10:00 a.m. SDAC Annual Members’ Meeting

SDAC Re-organizational meeting immediately to follow

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:15 p.m. “General Session Welcome” – SDAC & SDCMA Presidents

12:30 p.m. “Ethics and Cooperatives”

Joel Dykstra, Milo Belle Consulting

1:15 p.m. The Impact of the National Broadband Plan on SD

Greg Dean, SD Telecommunication Association

1:45 p.m. “OSHA Safety Issues Insight”

2:45 p.m. Break

3:15 p.m. “Farmer Co-ops: Providing for America Agriculture - Washington Update”

Chuck Connor, CEO National Council Farmer Co-ops

4:15 p.m. “Industry Updates”

CHS Crop Nutrients Loran Thom & & Mike Keszler

CHS Inc. Petroleum & Propane Dave Spencer

Land O’Lakes Feed mike Krakoviak

Land O’Lakes Crop Production Larry Roiger

6:00 p.m. Social and Banquet

“The 2010 Co-op Hall of Fame Induction Banquet” 2010 Inductees – Jake Boomsma, Milo Gilbertson and Barry Jensen

6:45 a.m. Breakfast

7:15 a.m. SD Co-op Managers Assoc. Annual Members’ Meeting

7:30 a.m. Registration Opens

8:00 a.m. “General Session Open– “Announcements”

8:05 a.m. “Economic Update”

9:00 a.m. “Director Updates” Panel

CHS Inc. – Dave Kayser & Randy Knecht

Land O’Lakes – Dave Andresen & Ron Muzzall

9:45 a.m. “Energy Incentives & Reform”

Bio-diesel – SD Soybean Association

Ethanol - TBA

10:15 p.m. Break

10:35 a.m. “Courts Rulings and Government Regulations Impact on Genetic Traits

Mike Vande Logt, Winfield Solutions

11:05 a.m. “Agriculture’s Future – SDSU, Research, Extension and Teaching”

Barry Dunn, Dean of Ag & Biological Sciences, SDSU

11:35 a.m. “2010 Ballot Measures - Business Impact”

Constitutional Amendment K - The right of individuals to vote by secret ballot

Initiated Measure 13 - Medical marijuana for certain qualified persons

12:15 p.m. Closing Luncheon

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The Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture conducted a public “workshop” on competition in the livestock sector on August 27. The event was the fourth in a series of five workshops designed to provide government officials with information regarding the state of competition in agriculture and to help determine whether increased antitrust enforcement is needed.

The event attracted a large turnout of livestock producers and others in the industry. An auditorium seating 1,100 was full and two overflow rooms seating several hundred also were filled. As with the prior workshops, the program featured planned remarks by government officials, panels of industry experts, and opportunities for producers to state their concerns in open microphone sessions.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Eric Holder participated in the workshop. Both stressed that the workshop’s focus should be the future of American agriculture and the ability of farmers to pass on their operations to the next generation. In his opening remarks, Secretary Vilsack noted that producers are worried about whether there is a future in agriculture for their children. He said his department is interested in exploring access to capital, risk management, and open and competitive markets.

Attorney General Holder opened his remarks by noting that the workshops are “about our nation’s founding ideals: fairness and equal opportunity.” He said consolidation in the meat packing industry is his department’s “primary concern.” This is the 21st Century, he said, but we “have to go back to 18th Century values.”

Attorney General Holder stressed the importance of addressing competition in agriculture by noting that it is a cabinet-level priority for the administration. He said antitrust enforcement is one solution, but it is not the solution to every competition problem. As with the prior workshops, he once again noted that he and the other officials on the panel were there to listen to the problems identified by producers. (However, he and the Assistant Attorney General left after their presentations, so it is not clear how much of the discussion they actually heard.)

Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney echoed Holder’s comments, saying she wants to learn what she can do to help “keep American agriculture as vibrant as it has been for the last two centuries.” Varney also stated that the agriculture system “is broken,” noting that some farmers cannot make a living and are unable to hand down their farming operations to the next generation.

