All in it Together: Co-op Employees are Here to Serve

By September 11, 2019Co-op Advantage
co-op employees here to serve

From sunup to sundown, a farmer’s job is never done. Year in and year out, a farmer and his family know their lives depend upon so many unknowns. It takes a special breed to till the land, plant, harvest, gin and market.

Then plan, prepare and start all over again.

For grower-owners who have invested in local and regional co-ops, there’s knowledge you are never alone.

An investment in local and regional co-ops is not only an investment in your future, but also in service to your farming business every step of the way.

Every producer knows the many risks of the farming industry. So much of a farmer’s business is out of his control – from weather to markets and trade policy to everything in between.

That’s precisely why agricultural co-ops were developed by farmers and for farmers more than a century ago. The mindset of co-op employees today reflects the initial dedication, passion and focus to work for grower-owners at every level of the supply chain.

Charley Triplett, Vice President of Member Services for Co-op Advantage ®️ regional co-sponsor Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, said it all begins with trust.

“We’re here for only one reason, and that’s our grower owners,” he said. “We could not be who we are today were it not for the trust they have in us to put their livelihood in our hands.”

Farmers Cooperative Compress and their team echo Triplett’s comments.

“Trust is what real ownership is all about,” said Eric Wanjura, Vice President of Administration for FCC. “By providing the best service, we earn our members’ trust, and that makes us push the hardest we can to also provide the best in timeliness.”

Talk to just about any co-op employee and their service-minded focus is contagious. From added value, to offering sustainability, adapting to producers’ needs, expanding to meet their goals, and the list goes on.

No matter the need, local and regional co-ops listen to their grower-owners. Making personal visits in the field to answer questions and gather farmers’ needs and feedback to enhance its software services is just one of the ways PCCA demonstrates how the mindset of co-op employees is always service-driven.

“Practically every feature of our technology systems came as a result of listening to our grower-owners and their gins,” added Triplett. “If a potential feature helps them gain efficiencies, we try our best to make it happen.”

Continuous improvement is a common goal among cotton cooperatives. Incremental improvements each year add to the overall value producers receive from their investments.

“This is why the co-op system works,” Wanjura said. “We’re all in this together. A producer’s job is never finished, but the service provided by local and regional co-ops allow grower-owners to have a voice in the best service for their crop year in and year out. It’s our job to listen, adapt and respond to those collective voices so that sustainability is achieved across the supply chain, and dividends are allotted to assist through the years.”

All in it together. That is the special characteristic of people across the agricultural industry. It bleeds into the mindset of the local and regional co-op employees who work for their trusting grower-owners every single day.

That is The Co-op Advantage.

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