NCERA194: Improving the management and effectiveness of cooperatively owned business organizations
Statement of Issues and Justification
Agriculture continues to change rapidly, creating challenges for farmers and rural residents. Farm and population numbers are falling in rural America and concentration in all sub-sectors of agriculture is increasing. Cooperatives are an important means by which producers can remain competitive in an increasingly industrialized agricultural economy. In addition to their traditional role in providing agricultural inputs, marketing agricultural products and coordinating farm production activities, new cooperative allow producers to participate in value-added processing. Because they allow producers to maintain ownership and a voice in the decision-making process, effectively managed cooperatives provide a way for improving the profitability, viability and diversification of family-owned farming operations.Together with the decline in farm numbers and rural population, there has been a loss of business in rural communities. This was identified as major obstacle to rural development when this committee was organized in 1998, and it remains an important issue today. Agricultural cooperatives are key contributors to the economic base of rural communities. Cooperative businesses that provide credit, utilities and other services are important components of the rural infrastructure. Recent developments such as cooperatively organized ambulance and road maintenance services demonstrate the potential of the cooperative business model for the infrastructure challenges of rural communities.
Across the United States and Canada, many university and government researchers have a primary or secondary focus on cooperatives. NCR-194 surveyed members in the summer of 2000. 36 committee members responded to the survey and indicated that they were participating in cooperative research. Over half of the respondents were actively involved in multi-state/multi-region projects involving cooperatives. 29 of the respondents were from universities, 3 were from the government sector, and 4 were from industry. These active committee members represented 25 states. The responding members represented a variety of disciplines including agricultural economics (28), rural sociology (3) and economics/industrial organization (5). Output reported by the committee members included 22 thesis or dissertations, over 40 presentations at professional meetings, 35 journal articles, and 69 other types of publications.
The establishment of NCR 194 has greatly facilitated collaborative research amongst NCR 194 members. Specific numbers, with respect to joint research activity, highlight this interaction. The USDAs Cooperative Services entered into 32 cooperative agreements in fiscal 1998, 15 in 1999, 11 in 2000, 5, in 2001 and 4 in 2002. These cooperative agreements entail, by definition, conducting research on a cooperating basis between the USDAs Cooperative Services and the institutions. The extent of cooperation and interaction goes beyond Cooperative Services and the lead institution. Eight of these agreements involved direct collaboration of faculty from 16 different universities. In addition, over half of the individuals who responded to the email survey indicated that they were involved in collaborative activities that crossed state and regional boundaries, both formal and informal. Since the survey was conducted, several new collaborative projects have been conducted.
NCR-194 members also have good working relationships with cooperatives, a fact that enhances the relevance and the quick dissemination and application of their work. Five successful annual meetings have been held where members shared research results through selected paper presentations. All of the annual meetings were deliberately planned to coincide with annual Farmer Cooperatives meetings, so as to facilitate interaction among researchers and individuals from industry. Over 100 cooperative managers and directors attend these meetings which have been considered of utmost benefit for both industry representatives and researchers. Members are also making use of the NCR 194 web page and the list serve to communicate. Members are actively communicating the results of their research beyond the committee. NCR 194 members presented cooperative-related research results at over 40 professional meetings and over 50 extension presentations.
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