NCTA Aggies join cooperatives tour

Feb. 25, 2019

By Mary Crawford, NCTA News

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Four students from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Neb., recently attended the College Conference on Cooperatives in Minneapolis.

“It was very interesting and opened my eyes to the different types of cooperatives they have in Minnesota,” said Huntra Christensen of Lincoln.

"There were different types of coops such as senior citizen living, dormitories, grocery stores, flour mills and more,” said the equine industry management and agribusiness management major.

“Overall, it was great to talk to students from other states about their coops and how they operate,” she added.

The four Aggies joined 10 other Nebraskans at the CCOC events on February 14-17, said Jeremy Sievers, NCTA associate professor of Agribusiness Management Systems.

The National Farmers Union hosted 70 students from colleges and universities in 10 states including the Nebraskans from the Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis and Northeast Community College in Norfolk.

The three-day conference provided an interactive learning experience regarding the importance, structure and operations of various types of cooperative groups.

“It was a pretty interesting experience,” said Lennae Eisenmenger of Humphrey, also an equine industry management major.

“I didn’t realize that cooperatives don’t always mean agriculture.  A cooperative could be a living facility, or an all-natural grocery store, or REI, the large retail store for outdoor wear and supplies.”

The Minneapolis-area tour included REI and two different housing cooperatives, one for college students and the other for the elderly.

Students also toured the Mill City Museum, which is a river-front center built into the remains of what was once the world's largest flour mill.

“We find that the College Conference on Cooperatives has been valuable for exposing our students to various management strategies and business careers, as well as teaching them concepts for their future as agricultural producers and consumers,” Sievers said.

The conference was the ninth for Sievers as NCTA faculty sponsor. Camdyn Kavan of Nebraska Farmers Union based in Lincoln led the Nebraska delegation.

Nebraska’s colleges received grant support from the Cenex Harvest States and NFU Foundations.

NCTA’s agribusiness program is one of four majors for the open-enrollment, two-year institution. For more information, see ncta.unl.edu or call 1-800-3-CURTIS.