cooperative essentials introduction to cooperatives...effective selection, organization, and...

CE1

Cooperative Essentials

Introduction to Cooperatives

Unit: Cooperative Essentials

Lesson Title: Introduction to Cooperatives

Standards

CRP.04.01. Speak using strategies that ensure clarity, logic, purpose and professionalism

in formal and informal settings.

ABS.01.03. Devise and apply management skills to organize and run an AFNR business

in an efficient, legal and ethical manner.

ABS.04.01. Analyze characteristics and planning requirements associated with

developing business plans for different types of AFNR businesses.

ABS.04.02. Develop production and operational plans for an AFNR business.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard

English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard

English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of

collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners

on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their

own clearly and persuasively. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5 Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual,

graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance

understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence,

conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of

reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization,

development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of

formal and informal tasks.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and

convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the

effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of

evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice,

points of emphasis, and tone used.

Cooperative Essentials CE1 Introduction to Cooperatives

Student Learning Objectives

Slide 2 in CE1 Introduction to Cooperatives Lesson Objective

After completing the lesson on introduction to cooperatives, students will demonstrate their

ability to apply the concept in real-world situations by obtaining a minimum score of 80% in a

mock MIC Speech Contest.

Enabling Objectives

As a result of this lesson, the student will…

1. Define cooperatives and identify their guiding principles. 2. Record the early history of cooperatives and describe the future directions of

cooperatives. 3. Explain the three different ways to categorize cooperatives. 4. Describe the benefits and challenges of forming a cooperative and build a cooperative

governance system. Time: Approximately 120 minutes

List of Resources

International Co-operative Alliance. (2015, January). Co-operative Identity, Values & Principles.

Retrieved from http://ica.coop/en/whats-co-op/co-operative-identity-values-principles

Liebrand, C., & Wadsworth, J. (2016, January). Cooperative Statistics 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/cooperative-programs

United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development. (2011, April). Understanding

Cooperatives: Cooperative Business Principles. Retrieved from

http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CIR45_2.pdf

Wadsworth, J. J., & Eversull, E. E. (2012, November). Co-Ops 10: An Introduction to

Cooperatives. Retrieved from http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/cir55.pdf

List of Tools, Equipment, and Supplies

CE1 PowerPoint Presentation

CE1 Activity Sheet and Evaluation Packet

Note cards or small sheets of paper for review activity

Magazines

Scissors

Tape or Glue

Flip Charts

Markers


Poster Board

Sticky Notes

Key Terms

Slide 3 in CE1 Introduction to Cooperatives

The following terms are presented in this lesson (shown in bold italics): Cooperatives

Cooperation

Governance

Patronage


Interest Approach: Use an interest approach that will prepare the student for the lesson.

Teachers often develop approaches for their unique class and student situations. A possible

approach is included here.


Cooperative Business Structure: Recall the business structures from the Agriculture

Management, Economics and Sales Curriculum lesson AP3. Have students reflect on what they

learned about the cooperative business structure. Write Cooperative on the white board. Based

on what students learned in the previous lesson, ask students to think about the purpose of

cooperatives. Guide students to write additional words on the white board to describe

cooperatives (e.g., unity, member, community, values, etc.).

Once students are done writing their words on the board, assess their understanding of

cooperatives. This will help gage the students’ understanding. If students are not exactly on the

right track say, “I see there might still be some confusion about the purpose of cooperatives, so

let’s dive deeper to learn more about the importance of this business structure.”

If students have a fundamental understanding, only teach pieces of this lesson as seen fit.


Summary of Content and Teaching Strategies

Objective 1: Define cooperatives and identify their guiding principles.

Teaching Strategies Related Content

1. Review the words on the board from the

Interest Approach. From there have

students determine the definition of a

cooperative. This would also be a good

time to utlize the chart created in AP3 to

show reiterate comparisons between the

different types of business structures.


2. Hold an open class discussion. Guide

students to name organizations, clubs, or

athletic teams that believe in the same

cooperative concept to achieve a “common

goal.”

