"The Mission of Farmway Inc. is to be a profitable, highly competitive, diversified and well-financed business model committed to enhancing the economic well being of its members-owners."
Farmway Coop Inc. held their 101st Annual Meeting Thursday night at the Beloit Municipal Building. One hundred ninety eight members were registered with a total of 300 people in overall attendance of 300 people counting guests and employees.
Allen Eilert, Beloit, Chairman of the Board, opened the meeting by introducing the rest of the organizations' Board of Directors as follows: Alan Aufdemberge, Vice Chairman, Lincoln, Kansas; Mike Jordan, Secretary, Beloit; Ron Benson, Clay Center; Ken Keil, Concordia; Rick Chaffee, Clay Center; Eric Eilert, Beloit; Raymond Larson, Green; Keith Portenier, Jamestown; Tim Porter, Glen Elder; Darrell Schroeder, Tipton; Roger Suelter, Lincoln; and Luke Wohler, Associate, Miltonvale.
The Statement of the Farmway Board Members for the year 2012 is: "What helps to make the cooperatives unique is the fact they are run by people who live in the community. Important decisions aren't made in some distant corporate boardroom. They are made right here with the members' best interests in mind."
Chairman Eilert explained what the members were being asked to vote on in the board's request for changes in the information in present By-Laws. He said this is being used as a means of cleaning up the language in the by-laws that is outdated or unnecessary by removing it from the document. Some of the changes dealt with removing or changing requirements for membership in the cooperative.
The changes also gave the board more flexibility in how they deal with certain aspects of their obligations. They included changes in the allowable member refund amounts and in the number of shares involved to become a voting delegate from 40 to 4 shares. In the prior By-Laws members had to have a 2000-share limit but this changes the number to 200 shares, making it easier to become a voting member.
Among other changes, all of the four districts in the cooperative will now each have two designated board members with four more directors chosen at large from any part of the cooperative. The new language allows for estate cleanup and sets forth what the definition of a voting member is. After the ballots were counted it was announced the membership voted 782 to approve the By-Law changes with 79 voting not to make changes. Many members voted by mail-in ballots.
Art Duerksen, President/CEO addressed the membership. He said, "With a history dating back to 1911, Farmway Co-op Inc is proud to celebrate its 101st year in operation with a solid bottom line and a strong financial future. Your company reached a record year for earnings in 2011-2012 and continues to stand firm financially and technically for the benefit of you, our producers and patrons."
"We had 9.7 million dollars in earnings for the year, with total consolidated sales of $572 million. Based on those results and the commitment to our partnership of being a locally owned agri-business, our board of directors has decided to allocate 7.5 million dollars in patronage to those who are eligible. Two million will be paid out in cash, which represents 100 percent of qualified in patronage, and 5.5 million dollars will be allocated to non-qualified patronage, Duerksen explained.
"This means Farmway will assume the cash tax obligation. As it is set up now producers do not have to pay taxes on the amount of money they have in the revolving fund, just on the actual cash returned to you. Your cooperative has had a fantastic year and we are returning record amounts back to the producers," the CEO told those present.
"As our vision statement states our long term vision is to collaborate with you, our producer members, to develop the right solutions for growth in the ever-changing agricultural industry. By utilizing our field management programs, making timely and educated buying decisions on inputs, and making the most of modern marketing and crop insurance strategies we can help you grow your overall profitability and increase your margins on every single acre," Duerksen told the membership.
Duerksen listed some of accomplishments that have been made in the past year including facility upgrades, and new programs and services. He talked about the positive effect these changes have made in the overall Farmway organization. Where Farmway used to be strictly a feed business at one time; today they are heavily involved in grain marketing, crop production and energy, he said.
Challenges the CEO sees in the coming year include: fluxuation in commodity prices, biofuel demands for ethanol, the changes in the weather, Interest rates and the value of the dollar, bio technology and high yield trends, volatility of the markets and risk management. "If our government can't figure out a way for us to have a little more prosperity there is a certainty interest rates will get larger during the coming year," Duerksen said.
"Farmways' promise to its members is to be a committed Partner in Growth and provide tailored solutions to fit each individual customer's unique needs and expectations. We thank each of you for your support throughout the previous year. Together, we're partners in growth," Duerksen told the audience.