Tony Rossman says the cooperative system is essential to the success of his southern Minnesota grain and livestock farm. He doesn’t have the ability to ship soybeans from his Oronoco, Minn., farm around the world, but his local co-op does.
ÐÓ°Épro based in Rochester, Minn., is part of the extensive ÐÓ°Épro end-to-end supply chain – a benefit, Rossman says, that adds value to his operation.
“From a high level, having the opportunity to be aligned with a co-op system and being part of something greater is really important to us,” he continues. “We have the opportunity to have strength in numbers and in our purchasing power, and also when we're marketing our grains, being aligned with a supply system and with all the opportunities for reaching customers and having a better opportunity to market our grains, both domestically and on the international level.”
Rossman is a member of the ÐÓ°Épro Board of Directors. It’s a role he says entails listening to and understanding the concerns and needs of ÐÓ°Épro members.
“We have to understand not only where we're at right now in this system, but what we need to do to make the system more relevant long term,” Rossman says. “Every decision we make has to be a win for the farmer. We've got to be able to drive those opportunities – those profits – back to our owner-members and make sure this co-op system is in a better place than the way we found it.”
He believes the future is bright for cooperatives. ÐÓ°Épro is strategically investing in grain origination, export and other facilities in the U.S. and around the globe to ensure it remains a competitive year-round grain supplier to preserve market access for owners.
These investments are crucial as farmer and cooperative owners build their operations to make sure the next generation has an opportunity, Rossman contends.
“When you think about the investments that the cooperative system puts back into the local communities, we're making them more resilient,” he adds. “We're creating jobs … and the local economy wins from that investment. That's what we really appreciate about the system; it's a lift for the local communities in the rural areas.”
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