Pratt Tribune
Ciara Hodgkinson of Pratt, Kansas, a December graduate in agribusiness, along with Summer Smades of Leoti, Kansas, a senior in agricultural economics, has been awarded the David and Susan Barton Cooperative Leadership Scholarship through the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center and the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University.
Hodgkinson was an active student after transferring from Pratt Community College to Kansas State University. She served as president of Alpha Zeta and served as secretary and vice president of Collegiate Farm Bureau. She has been involved in many other organizations including K-State Agricultural Economics-Agribusiness Club, Gamma Sigma Delta, Block and Bridle and Phi Theta Kappa. In addition, Ciara finds time to volunteer on service projects. She has completed internships with Skyland Grain, Kansas Farm Bureau and also worked with CoBank on an extended internship. Ciara graduated in December 2020 and will start a career with
Pratt Tribune
Kansas-based agriculture company Skyland Grain and the Texas-based cooperative Ag Producers Co-op announced Feb. 4, 2021 that they have signed an agreement between the two companies for a joint venture effective on April 1.
Scale and diversification, both in services and geography, are important to the cooperative model that serves the local farmer.
“Skyland Grain is a unique and evolved cooperative partnership that allows us to provide our member-owners with greater risk management and the benefits of size. Culturally, we also fit well together,” Gregg Allen, CEO of Ag Producers Co-op, said in a release. “Skyland Grain and Ag Producers Co-op are both strong and progressive companies.