That amounts to substantial employment in an area with a year-round population of 140. The 26 boat owners in the co-op have a workforce of 65. Now, thanks to a USDA Rural Energy for America Grant, the system is operating and will produce 110 percent of the co-op’s power. In Maine, the members of Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-op on Little Cranberry Island agreed unanimously to install a solar renewable energy system. About 33 percent of co-op revenue is generated from food products that are sourced within 100 miles of Viroqua.Īquaculture co-ops are also growing with USDA support. Completed last year, the expansion allowed the cooperative to expand offerings of locally and regionally produced food. In the Southwest Wisconsin community of Viroqua, population 4,300, USDA partnered with the Bank of Cashton to provide a loan to construct an addition to the Viroqua Food Co-op. The theme for this year’s co-op month is “Co-ops: By the Community, For the Community.” Here at USDA we take that to heart, helping co-ops grow. Farm cooperatives did the most business in Iowa ($18.3 billion) followed by Minnesota ($16.2 billion), California, Illinois and Wisconsin. The largest number of farmer cooperatives are in Minnesota, followed by Texas, North Dakota, California and Wisconsin. Gross business volume for ag cooperatives was up $6.7 billion in 2018 compared to the year before, and farmer cooperatives had a record $96.3 billion in assets and a record $44.4 billion in farmer-member equity. They directly employ more than 187,000 Americans in more than 8,800 locations. America’s farmer cooperatives are setting records. Agricultural co-ops are an important subset. USDA has several programs that directly and indirectly benefit cooperatives and the people who depend on them every day. (Many people belong to more than one cooperative.) According to a study by the University of Wisconsin (PDF, 2.7 MB), funded in part by USDA, cooperatives have an estimated 350 million members. Happy National Co-Op Month! It’s reason to celebrate because in America there are more than 40,000 cooperatives of all types, supporting jobs that provide more than $25 billion in wages. The new addition allowed the cooperative to expand offerings of locally and regionally produced food. The newly expanded Viroqua Food Co-op in Wisconsin.
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