Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council Supports OSU New Frontiers
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Media Contact: Mandy Gross | Senior Manager of Strategic and VP Communications | 405-744-4063 | mandy.gross@okstate.edu
The Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council has joined forces with its members to support the New Frontiers campaign, helping to build a new home for Oklahoma State University Agriculture.
“We wanted to ensure that the college had top-notch facilities to be able to recruit students from all over Oklahoma and around the world,” said R.J. Gray, president and CEO of OACC. “We also wanted to ensure the faculty and staff had top-notch facilities to train our industry’s future leaders and provide world-class research.”
The members collectively chose to name the Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council Conference Room, which will be located on the third floor when the facility opens in the fall.
“With the location of the room, we hope it provides much-needed space for faculty and students to meet and collaborate for a better tomorrow,” Gray said. “I am proud of our members for stepping up and contributing to the future of our industry.”
New Frontiers Agricultural Hall will be a state-of-the-art facility that will advance OSU’s land-grant mission, elevate research capabilities and create opportunities for life-changing discoveries in the agricultural science and natural resource industries.
“Land-grants are the backbone,” Gray said. “The new facility will provide a place where research, learning and development can come together to do their part in ensuring a safe, abundant and affordable food supply for many generations to follow.”
Incorporated in 1973, OACC is a member-supported organization that advocates for agricultural cooperatives.
“Our mission is to enhance the understanding of cooperatives and advance their development,” Gray said. “We are hoping that with world-class facilities available along with our endowed chair, the cooperative business model will continue to be celebrated and widely used. By supporting this campaign, we strive to keep cooperatives at the forefront as a successful, viable option for individuals to come together and do business with themselves.”
OACC values development and education, and its contribution to New Frontiers will allow OSU Agriculture to continue serving the state and world through Extension efforts and research advancements.
“Agriculture provides basic necessities, from food and fiber to medicine, as well as much-needed research and development for a cleaner world,” Gray said. “I have several members who talk about their overall mission of helping feed the world. This was a small part and role we could play in that mission.”
Many members of OACC pledged significant commitments to the group’s overall New Frontiers donation, including Farmers Grain Co., Triangle Insurance Co., BMS Intermediaries Inc., Cimarron Electric Cooperative, Farmers Union/Humphreys Co-op Gin and Elevator, Sooner Plains Ag, Land O’Lakes Inc., CoBank, Texhoma Wheat Growers Inc. and CHS Inc.
“We are very honored to help provide for facilities that will shape the future of agriculture and our youth,” said Alex White, CEO and general manager of Sooner Plains Ag. “I hope the new facility will offer a well-rounded curriculum that gives students a solid knowledge base when entering the agricultural world.”
The New Frontiers campaign was launched in January 2020 to build a new state-of-the-art facility for OSU Agriculture. The New Frontiers Agricultural Hall, expected to open in fall 2024, further advances teaching, research and Extension efforts that are critical to the state’s economy, citizens’ safety and quality of life. By advancing OSU Agriculture and its programs, New Frontiers is fostering innovation to help feed the world.
Story By: Ainsley Treesh | ainsley.treesh@okstate.edu