|
ValAdCo
|
Renville, Minnesota
Curt Watson, Chairman
ValAdCo is a farmer-owned cooperative organized and incorporated in
1991. The cooperative operates four hog-breeding farms in Renville
County, where they produce genetically superior breeding stock for
resale to hog producers. The primary purpose of ValAdCo is to add value
to shareholder corn. Profits are distributed as value added payments in
proportion to the bushels of corn delivered by the member to the pool. |
A closer look... |
|
Renville County is in the heart of the corn, soybean, and sugar beet
production area of southern Minnesota. The cost of transportation has
influenced the competitive standing of farmers who raise crops on some
of the most productive land in the country. The Mississippi River barge
terminals and Twin Cities mills are a hundred miles away. Railways are
an expensive and often unreliable alternative. These farmers pay close
attention when there is talk of increasing the value of their corn and
reducing the costs of transportation. |
Brenda Stefanson
introduces ValAdCo
|
|
The members of the cooperative are producers who view the organization
as an investment that adds value to their corn in two ways. The
cooperative farms use some of their corn as livestock feed, but the
main impact is in increasing the availability of breeding stock for
area hog producers. By helping to keep hog production in Renville
County more viable, a much higher percentage of the corn raised there
is used locally.
ValAdCo has approximately one hundred members and twenty-two full-time employees. |
