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The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center is an electronic, national resource for producers interested in value-added agriculture. Browse commodities and products, investigate market and industry trends, study business creation and operation, read research results and locate value-added resources.
Agricultural Cooperatives Set Records in 2011
This month is National Cooperative Month, which has been celebrated every October since 1930. It serves as a time to encourage all Americans to learn more about cooperatives, to buy their products or services, or to become a member.
And what a record-setting year it was for agricultural cooperatives! In 2011, both ag cooperative sales and income set new records. Sales reached $213 billion, surpassing the previous record sales year of 2008 by $10 billion. Income was a record $5.4 billion, exceeding the previous high of $4.9 billion, also set in 2008.
Ag cooperatives remained a major employer in rural areas, with 184,000 workers, up slightly from the previous year. The number of full-time jobs increased, but the number of part-time and seasonal employees declined.
The number of farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives in operation also declined in 2011 to 2,285, down from 2,314 the previous year. Mergers accounted for most of the drop, resulting in larger cooperatives. (Rural Cooperatives magazine, September/October 2012.)
AgMRC Resources
Consumer Food Cooperatives - Starting a consumer food cooperative is a way of creating a market for your food products.
Cooperative Development Programs/Centers - This list of 42 cooperative development organizations includes 25 funded by the USDA Rural Development Cooperative Grant Program in 2002.
Other Resources
Cooperatives Community of Practice, eXtension - This site contains educational resources about the principles and functions of cooperatives, thus meeting the needs of people interested in creating, managing or joining a cooperative.
Directory of Farmer Cooperatives, Service Report 22, USDA Rural Development, October 2012 - This directory contains a listing, by state, of almost 1,500 farmer-owned marketing, farm supply, service, fishery and bargaining cooperatives.
Farm co-ops set sales, income records; Rural Cooperatives magazine; Rural Development; USDA; September/October 2012 - This issue also looks at the nation’s 100 largest ag cooperatives, which set records too, thanks in large part to higher commodity prices.
Rural Development Business and Cooperative program, USDA - This program offers information and assistance in setting up and managing a cooperative marketing effort.
rev 10/16/11 by Diane Huntrods, AgMRC, Iowa State University.
Quick Links
Visit USDA's Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) website to access the latest information, including the FY2012 VAPG Application Template for this grant program.
During the last round of funding, USDA selected 298 VAPG recipients in 44 states and Puerto Rico to receive assistance, awarding more than $40.2 million. A complete list of the recipients is available online.
Need answers to ag-related questions? Use this USDA tool to locate and contact a land-grant university Cooperative Extension specialist in your state.
Funding
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), an NRCS program, provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers. NRCS has established specific dates in 2012 where eligible applications will be evaluated and approved for funding. Three EQIP Initiatives may be of particular interest to value-added ag producers: (1) The On-Farm Energy Initiative, (2) Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative and (3) Organic Initiative.
grants.com - This website provides information on over 1,000 federal grant programs and access to approximately $500 billion in annual awards, including the Value-Added Producer Grant program.
Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems, National Sustainable Ag Coalition, 2010 - This guide describes 14 USDA grant and loan programs, such as the Value-Added Producer Grants, that support the development of local and regional food systems. Users are provided with application guidelines, matching requirements and contact information as well as a brief case study for each program.
