Arthur Capper Cooperative Center

Updated Agenda for the 2026 Leadership Symposium!
Topic: Country Elevator Applications of CME Grain Sorghum Basis Futures Contract

On August 24, the CME will launch a grain sorghum basis futures contract. The purpose of this contract is to provide an instrument that can hedge the price difference between sorghum and corn. Dan O’Brien and Guy Allen at Kansas State University have conducted research to assess ‘why’ this new contract is needed and the implications of this new contract for the Kansas country elevator system. Given this is a relevant topic for the Kansas cooperative community, the Leadership Symposium on Cooperative Issues will now include a presentation on this topic during lunch on Tuesday, August 18th from 12:15 pm to 1:15 pm.

Register today! https://accc.k-state.edu/LeadershipSymposiumRegistrationForm.html

Kansas Cooperative Council
Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics

A new grain marketing tool is coming and now is the time to learn how it could impact your operation.

Join K-State Agricultural Economics for a free educational session on August 11 in Great Bend exploring the new CME Grain Sorghum Basis Futures contract and its applications for country elevators.

This session will cover:
✅ How the contract works
✅ Merchandising opportunities
✅ Basis risk management
✅ Live Q&A with K-State experts

If you work in a country elevator, cooperative, or grain merchandising, you won't want to miss this discussion.

📅 Register here: https://bit.ly/4fv41cX

Looking forward to learning together on August 17-18, 2026 and hope you join us at the 2026 Leadership Symposium for Cooperatives! Sign up today!

Kansas Cooperative Council
Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics

⚠ Only 5 days left to register!

If you haven’t signed up for the Leadership Symposium for Cooperatives, now is the time. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and grow with leaders in the cooperative industry!

https://accc.k-state.edu/LeadershipSymposiumRegistrationForm.html

Arthur Capper Cooperative Center

Check out the agenda for this year's Leadership Symposium! You don't want to miss it. Register today: https://accc.k-state.edu/LeadershipSymposiumRegistrationForm.html

Kansas Cooperative Council
Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics

We've had some great student assistants over the years, and one of our favorite things is catching up and seeing where their careers and lives have taken them.

This week, we had the opportunity to visit with Lindy McMillan, Vice President of Grain at Garden City Co-op, during our Building a Cooperative Finance Foundation training program. Earlier this spring, we enjoyed seeing Piper Schlatter, Regional Agribusiness Credit Analyst at CoBank, at the CoBank Customer Meeting.

It was great to reconnect with both Lindy and Piper and we look forward to the next time we get to see you both!

Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics
Garden City Co-op Inc.
CoBank

Cooperative education strengthens cooperatives.

Our Building A Cooperative Finance Foundation participants are building their understanding of cooperative finance by exploring financial statements, key performance measures, capital structure, patronage, and the financial decisions that support long-term success.

Investing in employee development strengthens individual cooperatives and the cooperative system as a whole. We are grateful for the support of cooperative education!



Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics
CoBank

We can't wait to see you in August!! Register today!

Kansas Cooperative Council

If you haven’t signed up for the 2026 Leadership Symposium for Cooperatives, now is the time. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and grow with leaders in the cooperative industry!

https://accc.k-state.edu/LeadershipSymposiumRegistrationForm.html

Arthur Capper Cooperative Center

We can't wait to see you at the Leadership Symposium for Cooperatives!!

Kansas Cooperative Council
Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics

Leadership Symposium for Cooperatives

📅August 17-18. 2026
All events will be held at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan, KS.

Register Online Now: https://accc.k-state.edu/LeadershipSymposiumRegistrationForm.html

Fantastic morning teaching tomorrow’s agricultural leaders about the benefits of the cooperative business model at the Next Gen Conference: Agribusiness Systems hosted by the National FFA Organization. Russell Plaschka with the Kansas Cooperative Council, Tera Stoddard with CHS Inc, and Brian Briggeman with the ACCC demonstrated how the cooperative model can create value for farmers through a fun, interactive co-op spraying game. The student participants discover through cooperation they can “spray” more “fields” or, in the game paint more paper, which drives down costs for cooperative members. Thank you to CHS Inc. for the initial funding to create this co-op game.

Congratulations to ACCC Managing Director, Seleise Barrett, on 25 years of service to the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center, Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics!