Rural Cooperative Magazine March/April 2000





On the Cover:
Once extinct in Alaska, the musk ox has made a major come back. A cooperative of Alaskan Eskimo women are transforming its soft wool into high-fashion accessories and earning much-needed income for their poor, rural communities. Story on Page 7.
Photo copyright Musk Ox Farm






FEATURES

Boosting the 3 Bs
England's Plunkett Foundation promotes "the furtherance of rural cooperation"
Eliza Banks

Fingers and needles
Alaskan co-op turns cashmere-soft musk ox wool into hard cash
Pamela J. Karg

South Africa village banks receive World Bank funding

Strength through unity
Bulgarian honey producers sweeten their future through cooperation
James Matson

Foreign affairs
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service promotes U.S. agriculture abroad
Karl Hampton

Going global
Export certificates a valuable tool helping co-ops tap overseas markets
Alan Borst

Why U.S. agriculture should support foreign aid
Perry Letson



DEPARTMENTS


COMMENTARY
A CLOSER LOOK AT...
MANAGEMENT TIP
NEWSLINE




Dan Glickman,, Secretary of Agriculture

Jill Long Thompson, Under Secretary, Rural Development

Dayton J. Watkins, Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Gladys Rodriguez, Director, Public Affairs

Dan Campbell, Managing Editor

USDA Design Center, Design

RURAL COOPERATIVES (1088-8845) is published bimonthly by Rural Business-Cooperative Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of public business required by law of the Department. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC. Copies may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 20402, at $3.50 domestic, $4.38 foreign; or by annual subscription at $15.00 domestic, $18.75 foreign. Postmaster: send address change to: Rural Cooperatives, USDA/RBS, Stop 3255, Wash., DC 20250-3255. order form

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