Contact: La Jaycee Brown, (202) 720-9741
ljbrown@rdmail.rural.usda.gov
Contact: Dan Campbell, (202) 720-6483
dan.campbell@usda.gov
USDA AWARDS GRANTS TO PROMOTE CO-OP DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 1999 -- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today awarded $1.75 million in technical assistance grants to encourage development of new, member-owned cooperatives. The grants will help fund seven existing cooperative development centers and will create three new centers.
"The approaching new millennium offers an array of opportunities to develop cooperatives aimed at enhancing income for co-op members and serving the market with new, value-added food and industrial products," Glickman said. "At the same time, new generations need to be educated about the structure, operations, member responsibilities and benefits of cooperatives."
Recipients of the USDA grants are cooperative development centers and universities, which in turn are helping to organize new cooperatives. The funds will be used to finance cooperative education programs, feasibility studies, business development plans, market analysis studies and product development plans for new cooperatives.
The University of California will use its grant to support agricultural cooperatives with research, education and developmental programs. In Wisconsin, the Cooperative Development Services will use existing cooperatives as a catalyst for local economic development through value-added processing and to promote new cooperative developments. South Carolina State University will create a center to help establish cooperatives and generate rural employment opportunities in South Carolina and Georgia.
"When producers unite in cooperatives to provide value-added agricultural products, they can exert considerably more influence on the marketplace as a group than if attempted individually. Cooperatives can open doors of opportunity," Glickman said. "Agricultural cooperatives also help maintain a floor for farm prices, particularly as Federal farm safety net programs are eliminated."
The funding is being provided by the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program of USDA Rural Development. For more information on how USDA can help rural cooperatives, call (202) 720-7558.
For the complete list of grants awarded, click here.
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