3. In order to reach that common goal,

cooperatives first have to meet the needs of

several groups.


4. Facilitate a discussion about why

cooperatives would be formed.


5. Ask students if they realize cooperatives

are a part of their daily lives. Write down

on a sheet of scratch paper what

cooperatives you think you’ve encountered

in the last 24 hours.

6. Share students’ list and reveal other items

they may have not thought of previously.

Define Cooperatives:

A business owned or controlled by the

people that use its services and whose

benefits are derived and distributed

equitably on the basis of use and

ownership.

This is in contract to other legal

structures where ownership,

control and benefits are based on

level of financial investment

An autonomous association of people who

voluntarily cooperate for their mutual

social, economic, and cultural benefit

Overall, it is based on the concept of

cooperation to achieve a “common goal.”

Cooperatives meet many groups’ needs, but

typically focus on meeting the needs of one of

these groups:

Consumer Needs (electric, credit union,

housing, farmers)

Producer Needs (farmers, fisherman)

Employee Needs (employment, employee

ownership such as Mondragon)

Other Cooperatives Needs (purchasing

shared services for other co-ops)

Reasons for forming cooperatives:

Founded to provided a missing service

Used to avoid monopoly power

Reduce overall risk in a company

Achieve economies of scale

Perform a combination of input

procurement, service provisions, and

product marketing

Daily use of cooperatives:

Electricity


7. Show students common examples of

cooperatives and see if they recognize

them.


8. Solicit ideas regarding cooperatives

specific to the state of Missouri. There are

many to choose from, but here are a few

examples.


9. Have students to visit

http://www.mic.coop/mic%20coops.html

to learn about more Missouri Cooperatives.

Guide them to look at 6 different

cooperatives’ websites and write their

mission statements or share two interesting

facts about the cooperative in CE1.1.

10. When finished, students should share the

mission statement for the cooperatives they

researched.

11. Share with students that, “in order to

uphold their mission statements,

cooperatives need to have set standards.”

Facilitate a discussion after having students

think about an organization, sports team, or

another business that has set standards or

guidelines to maintain. Ask questions like,

“What groups can you think of that have

set standards? What are those standards?

Why do you think these groups use these

Cell Phones

Internet

Food

Gasoline

You may recognize these cooperatives…:

ACE Hardware Store

Welch’s

Sunkist

Ocean Spray

Land O’ Lakes

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA)

Missouri specific cooperatives…:

MFA Oil

MFA Incorporated

FSC Financial

Farmers Cooperative Services, Inc.

Farmers Cooperative Elevator Association

Show Me Ethanol LLC

Show Me Energy Cooperative

Mid Missouri Energy, Inc.

Ray-Carroll Country Grain Growers, Inc.

CoBank

Ag Processing Inc.

Associated Electric Cooperative

Dairy Farmers of America

http://www.mic.coop/mic%20coops.html


guidelines or standards?”

12. If needed, help students relate this to FFA,

“In FFA we have a guidelines and

standards we need to maintain in order to

help the organization move forward and be

successful. Without these standards, we

may not be the nation’s largest youth

organization.”

13. Explain that cooperatives work the same

way. They have principles that guide them

towards their common goal. Let’s explore

these principles.

14. Guide students to write the related content

in their Guiding Principles of Cooperatives

graphic organizer in CE1.2.

15. Explain that there are three main buckets

such as: user-owned, user-benefitted, and

user controlled that the 7 principles of

cooperatives fall in to.


16. Let’s explore each of these pieces more

closely.

