Members Elect Three Directors

/in

GGC members elected three directors at the 2024 Golden Growers Annual Meeting.

For the North District, members re-elected Blane Benedict of Sabin, ND. For the South District, members re-elected Larry Vipond of Herman, MN.

And for the At-Large Director position, Mark Harless was elected to replace Scott Jetvig who chose not to seek re-election.

Chairman Brett Johnson expressed his sincere thank you to retiring board member Scott Jetvig who served since 2015. Scott most recently served as Treasurer and was a member of the Finance and Audit and Strategic Planning Committees.

Note: At the 2025 Annual Meeting, two Directors will be term limited. Chairman Brett Johnson and Secretary Matthew Hasbargen will not be eligible to run for re-election. Therefore, there will be open director positions in the Central District and for an At-Large Director. In addition, an election will be held for a director in the North District currently held by David Kragnes.

Audited Annual Report Available

/in

For 2023, Golden Growers did not mail out our audited financial statements with the annual meeting announcement. This was done because we were unlikely to obtain an audit report from Widmer Roel, P.C. (our auditor) in time to send it with our notice of annual meeting.

Instead, our 2023 audited financial statements are available on the Golden Growers Website.

2023 Annual Report: Due Diligence – Examining Possibilities & Probabilities

Please take the time to review our annual report at your convenience.

PLEASE ATTEND – GGC Annual Meeting

/in

PLEASE ATTEND the Golden Growers ANNUAL MEETING, Thursday, March 21st
DoubleTree Conference Center, 825 E. Beaton Drive, West Fargo, ND

The Agenda Includes:
9:00 a.m. Short Courses
* John Ault, Eide Bailly Cybersecurity Consultant – Cybersecurity and YOU
* Pat Pithey, Cargill Corn Merchandising
10:00 a.m. Annual Meeting:
* 2024 Election Results
* Review of the Financial Statements
* Reports by the Chairman and Executive Vice President

10:45 a.m. Guest Speaker Mikkel Pates, Retired Agricultural Reporter (Agweek/Forum)
11:45 a.m. Lunch followed by our members only Q&A session

Golden Growers is pleased to announce Mikkel Pates as our annual meeting guest speaker.

Mr. Pates is a well known agricultural journalist who has worked in our region covering major agricultural developments for over four decades.

Thirty years ago, Mr. Pates covered the creation of Golden Growers and ProGold LLC for the Forum.

We’ve asked Mikkel to provide a retrospective on his journalism career and regale us with some of his most interesting experiences.

Golden Grower Director Elections

/in

Three Director Positions will be Elected/Re-Elected in conjunction with the March 21st Annual Meeting
Along with the notice of Annual Meeting, members have the opportunity to re-elect and elect Directors to serve on the GGC Board of Directors. Directors MUST be nominated by petition and all votes will be by mail.

Current directors up for re-election for 3-year terms are: Blane Benedict, Sabin, MN (North District) and Larry Vipond, Herman, MN (South District). Scott Jetvig, Hawley, MN (At-Large Director) has decided not to seek reelection. We are thankful for Scott’s service and dedication to Golden Growers Cooperative. Therefore, a three-year term At-Large Director position is an open seat on the Board.

Mark Harless has submitted a petition as a candidate for the At-Large Director position being vacated by Scott Jetvig.

For more information, visit www.goldengrowers.com or contact Scott Stofferahn, 701-281-0468 or scotts@goldengrowers.com.

Scott Jetvig, At-Large Director, will not seek reelection

/in

Scott Jetvig of Hawley, MN has announced that he will not seek reelection to the Golden Growers Board of Directors. Jetvig was first elected in March of 2014 as a director from the NE District. After bylaw changes that reduced the Board to 9 members, Jetvig was selected to serve as an At-Large member.

Jetvig is a valued member of the Board who serves on the Executive Committee as 2nd Vice Chair, Finance & Audit Committee, and the Personnel & Compensation Committee. We thank Scott for his service.

Three Director Positions will be Elected/Re-Elected in conjunction with the March 21st Annual Meeting
Along with the notice of Annual Meeting, members have the opportunity to re-elect and elect Directors to serve on the GGC Board of Directors. Directors MUST be nominated by petition and all votes will be by mail.

Current directors up for re-election for 3-year terms are: Blane Benedict, Sabin, MN (North District) and Larry Vipond, Herman, MN (South District). Scott Jetvig, Hawley, MN (At-Large Director) has decided not to seek re-election, therefore, a three-year term At-Large Director position is an open seat on the Board.

Any member in good standing is eligible to be nominated. Candidates for a District director position, must be from that district. Candidates for an At-Large director position may be from any district. If interested, you must file a petition with signatures of at least 10 members from your district for District Directors positions or 10 members from any district for the At-Large Director position no later than February 19th as required by our bylaws. For more information, visit www.goldengrowers.com or contact Scott Stofferahn, 701-281-0468 or scotts@goldengrowers.com.

