Co-ops Approve Unification Vote

The Boards of Directors for North Central Farmers Elevator (NCFE) and Wheat Growers have decided to proceed to a vote of the membership to unify the two cooperatives. Both boards voted affirmatively to sign a Unification Agreement that would unify the two cooperatives, subject to a vote of the memberships of both cooperatives.

NCFE董事会主席里克·奥斯特（Rick Osterday）表示：“对我们的成员的价值是推动董事会决定统一两个合作社的努力的决定。”“成员告诉我们，统一将帮助我们在看到该地区大量竞争者成长的时候能够更好地竞争。这将有助于确保我们的企业坚强，会员的股权安全，并完好无损。”

Osterday said the decisions to take the unification opportunity to a vote of the memberships was made after considering member feedback and re-examining findings from a thorough analysis of both cooperatives that was conducted two years ago. The unification proposal now will be considered by the memberships of both cooperatives.

“Many benefits we’ve identified are extremely timely given the aggressive positioning of competitors and continued market uncertainty,” said Hal Clemensen, Wheat Growers Board President. “By combining both cooperatives, we can realize significant savings, economies of size and scale, efficiencies in operations, adoption of new technologies, and an ability to continue to attract talent – all to better serve our members."

A series of member information meetings will be held throughout the region beginning Aug. 21. Ballots will be mailed to members of NCFE and Wheat Growers on Aug. 29. Details regarding member information meetings, ballots, and how and when members can vote will be provided to members over the next few weeks. To learn more, visit www.ncfe.coop or www.wheatgrowers.com.