Slide 11-14 in CE1 Introduction to

Cooperatives

Guiding Principles of Cooperatives:

3 Pillar Model

User-Owned

o Cooperative is owned and financed

by those who use the cooperative

User-Benefitted

o Cooperative provides and

distributes benefits to users based

on their use

User-Controlled

o Cooperative is controlled by those

who use the cooperative

7 Principle Model

Voluntary and Open Membership

Membership is open to anyone

without discrimination

Some memberships are closed by

design and others accept members

as needed

Membership is voluntary

Democratic Member Control

Controlled by members who set

policies and make decisions for the

cooperatives

Representatives are elected to

serve the membership

Voting rights are based upon the

set-up of the cooperative

One member, One vote

Democratic process


17. After the conclusion of the principles

section and students have completed their

graphic organizations, ask students to share

two facts about the principles, and what

they find most interesting on a scratch

piece of paper and wad it up.

18. Once students have their items written on

scratch paper, have them make them into a

ball. Then, guide students to throw them

into the air. Have students pick up the

scratch paper ball closest to them and share

it with the class.

Member Economic Participation

Members make financial

contribution to cooperative

Surplus allocation is determined by

members

Autonomy and Independence

Member-controlled

Self-controlled

All actions of the cooperative are

acted upon on terms that maintain

member control and cooperative

independence

Education, Training, and Information

Members, elected officials,

managers and employees are

trained so they can contribute to

the cooperative

Educated in order to be able to

educate others on the nature of

benefits of cooperatives

Cooperation Among Cooperatives

Whether local, regional, national or

international, cooperatives work

together to serve members and

strengthen their cooperative

Concern for Community

Work to sustain their local

community through policies

approved by members

Community involvement through

scholarships, services, and

donations

Objective 2: Record the early history of cooperatives and describe the future

directions of cooperatives.



1. To gain a better understanding of

cooperatives, have students conduct a web

search to discover the history of

cooperatives. Have students use CE1.3 to

conduct their web search. Share that

students can even create a timeline on their

activity sheet if they would prefer.

2. To begin their search, have students use the

following sources:

http://www.mic.coop/index.html

http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/cir55.pdf

3. Answers for discussion can be found in

CE1.3 Key.

4. Assign each student one area they

researched in CE1.3 and have them

summarize key points in an elevator speech

format in under 60 seconds to another

student

5. Explain that like any other business

structure, cooperatives are constantly

evolving. Ask students, “Why do you think

cooperatives have to continue to evolve?”

Solicit responses from the class.

6. Reveal reasons cooperatives are constantly

evolving. Write these on computer paper

and hang around the room. As the papers

are hung, facilitate a more in-depth

discussion about the reasons.


7. Cut apart examples in CE1.4 prior to class.

Evolutions and Future Directions of Cooperatives

in Missouri…

Reasons cooperatives are constantly

evolving

Technology changes: cooperatives

can help make new technology

more affordable

Industry consolidation: co-ops can

create competition in areas where

monopolies form

Vertical Integration: offering co-op

members new ways to market their

products and helping new

industries evolve

Meeting Member’s Evolving

Needs: Offering a new service to

meet changing member needs

Regulations: offering new services

due to new regulations

http://www.mic.coop/index.html



Once the reasons cooperatives are evolving

have been discussed, give each student an

example or multiple examples. Have

students review the reasons placed around

the room, and try to determine under which

their example(s) falls. Place their example

accordingly.

8. Review students’ placement of the

examples and continue the discussion

about how cooperatives are evolving.

9. Reference DFA.pdf on curriculum website

during this discussion.

Technology changes: cooperatives can help make

new technology more affordable

Example 1: An agricultural co-op delivers

farmers the most technologically advanced

corn, soybeans, gain, sorghum, rice, wheat,

and forage seeds

Example 2: A local cooperative invests in

precision agriculture technologies

Industry consolidation: co-ops can create

competition in areas where monopolies form

Example 1: Forming a telecom co-op in

areas where there may be only one provider

Some milk marketing cooperatives began

as a result of proprietary markets refusing

to buy milk from dairymen at certain times

of year or simply paying very low prices.

