Central Valley Cooperative is committed to the communities we serve. Our owners and employees are a part of these communities, and we have every intention of building up our communities and supporting them as much as we can. We budget a portion of our local net earnings each year for donations to help our members, clubs and organizations, and our communities stay healthy and vibrant. We support community celebrations, school youth events, and many fundraisers and charities.
Central Valley Cooperative pays dues to many local chambers and community clubs. We support many agricultural organizations and are also very active in and supportive of our local 4-H and FFA chapters. Each year we participate in many area livestock auctions at county fairs. We sponsor several people to attend a Cooperative Network Youth Leadership Conference.
Our cooperative has also established an Educational Assistance Program, which provides a way for members to tap into their cooperative equity early, to help with college expenses for themselves or members of their families. Applications for this program are available from the office in Owatonna.
Education is one of the basic principles of cooperatives. We take our responsibility of educating our members seriously. Quarterly newsletters are sent to our members, filled with useful and educational information. A Land O’ Lakes Answer Plot and many local seed plots are used for research and educational efforts. Each year, we invite our members to attend our annual meeting for an opportunity to hear what we have been doing and to report our financial results to our members.