Varney stressed that economic analysis is an important part of the Antitrust Division’s work. She said her department is consulting closely with USDA on competition issues. Where industry mergers help increase competition, Varney said, DOJ will quickly review and clear them. She also noted that DOJ’s “friends from the unions” visit with her division frequently, along with trade associations and others who provide information on competition in the marketplace.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Philip Weiser helped lead one of the producer panels. As he did at the Iowa workshop, Weiser made a point of noting that one of the producers participated in a cooperative. He asked whether cooperatives would work for other producers.

Many of the producers’ comments addressed the proposed rule that will amend the regulations under the Packers and Stockyards Act (see 9 CFR Part 201; RIN 0580-AB07). A significant portion of the crowd supported the changes, including a large contingent from R-CALF USA. Others found fault with the proposed rule, saying the rule’s terms are vague and that if implemented they will result in unintended consequences. In particular, some believe the proposed ban on packer ownership of livestock may damage the ability of some packers to compete effectively.

Robbie LeValley, a rancher who participates in a direct marketing cooperative that also owns a packing plant, participated on a panel. She said the proposed rule’s ban on packer ownership will damage her cooperative’s effectiveness. Secretary Vilsack acknowledged her comments, but said he would not respond because the comment period for the rule is still open.

NCFC has heard a similar concern from other livestock marketing cooperatives. Specifically, the rule would require that a dealer who operates as a “packer buyer” only purchase livestock for the packer that identifies the dealer as its “packer buyer.” Since a packer will likely not be able to send an exclusive buyer to smaller sales—such as those that many co-ops hold—the result could actually be fewer buyers in the market. NCFC will submit comments on the proposed rule; the comment deadline is November 22, 2010.

Other producers commented on the lack of packers and of the difficulty smaller operations have in dealing with the demands of large packers.

The workshop’s opening panel also featured Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO); Colorado Governor Bill Ritter; Colorado Attorney General John Suthers; Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock; and Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp. A transcript from the Colorado workshop will be made available on DOJ’s website: http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm#dates.

The fifth and final workshop will take place on December 8 in Washington, DC, and will focus on the discrepancies between the prices received by farmers and the prices paid by consumers. The event also will provide an opportunity to re-visit discussions and topics raised at the earlier workshops.

As Congress prepares to begin its work on the 2012 Farm Bill, I am launching an effort to hear from South Dakotans on the current Farm Bill and its implementation. I have mailed feedback forms to stakeholders across the state and created a special section of my website at http://johnson.senate.gov to allow South Dakotans to submit the form electronically.

Our state’s agriculture sector has seen a number of challenges recently and I want to get a good sense of how some of the Farm Bill programs are working. I think it is important to get a better understanding of what is and what isn’t working in the current Farm Bill before we consider new legislation.

As a member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, I played an important role in crafting the 2008 Farm Bill and continues to push for policies that benefit South Dakota and deliver federal farm programs to rural committees. Among other aspects of the 2008 bill, I fought hard for a common-sense implementation of Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), following his work to authorize it in the 2002 bill.

From my seat on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, I am well positioned to continue to fight to put money behind programs important to South Dakota. I encourage all South Dakotans to visit my website so I can make sure that the views of farmers and ranchers in our state are heard in Washington.

According to a study by South Dakota State University, agriculture has a $21.3 billion impact on our state, accounting for 36.3% of South Dakota’s total economic output. Additionally, more than 170,000 jobs in South Dakota are related to agriculture, comprising roughly 40% of total employment opportunities in the state.

I encourage everyone to fill out my Farm Bill survey at http://johnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=FarmBillFeedback.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) held their fourth workshop on competition in agriculture today on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. The focus of this session was on the livestock sector, and particularly on issues of concentration and on the new proposal from USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) that would change implementation of the Packers & Stockyards Act.

Before the workshop, NCFC expressed its concern that these changes could harm producers and livestock marketing co-ops across the country.

“If DOJ and USDA are truly interested in ensuring a competitive marketplace in agriculture, and in the livestock sector in particular, they must proceed cautiously instead of making radical changes that could do more harm than good,” said NCFC President & CEO Chuck Conner in a statement made before the workshop. “While meant to increase competition, these new regulations would perversely lead to fewer options for livestock producers to market their product and increased concentration in the sector.”