Vertical Integration: offering co-p members new

ways to market their products and helping new

industries evolve

Example 1: Open a new market for corn by

building and operating corn ethanol plants

Example 2: Land O’ Lakes and DFA

manufacture and sell value added products

such as cheese, butter and other dairy

products rather than only selling milk

Example 3: AGP sells a variety of

innovative products from soybeans and the

farmers own the soybean processing plants

Specific examples of how DFA has joint

investments in a number of other well-

known brands

Meeting Member’s Evolving Needs: Offering a

new service to meet changing member needs

Example 1: Rural Electric Cooperatives

increasing speed of Internet with fiber

delivery

Example 2: MFA developing/ selling a new

seed variety or chemical to farmers to


increase yield

Example 3: DFA has developed a Member

Savings Network with outside service and

product suppliers to increase profitability of

member farms

Regulations: offering new services due to new

regulations

Example 1: Evolvement due to USDA/EPA

regulations with GMOs in seed.

For example, to give members

access to the latest technologies

MFA provides elite genetics

through MorCorn and MorSoy

brands. As part of this service, the

cooperative not only develops

varieties with improved traits

through the use of licensed GMOs

that have U.S. approval, but also

monitors foreign market approval

to be certain that varieties will be

accepted in domestic and foreign

markets.

Example 2: Regulations on antibiotics in

feed

USDA and FDA have stringent

regulations on the use of

antibiotics in feed. Through the

cooperative, farmers can keep

abreast of these complex, changing

regulations to be certain their

animal production practices meet

the guidelines. MFA also works to

develop new and alternative

products to help the farmers meet

these needs.

Objective 3: Identify the three types of cooperatives.


1. Explain that there are three major ways

categorize cooperatives


2. Further explain that while cooperatives can

be separated by location, governance

There are different ways to categorize

cooperatives…

Cooperative coverage/ location

Area/ geography served

Governance system

Membership structure

Function or services provided


system, and services provided they do not

always fit neatly into one bucket.

3. Refer students back to the Missouri

Institute of Cooperatives webpage under

the “Cooperatives” tab. As the following

topics are discussed, students can begin to

determine which cooperatives fall into

which categories.

4. Explain that when it comes to cooperative

coverage and location, there are either local

or regional cooperatives. Reveal the

difference between the two.


5. Have students review the list of

cooperatives on the webpage and identify

three examples of local cooperatives and

three examples of regional cooperatives.

Record these on CE1.5.

6. Have students share their thoughts and

reveal the other examples not mentioned.

7. Share with students that in terms of a

governance system, there are three

categories – centralized, federated and

mixed. Share the difference between the

three, have students find examples and

record them on CE1.5.


8. Have students complete a pair share to

compare answers to this portion of CE1.5.

9. Explain to students that cooperatives have

a variety of functions and services they

provide.


Cooperative Coverage/ Location

Local Cooperatives

Serves a particular community, set

of counties, or state

Approximately 40 to 50 local ag

cooperatives in Missouri

Another 40 to 50 rural electric or

telephone cooperatives

Multifunctional regional cooperatives

Serves multiple regions, states, etc.

Missouri is served by 12 or more

regional ag and farm credit

cooperatives

Governance System

Centralized

Single senior management team

and one board

Farmers or individual consumers

are the direct members of the

cooperative

Federated

Have other cooperatives as

members

Combined

May have farmers as direct

members and also have local

cooperatives as members

Function or Services Provided

Financing

Energy

Agricultural Input Cooperatives

Bargaining Cooperatives

Commodity-based Agricultural


10. Direct them to this portion of CE1.5 and

again have them find examples of each on

the MIC webpage. Students may need to

go beyond the use of MIC’s webpage

(although this should be the first resource)

as not all types of cooperatives are

represented in the membership.

11. Have students join in triads to share

answers.

Cooperatives

New Generation Cooperatives

Urban Cooperatives

Purchasing Cooperatives

Insurance Cooperatives

Telephone Cooperatives

Objective 4: Describe the benefits and challenges of forming a cooperative and

build a cooperative governance system.


1. Ask students, “Based upon what we’ve

discovered about cooperatives, what are

some of the benefits people might see to

forming a cooperative?”


