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The Cooperative branch of Rural Business-Cooperative Programs has been providing
assistance to cooperatives for more than 70 years. Prior to 1994 it had
been a separate agency within USDA. The Cooperative Program professional
staff provide technical assistance, research, statistics, education, and
information to agricultural cooperatives and to groups planning to form a
cooperative type of organization. Rural Business-Cooperative Programs is expanding its technical assistance role to bring the service closer
to the users and to make technical assistance available to all types of rural
cooperatives, including consumer cooperatives, housing cooperatives, marketing
cooperatives and credit unions. New York Rural Development now has a
Cooperative Development Specialist on staff. Scott Collins is headquartered at the Rural
Development State Office in Syracuse and is available to provide assistance
to any rural group in New York State that is interested in forming a
cooperative organization.
The Cooperative Program provides a wide range of assistance for people
interested in forming new cooperatives. This help can range from an initial
feasibility study to the creation and implementation of a business plan.
The Cooperative Program staff includes cooperative development specialists who
do everything from identifying potential cooperative functions through the
development of bylaws and business plans. They also provide training for
cooperative directors.
The overall goal of The Cooperative Program is to provide a realistic view of
what it will take to make a new cooperative succeed. Recent examples of
rural cooperatives that the Cooperative Pervice has helped form include a
cooperative for rural women who produce hand-crafted gift items, a vegetable
growers cooperative which provides increased market access for its members,
and a divers' cooperative which harvests and processes sea urchins for
export to Asia.
The Cooperative Program also provides technical assistance to existing
cooperatives facing problems or challenges. Technical assistance could
include helping a cooperative develop a strategic marketing plan, making a
crucial decision about merging or forming a joint venture with other
cooperatives, or improving its business structure and operating efficiency.
More information about cooperative development assistance can be obtained by contacting
Scott Collins (315) 477-6409. |