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2012: International Year of Cooperatives

In December of 2009 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2012 The International Year of Co-operatives (IYC).  Why co-operatives?  According to www.2012.coop (a website dedicated to the IYC) the UN resolution recognizes the diversity of the co-op movement with hopes that governments will take up measures aimed at creating a supportive environment for the continued development of co-operatives.  

Co-operatives were formed to meet a need, “not human greed”.  As the co-op website states, they allow people to compete together in a way to benefit all rather than a few and are also established on a set of values and principles. 

The values:  self-responsibility, democracy, equality, honesty and social responsibility. 

In addition to the values, co-ops have seven basic principles to serve as guidelines for the structure of co-ops around the world.  According to www.go.coop, adoption of the principles is not required; however, most co-ops opt to incorporate them into their business. 

The seven principles:  Voluntary and open membership; Democratic member control; Member economic participation; Autonomy and independence; Education, training and information; Cooperation among co-operatives; and Concern for the community.

That is a very broad overview of co-operatives. 

This coming week Brownfield will take a closer look at some of the cooperatives that are vital components to agriculture and Rural America.

Here are some facts to get started:

  • There are more than 29,000 co-ops in the United States
  • US co-ops provide over 850,000 jobs and create more than $74 billion in annual wages.
  • US co-ops create over $500,000,000,000 in revenue.
  • The majority of our country’s 2 million farmers are members of the nearly 3,000 farmer owned co-operatives.
  • Those co-operatives provide over 250,000 jobs
  • More than 900 rural electric co-ops deliver electricity to more than 42 million people in 47 states (That’s roughly 42% of the nation’s electric distribution lines).
  • Food co-ops have been innovators in the areas of pricing, consumer protection, organic and bulk foods, and nutrition labeling.

*Facts courtesy of www.go.coop

As we look ahead to 2012 – we have a chance to celebrate the co-operative model and its importance to agriculture and Rural America.

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