What are COOPS
What is a Co-op?
Cooperatives are businesses that are owned and democratically controlled by their members—the people who use the co-op’s services or buy its goods—not by investors. A Cooperative is a voluntary contractual organization of persons having a mutual ownership interest in providing themselves needed service(s) on a nonprofit basis.
We’re on a mission to develop MONTANA PRODUCER CO-OPS
Why Co-ops?
Cooperatives give producers clout. In today’s competitive international market, an independent grower stands alone against the competition. A cooperative of growers together can do many things that a grower alone cannot afford to do — develop a worldwide market, promote a brand name, access a global transportation system, develop comprehensive research capabilities, and gain governmental access to overseas markets.
HISTORY
In the 1930’s Farmers Union leaders were concerned about workers in cities and helped the labor representative work for new and better programs to establish jobs for more people.
Montana now had 30 locally owned Farmers Union cooperative oil companies and 25 other cooperatives ones (mainly Equity cooperative) which purchased their petroleum products through the Farmers Union Central Exchange. The MFU Mutual Fire Insurance Company was also growing and reported 500 policyholders with more than $1 million of insurance in force.
