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Editor's note: This article provided courtesy Aurora Cooperative.
It all began when 25 individuals wanted to change the price they were paid for grain. It didn't seem right to them that prices at the terminal market were considerably better than the prices paid to local farmers.
This group of 25 knew that if they wanted to change the price they received for grain, they would have to change how it was marketed. The best way to do that: form a cooperative.
That is exactly what they did, and on Feb. 15, 1908, the Aurora Elevator Company, known today as the Aurora Cooperative Elevator Company, was incorporated in Aurora, Neb.
"Cooperatives were following a new set of ideals in the early 1900s and were rising in popularity," says George Hohwieler, Aurora Cooperative's current president and CEO. "That by no means ensured success. The cooperative's pioneers worked tirelessly and recognized that they would have to continuously adapt if they were to succeed into the future."
Within weeks of forming, the company had raised $9,800 and, in August 1908, a 31,000-bushel, wood-cribbed elevator had changed the Aurora skyline. By the end of that first year, the company handled 128,721 bushels of grain - much of which was wheat. Accounts receivable stood at $3. It was a good first year.
Co-op grows to 43 locations
"That early success brought farmers from a nearby community who wanted to join, giving the company two locations by 1910," Hohwieler says. "The next growth outside these communities didn't occur until 1969. Then, in the 1980s, mergers and acquisitions came more frequently.
"As we celebrate our 100th anniversary this year, we serve members and patrons in 43 locations across Nebraska and into Kansas."
In its 100th annual report, the cooperative reports record 2007 sales and income of $475 million and net earnings of $23.5 million. It also approved $12 million in patronage refunds, of which $5.6 million was in cash payments to members...