The cooperative. You see them in your own communities, everything from grocery stores to grain elevators to rural power companies. They are everywhere. And they are the exception, not the rule. They are unique in the sense -- it's a business model owned and guided by members and at the benefit of members.
Land O’Lakes remains a cooperative after nearly 100 years since its founding -- we're proud of that. Farmers still help make decisions about the direction of the company and hold leadership accountable. That model also presents a unique advantage. In our WinField United business -- a company that makes sure millions of acres of crops have the best possible outputs -- the cooperative is our strength.
Join host Kim Olson along with President of Winfield United and Executive Vice President of Land O’Lakes, Inc. Brett Bruggeman for the latest episode of Something Greater.

Here are some excerpts from episode six:

Bruggeman: “We talk about stretching every acre, making sure every acre -- whether it’s a kernel of corn or gallon or product, how do we get the most of out of that acre. When we talk about advancing agriculture intelligently, we’re talking about reducing input dollars per bushel, or increasing the predictably on yields.”
Bruggeman: “We have more than one thousand locally owned and operated retailers. They are entrepreneurs, that’s who they are. In reverse ownership, our cooperative model -- instead of Land O’Lakes owning retail, retail owns us. That’s what I mean when I say reverse ownership. It’s part of what makes our network so strong.”
The podcast is available in the member Connections newsletter. You’ll also be able to subscribe through iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever podcasts are available -- subscribe and rate each episode. 

In case you missed it, check out previous episodes of Something Greater:

Episode one: Legislative Advocacy
Episode two: Member Engagement
Episode three: All Together Better and marketing the cooperative 
Episode four: Ag Tech and e-business
Bonus episode: Land O’Lakes, our co-op soul
Episode five: How we measure sustainability: What it looks like on farm