The Ralph K. Morris Foundation is pleased to announce that its 20th Anniversary Tom Lyon Family Leadership Symposium was a special feature of Cooperative Network's annual meeting at 10:00 AM on November 15, 2023 at the Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester, Minnesota.
The program featured keynote speaker Jeff Lakner of Lakner Farms LLC. Jeff Lakner’s career as a South Dakota farmer/rancher, ag lender, and board member of some of the largest ag cooperatives in the United States has provided a multi-faceted look at the entire food value chain. He’s experienced how a holistic approach to livestock and cropping systems, soil health, and water management is needed now more than ever. “No one system is right for all producers and stakeholders,” Jeff noted, “but by taking an end-to-end view, we can move closer to societal goals.”
“Jeff’s keynote invited attendees to ‘think big’ about innovative approaches to some of the most vexing challenges of our times,” said Morris Foundation President William Nelson.
The Foundation also announced the 2023 recipients of The Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies Scholarship, which provides funding to graduate students studying agricultural cooperatives. Support of cooperative education is a key part of the Morris Foundation’s mission, along with land and water stewardship.
The annual Leadership Symposium was the foundation’s 20th. Since its renaming in 2021, the Tom Lyon Family Leadership Symposium honors the family of the late Tom Lyon, who was a dedicated agribusiness, cooperative, and farmland preservation leader in Wisconsin and across the country. Previous leaders who’ve addressed the symposium include Sheryl Meshke, President/CEO of AMPI, John Piotti, Executive Director of American Farmland Trust, former USDA Agriculture Secretary Bob Bergland, and Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The Ralph K. Morris Foundation was established in 2001 to carry on the legacy of cooperative leader and attorney Ralph Morris. The foundation provides development opportunities for emerging leaders expressing interest in applying and advancing the principles of cooperation, and in promoting farmland preservation, land stewardship, and sustainability. Gifts are deductible for federal income tax purposes as charitable contributions. For more information visit www.ralphkmorrisfoundation.org.
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