What is a Cooperative?

Cooperative Principles Endure the Test of Time
In 1844 the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, a group of weavers, launched the first cooperative. They incorporated their business on October 24, 1844 and opened for business December 21 of that year in a small, first-floor store at 31 Toad Lane in Rochdale, England.

The idea of cooperatives crossed the ocean with the first pioneers and became a part of American culture. Cooperatives are a unique form of business where members help themselves. In the early years of this country, people worked together to raise barns, husk corn, make quilts, and more. It was natural to work together to accomplish things they could not easily do alone.

In the 1920s and 1930s farming underwent an incredible change as tractors replaced horses in the field. With that change arose the need for a dependable supply of petroleum products at a fair price. Farm Bureau members, with the help of the Cooperative Extension Service, established cooperatives to help meet their own needs and to supply the needs of other farmers. Those early cooperatives became the Member Cooperatives we know today across Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.  Today, cooperatives serve more than 600 million people in every country around the world.

The Rochdale Pioneers are memorable because they based their cooperative business on certain principles.

Although cooperatives continue to change over the years, the principles with which they operate have remained essentially the same:

Open Membership – anyone who wants to become a member can
Democratic Control – members control the cooperative through their election of its board of directors
Limited Returns on Investment – returns are limited to keep control in the hands of the users
Patronage Refunds – margins or earnings are returned to members in proportion to the amount of business done with the cooperative
Continuing Cooperative Education – a duty to educate members and the general public about our cooperative form of business as a unique and valuable part of our private enterprise system
Cooperation Among Cooperatives – working together is one of the strengths of cooperatives
Concern For Community – while focusing on members’ needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members

Cooperatives Produce Quality Products
Many cooperatives have familiar names:

• Prairie Farms
• Lindsay Olives
• Sunkist
• Blue Diamond Almonds
• Ocean Spray
• Riceland Rice
• Sun-Maid Raisins
• Thank You Brand Pie Filling
• Sunsweet Prunes
• C & H Sugar
• Land O’Lakes
• Welch’s
• Libby’s
• Sue Bee Honey
• Seald-Sweet processes citrus
• Diamond Walnuts and Pecans

Learn about cooperatives in Ontario, Canada