Golden Growers Cooperative is a corn grower-owned cooperative with roughly 1,445 members — primarily farmers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota — that gives members a way to earn value beyond the market price of their corn. The Cooperative owns a 50% interest in ProGold, an LLC that owns a wet-milling facility in Wahpeton, North Dakota, which processes corn into high fructose corn syrup and related co-products. Cargill owns the other 50% of ProGold and has leased and operated the facility since 1997. The Cooperative's core function is contractual: it obligates members to deliver roughly 15.5M bushels of corn annually to the ProGold facility, and in return receives 50% of ProGold's income, which flows primarily from Cargill's lease payments. Under the current lease, Cargill pays ProGold $16M per year, of which the Cooperative receives $8M, which it then distributes to members as patronage based on each member's corn delivery volume. Members deliver corn either physically at market price plus a $0.05/bushel incentive, or via an agency arrangement for a $0.02/bushel fee. The Cooperative operates with minimal overhead — just one full-time employee — and Cargill handles logistics and payments for an annual fee of $60,000. The Cooperative is now winding down: members approved a Plan of Liquidation in 2025, and Cargill will purchase the Cooperative's 50% ProGold interest for $81M upon expiration of the Facility Lease on December 31, 2026, with proceeds distributed to members.