Truman Torgerson

This book is a collection of remembrances from over 95 contributors, and writings about leadership of one of the foremost cooperative leaders of the 20th Century. As a national collegiate boxing champion, educator, county agricultural extension agent, and cooperative business executive, Truman Torgerson provided the vision and initiative for organizing one of the nation's most successful marketing organizations, the Lake to Lake Dairy Cooperative. He also served on the board of directors of a number of dairy and other organizations such as Land O'Lakes, the Wisconsin Council of Agriculture and the National Milk Producers Federation where he exercised his leadership in defining successful principles, practices and policies for continuing operations and betterment of the industry. The content of this book is rich in revealing not only Truman's efforts of improving the livelihoods of Wisconsin farm operators, but also for insights to the teamwork that was developed among farmer directors and key staff members of Lake to Lake. It also provides historic evidence about an intense period of dynamic organizational change in American agriculture by documenting the efforts of a key leader in constantly seeking institutional improvements in governance and representation of farm interests. It shows how he confronted the NFO insurgency and organizational encounters with organizing initiatives of other cooperatives. It also shows how his hard work at an improving coordination in marketing among cooperatives met with largely unfulfilled expectations when Lake to Lake merged with Land O'Lakes in 1981. The book not only shares insights of contributors who shared the journey with Truman and documents his very productive and purposeful life for family and friends, but also provides a reference reading in leadership development, cooperative marketing, and strategic maneuvering for college courses, seminars and workshops on group action in agriculture.