NJC Students Attend 2011 College Conference on Cooperatives

Five outstanding young people from Northeastern Junior College joined about 90 students from agricultural states across the Midwest to participate in the College Conference on Cooperatives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsored by the CHS Foundation and hosted by the National Farmers Union Foundation.

The attendees (Ethan Beeman, Pueblo; Brian Best, Longmont; Lauren Mertens, New Raymer, Emily Smith, Lafayette, and Darla Rosenbrock, Brush) were chaperoned by Bill Stevenson, Director of Cooperative Development at Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.
Students attended three days of presentations, visits, and workshops reviewing the many forms of cooperative economy and the challenges facing co-ops today. They toured housing, retail and marketing cooperatives across the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

“Farmers Union is built on a foundation of cooperative enterprise and education,” Stevenson said. “We love helping our young people learn how cooperatives work and how well they work. There’s no better place to do that than the College Conference on Cooperatives and the Twin Cities, a national leader in cooperative development. A terrific time was had by all!”