2. Follow up by asking the students, “While

there are a number of benefits to forming a

cooperative, like any business, there are

challenges. What do you think are some

challenges that may arise in forming a

cooperative?”


3. Unveil the PowerPoint slide and compare

with list established during class

discussion.


4. Discuss each benefit and challenge.

The benefits and challenges to forming an

agricultural cooperative…

Benefits

Access to quality services and

supplies

Increase clout in marketplace

Share in earnings

Political action

Local economy enhanced and


5. There are commonalities among

cooperatives. Let’s discover some of the

most recognizable practices.


6. Ask students if anyone knows what a

patronage refund is.

7. If students are familiar with the refund

system, ask students if any of them have

received a patronage refund.


8. Explain that some students may already

receive a patronage refund through their

SAE projects.

9. Explain to students that cooperatives may

also use a limited return on equity capital

as a common practice.


10. Cooperatives may also utilize other

cooperatives to provide benefits to

member-users. For example, members at

the local level can own a wholesale grocery

store.


protected

Challenges

Number of people involved

Complexity of decision making

Cultural perceptions

Costs to buy-in

Common practices in cooperatives…

Patronage refund system

Refund to members for doing

business with the cooperative

After the fiscal year, a cooperative

computes its earnings on business

conducted on a cooperative basis

These earnings are returned to

patrons/ members as cash/ equity

allocations on the basis of how

much business each patron did

with the cooperative

Limited return on equity capital

Members receive a service not a

monetary return on capital

investment

Most cooperatives don’t pay any

dividends on member capital

Limiting returns on equity supports

the principles of distributing

benefits proportional to use

Cooperation among cooperatives

Ability to pool personnel and other

assets to provide services and

programs on a collaborative lower

cost

Permits members of local

cooperatives to participate in

owning and managing fertilizer

plants, food manufacturing

facilities, power plants, national

financial institutions, wholesale

grocery and hardware distributions


11. Divide students into groups. Give each

group a position: members, board of

directors, officers, committees, and

employees. Have each group do research

on their selected or given position. Tell the

groups to keep their positions secret. The

class will play a guess game at the end.

12. To find information for this activity, have

students use the following link:


13. Use the activity sheet in CE1.6 to record

their findings and the content in the right-

hand column to assist student research as

needed.

14. To share what the students learned have

them play 20 questions. Have one group

stand before the class. Guide the

classmates outside of the group to ask

questions to guess the group’s role.

Students must guess the position in 20

questions or less. Also, students must ask

yes or no questions to guess the role, and

cannot ask “Are you members?” or another

role.

15. Share a prize or incentive with the winning

team.

programs, and more

Ability to form agencies in

common to negotiate for better

prices on the marketing of products

through economy of size

Governance, leadership, and operations:

Members

Becoming a member

A single cooperative can

establish its own membership

criteria

Membership is typically based

upon payment of nominal fee

or the annual dollar amount of

business and individual

conducts with the cooperative

or both

Member rights and responsibilities

Adopt and amend the articles

of incorporation and bylaws

Elect and remove directors

Decided whether to dissolve,

merge or consolidate the

cooperative or form a joint

venture with other cooperative

or non-cooperative firms

Make sure officers, directors

and other agents comply with

laws applicable to the

cooperative and with its

articles of incorporation,

bylaws and membership

contracts.

Members role

Patronize the cooperative:

this is a responsibility, and

in new generation

cooperatives an obligation



Be informed about the

cooperative

Be conscientious when

selecting and evaluating

directors

Provide necessary capital

Evaluate performance of

the cooperative

Board of Directors

Hire a competent manager, determine

the salary, outline the duties and

authority of the position and formally

review his/ her performance at least

annually

Adopt broad, general policies to guide

the manager

Develop and adopt long-range business

strategies

Require written monthly financial

reports and operating statements

Direct the manager to prepare reports

before the close of each year

Employ auditor

Plan and conduct the annual meeting

Determine the patronage refund

allocation and/or per-unit retain level

Assure competent legal counsel is

available

Keep a complete record of the board’s

actions

Officers

President

Vice president

Secretary

Treasurer

Committees

May deal with finance, purchasing,

merchandising, and others

Studies in its particular field and makes

recommendations

Large associations may select an

executive committee to perform

general management and oversight

duties as authorized by the board

Managers

Supervise and coordinate, under board

direction, the business activities of the

co-op by managing the people, capital,

and physical resources


16. Explain to students that financing for a

cooperative is critical to cooperative

success.

