benefit from it. But the model is defined by more than ownership and control. Cooperatives exist to improve producer outcomes by putting them at the core of their purpose. Which brings us back to the opening question. The pressures that defined agriculture and the experiences and choices of producers in the early 1900s still define it today, only now at a different scale with arguably higher stakes. If the fundamental challenges facing producers have not materially changed, then neither has the relevance of the cooperative model. The
conditions that led almond growers to organize in 1910 – and that were formally recognized in 1922 with passage of Capper-Volstead – are still with us. The collective decisions made today by growers will shape whether and how they continue to invest in their shared future: strengthening their position in the value chain and ensuring that the value they create continues to return to their farms, their families, and their communities for generations to come. Happy birthday, Blue Diamond Growers , and wishes for a successful next 100 years!
Dr. Keri L. Jacobs is Executive Director of the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership (GICL), associate professor of agricultural and applied economics, and Partridge Chair in Cooperative Leadership at the University of Missouri. She works with cooperative CEOs, management teams, and boards across the agricultural sector on governance, financial oversight, and the board’s role in strategy development. Through GICL, she designs and facilitates director and leadership development programs and regularly engages with cooperative boards on complex organizational issues. Her research and outreach are grounded in sustained collaboration with cooperatives and industry partners and focus on how collective action and cooperative structures can strengthen producers’ position within agricultural supply chains. Dr. Jacobs serves on the NCBA CLUSA Cooperative Economics Council and the Nationwide Board Council and is North Central Director for the Extension Section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Raised on her family’s hog and row-crop farm in eastern Iowa, she holds a B.A. in economics from Coe College and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from North Carolina State University.
Dr. Keri Jacobs, Executive Director,
Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership, and Partridge Chair in Cooperative Leadership, University of Missouri
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