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In recent years three important trends have become apparent among grain marketing and farm supply cooperatives. These farmer owned firms have been rapidly investing in infrastructure, reformulating profit distribution and equity strategies, and have pursued consolidation with other cooperatives. This manuscript explores the factors contributing to those trends, the implications for cooperatives leaders, and the impacts on farmer members. Abstract: In recent years three important trends have become apparent among grain marketing and farm supply cooperatives. These farmer owned firms have been rapidly investing in infrastructure, reformulating profit distribution and equity strategies, and have pursued consolidation with other cooperatives. This manuscript explores the factors contributing to those trends, the implications for cooperatives leaders, and the impacts on farmer members.

Predicted shortages of chief executives combined with growing economic and social significance of the nonprofit sector in an increasingly complex operating environment highlight the need for executive succession planning. Accordingly, our research explores factors that may influence executive succession planning in nonprofit and cooperative forms of organizations. Survey data (N = 242) were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results suggest both barriers to and substitutes for executive succession planning that help explain the apparent dearth of succession planning efforts in these organizations. A penchant for continuity was found to be a barrier to such planning, while elements of governance quality and internal development were found to substitute for executive succession planning.