Marketing and purchasing cooperatives, the two basic types serving U.S. agriculture, are discussed in terms of basic objectives, early marketing and purchasing activities, membership and control, marketing and operating practices and policies, vertical integration functions, commodities handled, operations and governance structures, financing and taxation, and a review of common challenges.
CIR 1 Section 6. 56 pgs. Reprinted 1993. Donald L. Vogelsang, John M. Bailey, Lloyd Biser, E. Eldon Eversull, and J. Warren Mather.
This popular publication outlines the step-by-step approach to organizing and financing a cooperative and discusses some general rules for success. Although oriented to agriculture, its content can easily be applied to many other types of business. It presents important elements to consider when forming a cooperative, lists needed special expertise, where to look for more detailed information available in the organizing process and early months of operation. The report appendix includes sample documents used in the organizing process, such as a producer questionnaire, membership agreement, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and membership application and marketing contract plus sample financial statements. References list other helpful publications available from Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
CIR 7. 32 pgs. Revised 1996. Galen W. Rapp and Gerald Ely.
Library ID Number: 2804
Understanding New Cooperative Models: An Ownership-Control Rights Typology
This article examines new agricultural cooperative organizational models from an ownership rights perspective. The article adopts a definition of ownership rights comprising both residual claim and control rights. We argue that new cooperative organizational models differ in how ownership rights are assigned to the economic agents (members, patrons and investors) tied contractually to the firm. The article proposes a typology of discrete organizational models, in which the traditional cooperative structure and the investor-oriented firm are characterized as polar forms. The typology also includes five nontraditional models that cooperatives may adopt to ameliorate perceived financial constraints.
Fabio R. Chaddad and Michael L. Cook
Library ID Number: 6841
The New Zealand Dairy Cooperatives’ Adaptation to Changing Market Conditions
This article examines the market conditions, the strategies, and the organizational structures of agricultural cooperatives. Based on the growing literature on cooperative organizational models, it is expected that the new organizational patterns in the New Zealand dairy cooperatives in the early 2000s are a consequence of market changes. Case studies of the three cooperatives are conducted, focusing on the organizational structures in terms of collective versus individualized attributes. The dissolution of the New Zealand Dairy Board created new market opportunities for the cooperatives. Hence, the cooperative had reason to develop new market strategies and in order to pursue these well, they changed their organizational structures. The observations indicate that more liberalized and open markets require cooperative organizational models with more individualized traits.