Agriculture Cooperatives
How to join or shop with an agricultural cooperative
Agriculture cooperatives are at the forefront of a number of movements in the United States and worldwide. In the United States, national, statewide and local groups have organized to assist small farms and make their products visible and available to a more stable market. Worldwide, fair trade organizations have helped to organize local farmers to get fair prices and higher quality products.Whether you're interested in shopping for fresh products from a farm coop or joining an existing ag coop in your area to sell your products, you can find the cooperative farming resources you need online. While most cooperative farms organize on a local or state level, national organizations assist in finding coop farms and farmers' markets.
When searching for a farm cooperative, use the following resources:
1. Search for the products you need from export cooperatives;
2. Search for local organizations to buy from farm coops;
3. Find local and state organizations you can join to sell your produce.
Find international export agriculture cooperatives for fair trade
If you want to get involved in organic and fair trade movements by buying the right products for personal use or resale, search for export agriculture cooperatives that specialize in selling farmers' produce to an international market. Export cooperatives ship global produce that is either organic or certified by fair trade organizations.
Try: Melissa's global organic exports specializes in the sale of worldwide organic fruits and vegetables, enable consumers to get international produce that is healthy and produced under fair trade regulations. COPROEXNIC is a Nicaraguan organic agricultural grower-owned export cooperative that allows individuals to buy coffee and cotton direct, and provides contact information for more business options.
Get products from a local or national agricultural cooperative
If you want to buy farmers' produce from an ag coop, you can either find a local or state organization to buy from, or get produce shipped from an organization in another state. National agriculture cooperatives have branches or sponsored organizations of local farmers throughout the country.
Try: Whole Farm Coop is a local farm cooperative that allows customers to order groceries online and have them shipped. Organic Valley is a family of farms that sells and ships a range of meat and dairy products. Local Harvest is a national organization that allows you to search for sponsored farmer coops in your area by state and zip.
Join an existing agricultural cooperative to sell farm produce locally
Joining a farm cooperative is the best way to expand the market for your small farm produce. If you want to join the organic or locally grown movement you can get involved with a coop in your state or region. By joining a cooperative, you can ensure that your produce is sold to a stable market even if you don't have a large crop yield.
Try: Foodroutes.org allows you to search for organizations by region if you are interested in joining an existing coop. The American Farmland Trust also provides resources for connecting with other farmers and finding a farm coop. You can search for local AFT activities such as farmland protection programs in your state.
- If you want to join a farm cooperative but no agricultural cooperatives exist in your area, consider founding your own farmers' market or coop. All you need to found an organization is a group of farmers committed to selling locally and some advertising to generate local interest.
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