17. There are a number of financing operations

for cooperative business structures.


18. A common form of financing for

cooperatives is direct investment. With this

type of investment, people can buy-in to

the cooperative to gain membership and

voting rights.

19. Transferable delivery rights are a different

way to finance cooperatives. For example,

a local farmer has to deliver ‘X’ bushels to

a grain elevator to make a profit.

20. Solicit responses recalling the purpose of a

patronage fund. Retained margins are

very similar to patronage refunds.

21. Retained margins are also known as capital

Hire, train, supervise, and set

compensation for employees

Oversee the detailed operations of the

cooperative

Furnish information needed for long-

range planning

Represent the cooperative and portray

a positive image to members and

community

Encourage membership and active

patronage

Communicate developments at the

cooperative to members

Employees

Need to understand the purpose and

objectives of the cooperative

Fully perform duties

Understand the relationship to member-

owners

Favorably represent the cooperative

Finance for a cooperative:

Direct investment

Cash purchases of membership

certificates, common and preferred

stock or other forms of equity by

the members

Provides member right to vote

Minor source of equity to a

cooperative

Requirement for most cooperatives

Transferable Delivery Rights

Deliver or buy a set amount of

product to ensure the cooperative’s

volume meets a minimum scale

economy.

In new generation

cooperative ethanol plants,

corn deliveries are needed

to ensure they operate the

processing plant at full

capacity and then the

ethanol and byproducts are

sold at a profit


credits in electric and telephone

cooperatives

22. Per-unit retains focus on volume or value

of business conducted.


23. In contrast, non-patronage income

includes all business that is conducted with

people that are not members of the

cooperative

24. To review this section, ask students to

stand up, raise their hands and high-five a

peer. When you see that each student has a

partner, ask a question for them to discuss.

Solicit answers. Then, signal for them to

raise their hands and high-five a different

partner for the next question. Ask the

following questions:

Name two groups involved in the

governance system.

Define patronage.

How can cooperatives gain

financing?

List two benefits of cooperatives.

List two challenges to forming a

cooperative.

What is the role of the Board of

Retained Margins

Patronage allocated equity

Share of the business profits

allocated to an individual member

based on patronage

Retained equity

Portion is paid to member with

balance being held in the

cooperative in member’s name

Overtime this equity is retired or

revolved

When a patron does business with

the cooperative, the patron

receives a financial return for their

business

Per-Unit Retains

Capital investments based on the

number of physical units handled

by the cooperative or on a

percentage of sales revenue

Per-unit retains focuses on the

volume or value of business done

with the cooperative

Non-patronage Income

Business conducted with non-

members on a non-cooperative

basis

Profits from non-patronage income

become permanent equity

Does not need to be retired,

refunded, or revolved


Directors?

What are the members’ roles?

Review/Summary


Today we learned that a lot of the services we use daily are provided by various types of

cooperatives at the local, regional, and national level. In today’s business world, cooperatives

offer a different dynamic and structure. Cooperatives are owned and controlled by the people

that use its services, and whose benefits are distributed equitably on the basis of use and

ownership. Overall, it is based on the concept of cooperation to achieve a common goal. To

accomplish this common goal, cooperatives must have a structured governance system that is

guided by the 3 pillar and 7 principles models.

Review:

Slide 30-31 in CE1 Introduction to Cooperatives

Classroom Visit Guide: Get the inside scoop and personal perspective from a local cooperative

leader. Use our Classroom Visit Guide to create an engaging and educational discussion about

the cooperative business structure. This will help your students capture the purpose of

cooperatives.

