Cooperatives Program - How We Can Help You
Cooperative Development
Assistance
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Research
Education and Information
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How We Work
Where To Get More Co-op Information
The goal of the Cooperatives Program of
USDA's Rural Business-Cooperatives Services (RBS) is to
help rural residents form new cooperative businesses
and improve the operations of existing cooperatives.
To accomplish this, Cooperatives Program provides
technical assistance to cooperatives and those
thinking of forming cooperatives. It also conducts
cooperative-related research and produces information
products to promote public understanding of
cooperatives.
RBS is part of USDA's Rural Development mission
area, which was created in 1994 when USDA
consolidated rural economic programs that had
previously been scattered among various agencies. RBS
encompasses the former Agricultural Cooperative
Service and some of the business and economic
development programs of the former Rural Development
Administration and Rural Electrification
Administration.
For most of the past century, USDA's cooperative
assistance has been concentrated on agricultural
cooperatives. While agricultural marketing and supply
cooperatives remain a primary focus of USDA's
efforts, RBS plans to gradually expand the
cooperative program to include assistance to all
types of rural cooperatives.
Cooperatives Program (CP) provides a wide range of
assistance for people interested in forming new
cooperatives. This help can range from an initial
feasibility study to the creation and implementation
of a business plan. CP staff includes cooperative
development specialists who do everything from
identifying potential cooperative functions through
the development of bylaws and business plans. They
also provide training for cooperative directors.
The overall goal of CP is to provide a realistic
view of what it will take to make a new cooperative
succeed. CP staff members may also work in
conjunction with cooperative development specialists
located at many of USDA's state Rural Development
offices. Recent examples of rural cooperatives CP has
helped form include a cooperative for rural women who
produce handcrafted gift items, a vegetable growers'
cooperative which provides increased market access
for its members, and a divers' cooperative which
harvests and processes sea urchins for export to
Asia.
CP provides technical assistance to existing
cooperatives facing specific problems or challenges.
Technical assistance could include helping a
cooperative develop a strategic marketing plan to
cope with new competitive forces, in making a crucial
decision whether to merge or form a joint venture
with other cooperatives, or in finding a way to turn
the raw products of cooperative members into
value-added products. These matters are often life
and death issues not only for a cooperative, but for
the rural communities in which they operate.
CP can help improve a cooperative's business
structure and operating efficiency. This work often
involves an analysis of operations or assessing the
economic feasibility of new facilities or adding new
products or services. Studies cover the full range of
decisionmaking facing cooperative business
enterprises. Technical assistance is largely designed
to benefit a specific cooperative business or group.
However, the results often provide business strategy
for all cooperatives.
CP conducts research to provide a knowledge base
necessary to support cooperatives dealing with
changing markets and business trends. Studies include
financial, structural, managerial, policy, member
governance, legal, and social issues, as well as
various other economic activities of cooperatives.
Research is designed to have direct application to
current and emerging requirements of cooperatives. A
major challenge is to analyze industry structure and
cooperative operational practices to determine the
changes required to maintain or achieve a
producer-oriented marketing system. Recent research
studies have focused on equity redemption plans used
by cooperatives, identification of new niche markets
for cooperatives, and opportunities and obstacles
cooperatives face when exporting goods overseas.
The Cooperative Marketing Act of 1926 mandates
that USDA "promote the knowledge of cooperative
principles and practices and cooperate in promoting
such knowledge with educational and marketing
agencies, cooperative associations, and others."
To meet this goal, CP provides a wide range of
cooperative training programs and educational
materials.
CP maintains a storehouse of information about
cooperatives which it makes available to the public
through more than 150 research reports, educational
publications and videos which cover all aspects of
cooperative operations. A monthly magazine, Rural
Cooperatives, reports significant achievement by
cooperatives, the most advanced thinking of
cooperative leaders, and highlights of agency
research, technical assistance, and educational
activities.
Cooperative statistics are collected to detect
growth trends and changes in structure and operations
of cooperatives. Data help identify and support
research and technical assistance activities. This
information is used extensively by legislative and
executive branches of government in formulating
agricultural and cooperative-related policy.
One CP specialist or a team may tackle a project.
Most CP staff members are agricultural economists who
have specialized in cooperative issues, including:
cooperative business organization, cooperative law,
finance, marketing, purchasing, international trade,
strategic planning, member relations, and education.
Staff members use various data bases, conduct
surveys by mail and telephone, and do on-site
interviews--walking in factory and field--to gather
information. To reach an objective, CS may provide
assistance directly or serve as a catalyst in
bringing together the best available resources. CP
works closely with specialists with other State and
Federal agencies, cooperatives,and other public and
private institutions.
For further information or assistance for
cooperatives, contact:
USDA Rural Development/ Cooperative Services
Stop 3250
Washington, D.C. 20250-3250
Telephone: (202) 720-7558
FAX Number: (202)720-4641
E-mail: coopinfo@usda.gov
