With a modified “Rosie the Riveter” poster on its cover, the March/April issue of USDA's Rural Cooperatives magazine calls attention to a pair of articles about women who have reached leadership positions in the Farm Credit System. They share their stories to encourage more women to run for cooperative boards.
In another article, two ag economists analyze the financial health of the nation’s 100 largest agriculture cooperatives, reporting near-record sales and margins in 2010. The top-ranked cooperative, CHS Inc., had sales of $25 billion, while as a group, dairy cooperatives accounted for more than half of the sales increase recorded. In a first, USDA included an actual list of the top 100 ag cooperatives.
Another article demonstrates how farmer cooperatives are benefitting from USDA Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPGs). Out of 298 total VAPG recipients, 26 were cooperatives. They ranged from large grower cooperatives that market internationally to small cooperatives serving local food markets. The article concludes with a list of the 26 cooperatives that received VAPG funding.
Published six times a year, the magazine carries a wide variety of articles about the nation's farm and utility cooperatives, with the goal of expanding understanding and use of the cooperative business model. To subscribe, go to: http://www.rdlist.sc.egov.usda.gov/listserv/mainservlet
Prepared by Diane Huntrods, Iowa State University, March 2012.