SAVE THE DATE: GGC Annual Meeting Set for THURSDAY, MARCH 21st

/in

Golden Growers Cooperative will hold its Annual Members Meeting on Thursday, March 21st at the Doubletree Conference Center, 825 E Beaton Drive, West Fargo, ND. Members will have the opportunity to elect Directors to serve on the Golden Growers Board. Current directors up for re-election for 3-year terms are: Scott Jetvig, Hawley, MN (At-Large Director); Larry Vipond, Herman, MN (South District); and Blane Benedict, Sabin, MN (North District)

Any member in good standing is eligible to be nominated as an At-Large Director or as a Director in the district where the member is registered. If you are interested and want more information about district elections, visit our website at www.goldengrowers.com or contact us at 701-281-0468 or scotts@goldengrowers.com.

Annual Meeting Notice, Ballot & Report – Changes for 2024

/in

Because the 2024 Annual meeting is earlier than usual in March, it will be difficult to timely mail out the Annual Meeting Notice with election materials and the Annual Report at the same time. As a result, we intend to mail out an ‘Annual Meeting and Election Booklet’ that will contain the Annual Meeting Notice, Minutes from the 2023 Annual Meeting; a Message from our Chairman, Brett Johnson, Director Candidate Biographies, and the Election Ballot. In addition, we will include 2023 financial highlights and identify where the detailed Annual Report can be found on the Golden Growers website as soon as the audit report becomes available. This change will assure that members will receive their election ballot in time to return it before the annual meeting.

FERC Approves Wahpeton Natural Gas Pipeline

/in

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Approves Wahpeton Natural Gas Pipeline
On October 20th, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the WBI Energy Eastern ND pipeline from Mapleton to Kindred and Wahpeton. FERC’s approval authorizes WBI Energy to construct 60 miles of 12-inch natural gas pipeline from a Mapleton, ND to Wahpeton, ND as well as extending service to Kindred, ND.

According to WBI Energy, the expansion will provide an additional 20 million cubic feet of natural gas capacity per day and is expected to cost around $75 million.

Wahpeton Mayor Brett Lambrecht thanked several people for their advocacy on behalf of the project. Specifically, he identified the assistance of Senator John Hoeven and ND District 25 Representative Alisa Mitskog.

When complete, this significant natural gas project will provide a dependable supply of natural gas for existing customers AND allow for future industrial expansion in the area.

Construction is anticipated to begin this spring with pipeline service to begin in late 2024.

2024 Incentive Payments and Agency Fees

/in

For calendar year 2024, Golden Growers will pay $0.05 for Method A bushels delivered directly to the plant and will charge $0.02 for Method B bushels the Cooperative secures and delivers on a member’s behalf.

At $0.05/bushel, the Method A incentive for 2024 is a reduction from 2023 when the Board authorized an incentive payment of $0.10/bushel. The 2023 increase was to avoid dropping below the 25% threshold for Method A pool participation. Falling below the 25% threshold would have resulted in greater income being allocated to the Method A pool compared to the Method B pool.

The board believed that the $200,000 cost for increasing the Method A incentive payment in 2023 was a better option than potentially greater cost associated with the complex task of tracking uneven allocated income.

At our 2023 Annual meeting, members approved a bylaw change reducing the Method A delivery requirement to 15%. This bylaw change removed the concern of uneven allocated income between the Method A and Method B pools for the forseeable future. As a result, the Board has returned to a $0.05/bushel Method A incentive payment for 2023.

2024 ADA Pool Election Decision
Each year, Members have the opportunity to change their method of delivery by submitting a revised Annual Delivery Agreement (ADA). This is your only opportunity to change your method of delivery for the coming year.

You should have already received your Annual Delivery Election letter with the ADA form on the back page. If you intend to change your delivery method, return the form no later than December 10th.

Only members intending to change their delivery method need to respond. Members who deliver directly to the plant through the Method A pool have a $0.07/bushel advantage over members participating in the Method B pool.
In 2023, 27.5% of bushels are to be delivered directly to the plant through the Method A pool.

Method A Delivery Options to Consider
Method A Pool participants are permitted to complete their annual delivery requirements through ‘affiliated persons’. In these circumstances, Cargill may write the check for corn directly to the affiliated person.

Affiliated persons include producers who: 1) have a familial relationship to the Member; 2) Own or Control 50% or has management rights over the Member; 3) Shares farming resources with the Member; 4) Are an entity in which 50% ownership is by an immediate family member(s) of the Member; and 5) Rents land from the Member on which the crop is produced (Tenant).

GGC Board Approves Distribution of $0.14/bushel

/in


On September 14th, the Golden Growers Board of Directors approved a distribution of $2,168,667 or $0.14/Unit to members of record as of October 1, 2023. This distribution retires remaining allocated income for 2021 and a portion of allocated income for 2022. In combination with the February and June distributions, a total of $6,815,811 has been issued to members in 2023.

As you are aware, as of March 1, 2022, Golden Growers Cooperative and Cargill are 50/50 owners of ProGold LLC and a new operating agreement was established. In addition, the lease agreement between ProGold and Cargill was amended to extend through calendar year 2026. The Board’s distribution determination is based on anticipated lease agreement revenue and potential capital investment requirements for Golden Growers should a long-term joint venture be established between Cargill and Golden Growers.GGC.)

With this payment, Golden Growers has issued payments to members totaling $135,295,007 or 251% of original investment in the ProGold plant.