LA CHEVROTIERE AGRI-FOOD CO-OPERATIVE

The "La Chevrotiere" case tells the story of the development of a food co-operative ("Co-op") located in rural Quebec. 1 Founded in 1925, the La Chevrotiere Co-operative has enjoyed regular growth by pursuing business opportunities aligned with the Co-op's path of development - for and by means of regional agriculture. Initially, its two main sectors of activities were farm machinery and agricultural supplies. With time, La ChevrotiSre has extended its activities to include pork production, cheese making, and milk processing (butter and ice cream). Today, the Co-op has a staff of 738. The case unfolds on January 9, 2006, during a board of directors meeting whose purpose is to analyze the financial results of the period ended December 31, 2005; to review the three-year strategic plan; and to approve the operating budget for the next period. This is the first time in 10 years that the Co-op has not attained its financial objectives. Moreover, the members of the board of directors must take a hard look at three major investment projects and choose the one which fits in best with their three-year strategic plan. Note: An English version of this case and English and French Teaching Notes are also available. Teaching Notes for instructional cases are not published in the journal but are made available to full CAAA member subscribers in a password-protected area of the CAAA Keywords Investments projects; Mission; Risks; Strategic analysis website. Go to https://www.caaa.ca/en/journals-and-research/accounting-perspectives-ap/teaching-notes/to login and access the notes.