It pays to be a co-op member

This National Co-op Month, I recognize that many of the cooperatives operating today were established for the benefit of people.

It didn’t take much effort to put together a list of cooperatives we do business with on a daily basis. After all, I’ve been a member of cooperatives since I was a young girl.

My extended family have been members of Northern Plains Electric Cooperative (formerly Tri-County Electric) my entire life. The family farm and my parents’ home are served by this all-important cooperative, and many of my relatives who live in the area are also members.

I have both personal and business accounts at the Community Credit Union. My first banking experience was with Community Credit Union, when we all set up savings accounts in elementary school.

As a rural business owner and community member, I’m focused on supporting as many local businesses as possible, and that means cooperatives are definitely on the list.

My business is a member of Arrowwood Prairie Cooperative, and Dakota Central provides essential telephone and internet service to the Foster County Independent in Carrington.

My family also purchases from CenDak Cooperative in New Rockford on a regular basis, from gas and snacks to pizza and coffee.

If you shop at Do it Best Hardware in New Rockford or Central City Lumber in Carrington, as we do, you may be aware that you are supporting another cooperative. Founded in 1945, Do it Best is the only US-based, member-owned comprehensive and fully integrated hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry.

I remember receiving a surprise check in the mail from a cooperative we belonged to when my husband and I first got married. We lived in Iowa, and we had our propane delivered to us by a cooperative in Ireton, Iowa. About 15 years later, we received around $40 in dividends from that one winter season we purchased propane.

Just last year we received a small dividend from Northern Plains Electric Cooperative. We were members for two years when we lived on a farm northwest of New Rockford.

Yes, as with any business there are changes afoot with the cooperatives in our area, and my hope is that those shifts make them stronger and more resilient as we navigate the challenges that lie ahead.

Two of our largest cooperatives, Fessenden Cooperative Association and CenDak Cooperative, are set to join forces in 2024.

Although the company that operates the bison processing facility in New Rockford is now structured as an LLC, some ranchers still belong to the cooperative that brings animals to the plant for slaughter.

The North Dakota News Cooperative was established a few years ago by leaders in the newspaper industry. The focus is on providing the state’s newspapers with investigative reports about topics that matter to North Dakota. Just last year the board hired its first enterprise journalist, and we’ve published several articles written by Mr. Michael Standaert.

Now there is an effort underway to provide financial and technical support for food businesses in North Dakota. South Central Dakota Regional Council and FARRMS hosted a meeting in Jamestown as we were sending this newspaper to press.

According to their press release, the goal is to support smaller, more resilient farm and food practices and strengthen local food businesses, specifically focusing on the development of critical infrastructure for small and mid-size livestock processing, fruit and vegetable processing and warehouse space and storage operations.

A similar meeting is set for October 26 from 4-6:30 p.m. at the Ramsey County Armory meeting room in Devils Lake (417 5th St NE). This meeting is led by the North Central Regional Council and FARRMS. Anyone involved in producing, processing, aggregating, distributing or marketing local food in Benson, Cavalier, Eddy, Ramsey, Rolette and Towner county is encouraged to attend. Please RSVP by October 20 at https://bit.ly/R3CommunityMeeting.

I personally would love to see more local food businesses in our area, and hopefully the cooperative model will come into play as they are established. I enjoy purchasing food directly from local farmers now and would most certainly support locally-owned and operated food cooperatives.

The cooperative model is alive here in rural America, and it’s effective. Cooperatives are among some of the longest-operating businesses in our communities. Although they too have consolidated to remain competitive, cooperatives still account for a large percentage of the local economy. This month we celebrate and recognize the cooperatives that help make our communities thrive.

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Shout out to the Rockets this week – both our volleyball and football teams are ranked among the top teams in the state.

The brand-new New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock Rockets football co-op is 7-0 and earned the Region 2 championship this past week. They will get home field advantage for most of the playoffs, the first of which is set for Saturday, Oct. 21. Sports writer Erik Gjovik predicts that they will play Hankinson in the first round. The most recent poll, released Wednesday, puts the Rockets in the No. 3 position among 9-man teams in the state.

The Rockets volleyball team hosted North Star on the night the most recent polls came out. NR-S was ranked No. 7, and North Star No. 8. The Rockets came out on top with a 3-0 sweep that night. Now we have the biggest competition yet in Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich, ranked No. 2 in the state.

Carrington was set to play Langdon Friday for their region title in Class A 11-man football action.

The Cardinal netters are in a tough region, with No. 9 ranked Linton/HMB and Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier, who also received votes. Medina-Pingree/Buchanan and LaMoure also have a shot at the Region 3 title.