Cooperatives:
Delivering Value to Members and Communities

By Marianne Emery, Sullivan High School FFA

Editor’s note: Emery won the 2009 Missouri Institute of Cooperatives FFA speaking contest. Here we print the speech she delivered for the contest, and as winner, to the institute’s member banquet. Emery is a member of the Sullivan High School FFA Chapter.

I believe in the future of agriculture...” My entire Ag 1 class was to memorize not only these exact words but the entire FFA creed. The task was completed haphazardly, and somehow our immaturity blurred the important message, which lay in every line.

As many adolescents, we came short of understanding the creed’s purpose and accepted it as another assignment; however, we could not have been more wrong.

Now that I am older, my extended education in the FFA has lent me a broadened prospective in the field of agriculture. As I write today, I want to explore the deep-rooted principles outlined in the creed that have guided agriculturalists through the centuries. I also want to speak of these same values that guide the work of something that has touched all of our lives and aid us greatly. It is what we all know of as a cooperative. Cooperation has been an essential part of society for centuries and continues to be still today.

The FFA creed notes the importance of cooperation and tells of how “achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists” have led us to where we are now. A cooperative is officially defined as an “enterprise or organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services.” Thus, the name co-op originates from members cooperating in business; however, this idea of people willingly working together is not a new one.

Even during early times when human beings lacked written language and civilization, “man cooperated with others to help kill large animals.” Babylonians also applied the same proposal of partnership when they created cooperative farming, and later on, American pioneers held barn raisings. None of these feats could have been accomplished without cooperation. As the FFA creed teaches, “progressive agriculturists” have been working together since the beginning of time to achieve tasks not feasible by the sole man. Because of the “struggles [of our ancestors] in former years” people everywhere can now prosper, utilizing those same ideas which were founded so long ago.

The rich history of cooperation has led to the co-ops of today, and most definitely to a world that is more efficient. The Constitution of the United States gives its people expressed freedoms. Co-ops mirror these liberties. There is no better example of an organization that reflects the American ideals of democracy and self-help than cooperatives. This is because cooperative members, also known as patrons, own a part of the business. After paying voluntary and open membership, affiliates can contribute opinions and vote on plans of action; they can even elect the board of directors who set policies and oversee business practices.

Co-ops call this principle democratic member control. Instead of stockholders, it is the members who ownbusiness shares, bringing the wealth back into the community, not overseas or to big cities. This “leadership from ourselves,” from the actual members taking action in the business, is exactly what the FFA creed reiterates and is exactly what makes a co-op successful.

With the peoples’ abilities to work efficiently and think clearly, they can voice concerns and maximize the number of people reached. Allowing the consumers of a product to speak their mind is an advantage many businesses lack. This tactic allows the majority to best be suited and put members first. Patrons uniting in cooperation produces “services otherwise not available...at the right time, [or in the right] markets,” which is a basic principle for cooperatives.

Yet, the opportunities do not stop there. When cooperatives generate profits, the money is distributed back to the members as patronage refunds. Similarly to the FFA organization, co-ops believe “in a life abundant and enough honest wealth to help make it so.” They do not merely inflate prices and overcharge customers. They sell goods and services at competitive prices. With user-ownership, user-control, and user benefits cooperatives fulfill the needs of people everywhere. Necessities and educational opportunities are made feasible to all family types. In urban and rural towns alike, co-ops step up to the plate to serve the community; they have actual concern for the community.

With their solid commitment in service and honesty, cooperatives prove themselves a reliable and trusted business practice. So how does this affect the everyday life? Well, despite popular belief, cooperatives go beyond helping just agriculturalists and aid the everyday person. There are over 21,367 cooperatives in America which work cooperatively together to serve more than 127.5 million members. From electricity to groceries and from MFA to Land O’ Lakes, co-ops serve millions.

One very famous example of a cooperative is Sunkist Growers Incorporated. Founded in 1893 by various small-town farmers, Sunkist has grown to serve the entire nation with quality goods at reasonable prices. Providing markets, supplies and service, cooperatives prove themselves a fundamental part of the American society. Our nation would not flourish as it does today without the strong foundation of co-ops. Thanks to cooperatives across the nation and the FFA organization, I can now stand here today and say, “I believe in the future of agriculture.” I believe in the values these organizations have taught me and I believe the people of our glorious nation do as well. For when one thinks on it, where would the world be without cooperation? Every man would be for himself.

Human beings would all be slinging mud in their own messy tracks, not progressing very far in life. This is why it is so important that cooperatives and the FFA push the values of communication, leadership, and honesty. They still hold true to the precedents of our past. The times when friends would lend a helping hand to a struggling companion, so they could both advance together.

These are ethics that need to be cherished. It is as Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working

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