Get Involved with the Governance of Your Cooperative

Sep 17, 2019


With the deadline for delegate and director consideration by a nominating committee quickly approaching, it is important to remember why Agtegra Cooperative relies on its members to serve as directors or delegates within their respective territorial districts.

The Board of Directors is the main governing body of Agtegra, which meets at least once a month. Some functions of the board include hiring and managing the CEO, approving the cooperative’s strategic plan, and allocating capital and patronage. Meanwhile, the Delegate Council is advisory in nature to the board and management teams. Delegates also receive unique opportunities within Agtegra such as insight into company decisions and meeting agricultural leaders.

Agtegra Chief Executive Officer Chris Pearson notes the importance of the opportunity to serve as a director or delegate: “Agtegra is only successful when effectively governed by a strong Board of Directors. The Board helps shape the vision of the cooperative and its directors are the ones who make sure our decisions have the right local implications.”

Members who take the opportunity to serve on Agtegra’s governing body provide irreplaceable insight to the cooperative. As agricultural producers, serving as a director or delegate enables members to provide the guidance and feedback needed to operate effectively to benefit Agtegra’s customers, which includes themselves. Through monthly Board meetings, two Delegate Council meetings per year, feedback through the delegate portal and other customer meetings, Agtegra directors and delegates offer substantial input into Agtegra operations.
“Our directors think differently (in a great way) than a board would if it were not intimately involved in agriculture and were sitting in a big city hundreds of miles from our backyards,” Pearson said.

While time to serve may seem like a drawback to applying for consideration to serve as a delegate or director, Pearson notes how there are few better places for producers to receive insight on the local, national and global events that affect the agriculture industry and their own farming operations: “We discuss global dynamics in agriculture, supply and demand of inputs and commodities, management decisions and philosophies, current events, what the future might look like, tax strategies and many other useful tools. I believe that an investment of time is well worth the opportunity to take this knowledge back to their farming operation and use it to your advantage,” Pearson said.

Member involvement remains important to local communities and the sustenance of cooperatives such as Agtegra. Jeff Vander Wal, an Agtegra delegate from Brentford, SD, notes the importance of how his and other producers’ involvement benefits the future of agriculture in our region: “The cooperative system is an integral part of our rural communities, and we as producers need to be involved to make sure these community fixtures are here for years to come,” Vander Wal said.

The governance of Agtegra Cooperative relies on the decisions of its members to run for director and delegate positions, an opportunity that enables our local producers to make decisions that directly affect them.

“Our members are living in agriculture, and we want to assist them with that. They are the only ones that can truly say whether what we do as a cooperative brings value or not,” Pearson said.

Be a part of the future of Agtegra Cooperative: Get involved in the governance of your cooperative today!

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