Click here to listen to Ken’s Agribusiness Report on the ways in which farmers’ cooperatives
The cooperative system is long-standing in agriculture: a farmer owned business enterprise dedicated to serving its members. Early coops were small, though today many are fairly large.
AgriLand FS reaches across Iowa, with headquarters in Winterset, where John Knobloch is the manager. He says co-ops approach farming with a strong base of expertise, utilizing individuals with very specialized skill sets. He says larger cooperatives have come about by bringing in professionals, which creates economies of scale that makes spreading those experts across a wider area feasible. That efficiency has led to cooperatives being considered at times “the farmer’s hired man.”
That’s an excellent example, for example, on custom application; that we’re able to take a piece of equipment, and we’re able to get it across the acres. That allows the rates to be very competitive for the growers, and to do things in a timely manner for their business.
Even with business as its base, Knobloch says a co-op can be a good citizen of the community it’s in, chiefly because of its opportunities for leadership training.
Click here to read more about the commitment of FS Cooperatives.
