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October is National Cooperatives Month

Since 1964, October has been recognized as National Cooperative Month.  Jon Lantz, Vice-President of Marketing for CountryMark, says it provides an opportunity to highlight the unique business structure of cooperatives.  Lantz uses Indiana based CountryMark as an example.  He says the unique part about the cooperative structure is they are owned by the folks that use their products which means the customers are the owners.  For example, CountryMark’s owners are their member cooperatives; he says they have over 30 member cooperatives that hold equity in CountryMark.  Lantz tells Brownfield those member cooperatives are owned by their farmer.  He says depending on whose numbers are used, the farmer members could be into the 100,000’s. 

Lantz says it is vitally important to promote the business structure of cooperatives and not take it for granted.  He says new members need to be educated about the values and how the system works, that it is imperative to understand the democratic controlled principles.  Lantz adds it is equally as important that members are engaged in the process.  He says National Cooperative Month provides the opportunity to provide outreach and education about how cooperatives work.

Lantz notes cooperatives offer a very competitive way of doing business that can be great for their member owners.

AUDIO: Jon Lantz, CountryMark (6:21mp3)