ORGANICS

Saturday marked the 13th Annual Investor reception for CROPP(Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool). With an attendance  a 100 more than last year, we started the shareholders meeting outside followed by lunch inside before two possible tours.  

Chief Mission Officer

As always it was fascinating to hear about new products and recent endeavors including solar production, organic Fall tours and donations to the Flood Relief to La Farge,  Cashton,Viola, Readstown, Cheaseburg, Ontario, Viroqua and Coon Valley with 27,000 pounds of product besides being a sponsor for the Flood Relief Benefit Concert and other national and international disaster areas.

A couple new scholarships for professional development were created in memory of Louise Hemstead, a long time devoted  employee. 

Siemon

George Seamon, the C E ee I O, as he refers to himself,  shared the challenging market times with skim milk consumption going down and high fat products going up. Commitment to CROPP's organic farmers remains high on priorities.

Solutions include the introduction of a dozen+ new products besides a new credit contract and also opening up a 4% stock investment. 

Delayed production in the Conversion and Labeling Facility was due to the European state of the art cheese shredder and trimmer arriving 6 months late. It is now operational.

  Poremba,Chief Financial Officer
 explains the numbers

After a couple years of eggs being down ie private labels being low priced, this year with $63 million sales, the egg sales will break even. There's new packaging to compete with low price privatized label organic eggs...

Roger Peters

We also heard about one of CROPP's many farm families. This year  Roger Peters shared his family's involvement in organic farming with cows, (dairy and meat), pigs and chickens. Peters also serves on the Board of Directors... 


Although Siemon will be retiring soon his vision is to leave the 30 year business now as dynamic, capable and flexible with sustainability being key to its mission.  What a history our region has played in organic farming and food production!

*Stay tuned as I'll share the awesome tour to Organic Valley's Cashton Distribution Facility next...

Got Millk? Got Veggies? Got Meat? Got Organic?

Some of you have asked me how Natureman ended up here in the End of the Rainbow Valley in the late 70's and the answer quite simply is he was part of the 'Back to the Land Movement' who lived off the grid growing their own food, learning as they went becoming market gardeners living off the land. Many become carpenters and artists to make a living. He was approached by one of his friends if he would like to join an organic produce cooperative with other friends called CROPP (Coulee Region Organic Produce Pools).
  

Siemon-Organic Valley CEO 

One could say fate had another path for Natureman as he opted not to join this local endeavor. The cooperative continued to grow and expand into dairy using the now very well known brand name OrganicValley. Financially, quite a change for some of its founders like CEO George Siemon who addressed a gymnasium full of investors last Saturday at Organic Valley's 10th Annual Investor's reception in La Farge WI.

Today CROPP's (now Coulee Region Organic Producer Pools) mission continues and has grown "to promote regional farm diversity and economic stability by implementing organic methods in selling certified organic products in a marketing cooperative. " 

The initial group of farmers has grown to 1800 nationwide with over 800 employees and 37 interns. 

We heard about the 3 year strategic planning and also the changing economics of dairy dealing with the price of land, farm succession and organic transition premiums. 

Organic Valley is doing very well by the 2014 Highlights.

CROPP'S long term stability is good for its farmers as it is a known brand with a diverse use of the milk, a diverse customer base, a board made up of farmers as the ultimate decision makers and most important of all, transparency. Fuel costs have been lower this year, there's an improved product mix and product price increases.

Organic Valley has expanded into Missouri for both dairy and egg as well as Colorado, a Dairy Pool in Colorado along with development in northern KY, southern OH, West Va, western Pa and NY, Amtrak through the Rockies, some Idaho/Utah farms, Teton NP cruise and a 12,000 conventional dairy. 

Those present sampled new Organic Valley products and had  a scrumptious local organic lunch followed by a farm tour for those interested. 

It makes me super proud to live in the Coulee where organic food is not only respected and bought from small scale family run farms but has reached not only a national market but an international one as well.

WTG Organic Valley for showing the country what needed to happen in our nation's growing practices for our health and for sponsoring local growers.

*For those interested here's Organic Valley's website:Organic Valley

*Power Point photos from Organic Valley investor's Reception