While
the program will be coordinated in Tennessee by the Center
for Profitable Agriculture it will be lead through a unique
collaboration with the Kentucky Center for Cooperative Development
(KCCD). "Through KCCD's leadership and direction, we
have entered into a fifteen-month pilot project," Wheeler
said.
The program
was recently launched in the state when two cooperative development
Specialists with the KCCD were in Tennessee to conduct a special
segment of in-service training for County Extension Agents
in West Tennessee. "Our next step will be to identify
a coordinator to provide the needed planning and development
of the program," Wheeler added.
As part
of the new program, the CPA will identify and select two farmer
groups that are poised for mutual benefits through some type
of cooperative effort. These groups will participate in organized
strategy sessions to assist in the development of a cooperative
effort. In addition, two mini-conferences devoted to improving
the understanding of cooperative forms of business organization
will be conducted and a web site will be devolved as a central
location for Tennessee's cooperative development resources.
Wheeler
and Larry Snell, Director of KCCD, recently met in Nashville
to formalize the agreement between the two state programs.
"Our efforts in the Center for Profitable Agriculture
have been largely aimed at evaluating value-added ag. enterprises
while the primary efforts of the KCCD have been in developing
farmer cooperatives." "This project will allow us
to learn from their experiences so we can better address cooperative
ventures in Tennessee." “We look forward to collaborating
with the CPA and working with cooperating farmers in Tennessee,”
Snell added.
“At
the end of the pilot program, we will have identified a coordinator
for cooperative education and outreach, conducted three training
programs, worked one-on-one with two producer groups, developed
web-based resources and developed educational materials relative
to cooperative business organiztion,” Wheeler said.
