So you all know, I am a very small (these days) regular corn/soybean/ few cattle farmer. I enjoy the old ways and some simple life, so I guess I straddle the lines and don't fit well in a homesteading area because I'm often told I am some big factory farm corporation or something...
And I don't fit well in the farm forums because my thoughts tend to be older style, and my 2 tractors with cabs are so old the air conditioning doesn't work, I farm 1/10th the land a 'real' farmer does.......
So I'm sure many of you won't be happy with my thoughts on coops, and that is why I really wasn't going to say much, but Downhome asked, as did others. You ain't paying much for my thoughts, so take it or leave it.
and yea, I kinda understand Downhomes attitude, sometimes its best to take a month or two break from a site when things go in a bad way, refreshes a person a bit.
Anyhow, I belong to three local farm coops, they offer feed, seed, fertilizer, herbicides, fuel, lp, and buy grain. One has gotten very progressive and expanding and buying up other similar coops, build big and new and big.
One is kinda sitting still, very modest plans, not too much change.
One had been sitting still kinda, and got in a bad way in the fuel crunch a decade ago, had to merge with the neighboring coop, they now seem on a nice even plan of modest growth, nothing flashy but keeping up.
All three are tied into the giant Cexex and Harvestland national coop setups, tho they are still local, small, independent run coop, I can vote at the meetings, 2 of the 3 managers recognizes me as a member on the street and as I said, I'm a tiny tiny conventional farmer.
It is interesting to contrast the different management styles, the different directions these 3 similar coops are going in. All of these coops started out as a few farmers getting together, probably a creamery setup, to handle milk in cans, probably 100 farmers or less starting each one up. Grass roots, small. In 50-60 years, there are much fewer, but bigger ones left. Just trying to point out the natural progression of a coop....
I also belong to a credit union that is run as a coop.
And the local funeral home we use is run as a coop, when I used their services for mom, dad, sister, I would get a dividend check a year later, they hold annual meetings and so on. A real coop.
My REA electrical supplier is also a coop, their dividend check is all of $5 back to me, but they are well run, good utility, annual meeting, etc.
I used to belong to a coop that was formed to turn soybean protein and newspapers into a fancy particales board. It was a good concept, a good product, but they did not quite have the business people in place to enter that market and after many changes and attempts it folded up, got bought out 2 times at a few cents on the dollar, and now is limping along as a private firm, still not doing well but a decade later still around. I lost my investment a long time ago, and no longer a coop, but it was interesting to see how it was set up and run.
Near me are several coop run ethanol plants, I do not belong, but the closest one is one of the first ones ever started. It has been very well run, done very well for the members. It has a single focus, with limited membership. The farmers got together, bought shares intot he coop, and built the ethanol plant. They have expanded several times, from the original 30 size plant to the current over 100 size plant. Well run. (The particle board plant did all the same, except they failed.... Interesting to contrast the 2.)
Dad belonged to a farm coop like the three I mentioned. It went belly up in the 1970s. Lost quite a bit on that. I was not really aware of goings on, but have heard the same story many times over since.
The good coops seem to have a single direction, one thing that they do and do well. They can easily represent their members, and all their members will be interested in that one thing.
As time goes by, many coops look to do more, expand into different things, try to pull in more and different people. Over time that leads to conflicts, and less intrest from people in being part of the coop. For example, my 3 coops, they buy grain from me, and they grind and sell feed to others. Now who do they represent, me the grain seller, or the other guy, the feed buyer? You can't work for and make a 'best deal' to both sides, so they have to only offer good strong business, no longer the 'best representation'.
So that is my story, I'd be glad to talk about coops. But my stuff probably doesn't appear to fit what you want to do, you will be thinking small, few members, simple, etc. but I say, that is how my coops started out too, and they progress forward, or they die. All the same.
There are many very good tax situations for a farm/ ag based coop, where tax issues can be passed on to members for both their and the coops good. This takes good planning....
And so on.
Pretty much my story, questions and conversation is welcome.
Paul
