In 1902, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) was the world's largest cash grain market, a dynamic hub of grain buyers and sellers gathered around large wooden tables where they viewed grain samples from nearby rail cars. Millions of bushels of wheat, durum, barley, oats, rye, oilseeds and corn from the Dakotas and Minnesota were bought and sold to General Mills, International Multifoods, Pillsbury and others.

Grain Terminal Association (GTA) and Harvest States Cooperatives, legacy companies of CHS, had four tables on the trade floor. Two of those original GTA and Harvest States tables were recently purchased at a MGEX fundraiser and will be permanently displayed on the first and third floors of the Inver Grove Heights, Minn., corporate headquarters. With the delivery of the tables came a flood of memories from the 28 current CHS employees who worked at the grain exchange during its 1970s and 80s heyday.

"At its peak, the MGEX was a bustling, vibrant and exciting place to work," says Rick Browne, senior vice president, Ag Business Asia-Pacific and a trader there from 1970 to 1975. "It was also a very loud place. Each table had four telephones and a light fixture with four different colored bulbs assigned to companies working at that table. You knew if your phone was ringing when your specific light on your table was lit. This allowed you to move about the floor transacting business and not miss a phone call."

Browne and Scott Cordes, president, Country Hedging, were instrumental in successfully bidding on the Harvest States tables and artifacts like grain sample pans, scales and bid tickets.

"It's a big part of our heritage. It's where we conducted a huge part of our business at the time," says Browne.

So what's different now? There is no open outcry futures trading. From an industry standpoint, there are more women and fewer inflated egos. Earlier it was about who won and who lost. Today it's more about making money.

What hasn't changed are the skills needed to be a successful trader, including stron analytical capabilities, hyper-vigilant monitoring and understanding of global events, and the ability to make sound decisions quickly. Above all, it's still a business of relationships.

"Your word is your bond and that never changes," says Al Ambrose, former MGEX trader and vice president, risk management for CHS Oilseed Processing. "You stand by what you've said."