsibilities included targeted recruitment, compliance with personnel law and regulations, EHS (Environment, Health, and Safety) systems, TQM (Total Quality Management), administration of the Steelworkers Union labor contract, and oversight of a facility closure and the associated union relations. Shawn implemented STAR (Situation, Task, Actions, and Results) based selection processes, developed and implemented the company’s workplace violence prevention program, and developed and administered bonus structures for personnel at all organizational levels.

In addition, Shawn has held operations or production manager positions at Dometic, an equipment supplier to RV manufacturers, boat builders, vehicle manufacturers, hotels, and retailers; Global Building Products, a US based manufacturer of steel doors and windows for commercial construction; and Dutch Mills, Inc., a manufacturer of high end furniture and cabinetry. He also founded and operated a manufacturer of high quality furniture, cabinetry, and millwork products.

Phil Kenkel

Phil Kenkel is a Regents Professor in the Agricultural Economics Department at Oklahoma State University and holds the Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair. He is the editor of the Journal of Cooperatives. In 2011 he managed a national project identifying critical issues facing agricultural cooperatives which resulted in seminars for the House and Senate staff in Washington D.C.

Dr. Kenkel is the current chair of the Cooperative Community of Practice on eXtension which has conducted national webinars on non-qualified stock and other issues. He is also active in national research committee on cooperatives and has prepared white papers for the CHS Center for Cooperative Growth and the Farm Credit Council. Dr. Kenkel has authored more than 200 research and extension publications, presented over 100 papers at professional meetings and conducted training sessions on producer owned businesses in 6 countries.

Thursday Feb. 1: Banquet Dinner: Tax Bill Update

Eric Krienert

Eric is director of Agribusiness Programs at Moss Adams. He has worked in public accounting since 1997. He is experienced in tax planning and consulting for large partnerships and corporations in the food and agriculture industries, specializing in cooperatives. He provides services related to patronage philosophy and formulating patronage allocation programs based on book, tax, and hybrid programs; equity planning; mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other combinations; nonqualified equities; and domestic manufacturing deduction and taxation.

Friday Feb. 2: Case Studies in Success, Failure and Transformation

Michael Boland

Michael Boland (Mike) is the Koller Professor at the University of Minnesota where he has teaching, research, and outreach responsibilities in agribusiness management and in particular, agricultural cooperatives. In addition, he is director of the University of Minnesota Food Industry Center.Prior to this new position, Mike worked at Kansas State University in the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center.

Mike teaches educational modules on finance, governance, and strategic thinking in boards of director leadership programs for local cooperatives. These programs are taught in 14 states to more than 1,000 cooperative senior employees and directors annually.

The majority of his work involves food and agribusiness firms where he has co-authored over 85 case studies on agribusinesses. Mike is serving as chair of the USDA International Agribusiness Task Force whose charge is to look at ways to incorporate competitiveness and trade topics into agribusiness management curriculum at land grant universities. In 2005 to 2008, he served as co-chair of the Teaching, Learning, and Communications section of the American Agricultural Economics Association. Mike serves on the planning committee for the annual Farmer Cooperatives programs in Minneapolis.

He has led international study tours of agriculture for students in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, New Zealand, Nicaragua, South Africa and Uruguay and Ukraine. Kansas State University awarded him their International Educator award in 2009.

He took his PhD in agricultural economics from Purdue University specializing in marketing, production, and strategic management. Mike also has a Master’s in agricultural economics from Purdue and a Master's in agricultural education from the University of Minnesota where he specialized in extension and continuing education.

Mike was the recipient of a USDA National Needs PhD Fellowship in Agribusiness where he helped work with continuing education programs in the Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business. Mike’s previous work experience includes Country Club Markets, River Country Cooperative, Cenex, and a trade association. He is the oldest of 12 children and was reared in Minnesota.

2018 Agricultural Cooperative Directors and Executives Leadership Training Program