Community - The News-Herald

Board and management leaders from local farm supply operations heard reports on Southern States Cooperative’s fiscal year financial results at a conference held Dec. 13 at Bardstown. Attending from Owenton were John Layton and J.T. Olds.
According to reports presented by Thomas R. Scribner, Southern States’ president and CEO, and Leslie Newton, executive vice-president and CFO, the cooperative:
• Had sales in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, of $1.592 billion, compared with the previous year’s total of $1,438 billion.
• Posted earnings of $6.36 million, compared with a loss of $7.67 million a year ago.
• Has continued an effort to ensure the products and services offered at its retail locations are tailored to the needs of the population around them. Urban growth and the movement of families to areas where they can enjoy a rural lifestyle have changed the customer base of many operations in recent years, Scribner noted.
• Has continued to lower funded debt despite business challenges posed by weather and volatile prices of petroleum products and fertilizer.
Conference guest speaker was Dr. Terry Barr, vice-president and chief economist of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in Washington, D.C. He reviewed the farm economy and factors affecting it, including current and future world trade agreements and prospects for federal farm legislation scheduled to be written in Congress in 2007.