To truly gain an understanding of this type of business structure, direct the students to ask a

minimum of three questions to the cooperative leader. To gain five bonus points, have students

write down three facts they find the most interesting during the presentation.

Cooperatives Tic Tac Match: Break class into two teams and review the content of this lesson

playing Cooperatives Tic Tac Match online.

Cooperative State of Mind: Give students a pile of magazines. Instruct them to select and cut out

images or text that relates to cooperatives. Have students create a poster with the images or text

they collected. The poster should represent their personal interpretation of the functions of

cooperatives.

When all students are finished, have each share their Cooperative State of Mind Poster. Posters

could also be viewed in an art gallery-type display where pictures are placed around the room

with the artist there to explain his/her work and answer questions. The other students would

browse the gallery. Complete this rotation two or three times until all students have displayed

their work.

Have a final discussion on the similarities seen in all, or most, cooperative posters.

Exit cards: Students will answer the following questions on a note card or small slip of paper and

hand to teacher as they exit:

What did you learn today about the cooperative business structure?


What questions do you still have about cooperatives?

Application

Extended Activities

Invite a panel of local cooperative leaders to class to discuss their

cooperative and how they vary, the pros and cons of cooperatives, why

people should become members of a cooperative, etc. Vary the panel in order

to get numerous opinions, ideas, and input. Each student should prepare a

minimum of five questions for the panel. Student will receive five bonus

points for every question they get answered. Students will write a short

summary of what they found most interesting during the panel.

Contact a local member or employee of a cooperative. Schedule a time to

interview the member or employee. Students should ask up to 10 questions

and transcribe the interview. Allow students the opportunity to create a video

with the cooperative leader they decide to interview.

Each student will create a five-minute PowerPoint presentation about the

relationship between their SAE and cooperatives. Students need to list at least

five strong connections between their project and the cooperative business

structure. This can include doing business with a cooperative, similarities

between with guiding principles, governance and leadership systems, future

directions, etc.

Schedule an Agribusiness Tour with your local cooperative for your FFA

chapter to learn about their daily operations and services. Ask to speak to

representatives of the cooperative throughout the tour. Have representatives

share information regarding SAE projects, internships, or scholarships.

Evaluation Missouri Institute of Cooperatives Speech CE1.7

Alternate – Paper-pencil Quiz Evaluation CE1.9

Answers to Evaluation Evaluation CE1.7

Answers will vary. Use the grading rubric provided in CE1.8.

Alternate Evaluation CE1.10

1. D

2. D

3. B

4. C

5. D

6. Answer should include one of the following definitions:

a. A business owned or controlled by the people that use its services and whose

benefits are derived and distributed equitably on the basis of use and ownership.

b. An autonomous association of people who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual

social, economic, and cultural benefit.


7. Answers should include three of the following:

a. MFA Oil

b. MFA Incorporated

c. FSC Financial

d. Farmers Cooperative Services, Inc.

e. Farmers Cooperative Elevator Association

f. Show Me Ethanol LLC

g. Show Me Energy Cooperative

h. Mid Missouri Energy, Inc.

i. Ray-Carroll Country Grain Growers, Inc.

j. CoBank

k. Ag Processing Inc.

l. Dairy Farmers of America

m. Other local Missouri cooperatives

8. Answers should include the following:

a. User-Owned

b. User-Benefitted

c. User-Controlled

9. Answers should include two benefits and two challenges

Benefits

a. Access to quality services and supplies

b. Increase clout in marketplace

c. Share in earnings

d. Political action

e. Local economy enhanced and protected

Challenges

a. Number of people involved

b. Complexity of decision making

c. Cultural perceptions

d. Costs to buy-in

10. Answers should include three of the following:

a. Founded to provided a missing service

b. Used to avoid monopoly power

c. Reduce overall risk in a company

d. Achieve economies of scale

e. Perform a combination of input procurement, service provisions, and product

marketing

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