One concern that livestock marketing cooperatives have raised with NCFC is the requirement that a dealer who operates as a “packer buyer” only purchase livestock for the packer that identifies the dealer as its “packer buyer”. Since a packer will likely not be able to send an exclusive buyer to smaller sales—such as those that many co-ops hold—the result could actually be fewer buyers in the market. Producers will have even fewer options with fewer buyers.

“As NCFC has shown over the course of these DOJ/USDA workshops, farmer cooperatives are an essential element in ensuring that farmers and ranchers remain competitive and receive a fair price for what they produce,” emphasized Conner. “If this proposal hurts livestock marketing co-ops, it will have a direct, negative impact on the bottom lines of the co-op’s farmer-owners. It is important for DOJ and USDA to use this workshop as an opportunity to hear a balanced debate that includes producers and other impacted businesses, including cooperatives.”

The fifth and final workshop will be held on December 8, 2010 in Washington, D.C., and will focus on margins in the agriculture and food sectors. NCFC will continue to closely monitor USDA and DOJ action on competition in agriculture, especially as it impacts the Capper-Volstead Act, farmer co-ops and their farmerowners.

NCFC announced this week that the organization is now accepting entries for the 2010 Cooperative Information Fair. The Info Fair recognizes those communications and marketing projects that effectively promote business, inform members, and disseminate information to the public. Professors from the journalism and mass communications school of a major university will judge entries in 34 categories, ranging from best press releases and best magazines to best marketing plans and best advertising campaigns and multi-media campaigns. In order to better integrate the Info Fair with the goals of our “Farmer Co-ops: Providing for America” campaign, NCFC will showcase member communications products that help to tell the farmer cooperative story and effectively promote the benefits of being a cooperative member.

While many categories in the fair will remain the same (such as the publications and marketing/advertising classes), NCFC will expand the judging criteria in several of the writing and photography categories to emphasize how well these stories, columns or photos communicate one of the four main themes of our “Providing for America” campaign. These are:

􀁸 Farmer co-ops provide producers with strength in numbers

􀁸 Farmer co-ops promote a competitive agricultural marketplace

􀁸 Farmer co-ops preserve a way of like in rural America

􀁸 Farmer co-ops provide for consumers both in the U.S. and around the world.

To further highlight our members’ efforts in this regard, the Information Fair will also feature an overall award for the entry that best communicates one of these central themes. NCFC hopes that the winner or winners of this award can attend our 2011 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, to be recognized and to participate in a session at the meeting on effectively communicating the co-op story.

The deadline to enter is Friday, October 8. All entries must have been completed between October 1, 2009 to October 8, 2010.

Info Fair entry rules and forms can be found online at http://www.ncfc.org/content/view/241/109/. Any questions can be directed to Justin Darisse, NCFC’s Communications Director, at jdarisse@ncfc.org.

September 27-28, 2010—NCFC Fall Executive Council Meeting—Washington Court Hotel, Washington, D.C.

September 30-October 1, 2010—LTA Subcommittee Chair-Vice Chair Meeting—Hyatt Regency, Newport, R.I.

November 3-5, 2010—Government Affairs Committee Meeting—Washington, D.C.

February 9-11, 2011—NCFC 82nd Annual Meeting—Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, Texas

September 14 - SDAC Board Meeting - Cedar Shore Resort - Chamberlain - at 3:00 p.m.

September 15 & 16, 2010 - Joint Convention SD Cooperative Managers Association and South Dakota Association of Cooperatives - Cedar Shore Resort - Chamberlain, SD

January 10 & 11, 2011 - Co-op Training - Crossroads Convention & HEC - Huron SD

January 31, 2011 - SDAC Board Meeting & Ag Fest - Ramkota Inn - Pierre SD

March 10 & 11, 2011 - SD Coop Managers Spring Mtg - Ramkota - Sioux Falls SD

March 16 - ABC Conference - Crossroads Convention & HEC - Huron SD