Top Ten List of Coop Types

The title of this post is misleading. There’s not ten types on the list, but that’s not the point.  We are actually going to take a tiny, non-inclusive peek into history to look at some types of cooperative businesses that have previously existed, in order to compare to the “standard” list of coop types you will get on the first page of a Google search.

 Why would we do this?  To emphasize the idea that coops are a flexible form that can, and do, adapt to the needs of a time and a culture. 

 What’s on the current list?  The typical present-day list will include:

·         Worker coops

o   The workers own and manage the business

o   (bakeries, breweries, and bike shops)

·         Producer coops

o   Allow producers to pool resources in moving goods to market

o   (agriculture, lumber)

·         Purchasing coops

o   Small business or individuals can act cooperatively for greater purchasing power

o   (hardware, business supplies)

·         Consumer coops

o   Retail consumers are the members of the Co-op, and are rewarded with dividends based on their patronage of the business

o   (consumer goods, grocery stores)

·         Housing coops

o   Property is owned by an entity and sold as shares to the residents

·         Financial coops

o   Member-owned, not-for-profit financial institutions

o   (credit union)

·         Multi-stakeholder coops

o   Combinations of multiple Co-op categories

These lists will have variations, and there are many companies that blur the lines (sometimes called hybrid coops).

A Hundred Years Ago…

In 1931, Max Bovarnick published a masters thesis at UMass Amherst entitled “An analysis of cooperative agricultural organizations in Massachusetts, 1929”.  This is a focused and limited list, but interesting and instructive.  The following types of agricultural coops were identified:

·         Purchasing Associations

o   Most numerous type of agricultural cooperative, providing supplies and materials to farmers

o   Sub-categories included feed, fertilizer, packing supplies, general supplies.

·         Selling Associations

o   Primarily focused on marketing milk and cream, but also involved in testing and pasteurizing, and bottling the raw milk, before selling to consumers, retailers, or wholesalers.

o   Limited number of fruit marketing associations, including the New England Cranberry Sales Company which graded, packed, stored, and inspected cranberries.

o   Duck and sheep growers associations.

o   Women’s Marketing Association of Berkshire County was concerned with sale of home-made preserves, jellies, jams, and other canned fruits and vegetables.

·         Selling and Purchasing Associations

o   For instance, the Cape Cod Strawberry Growers’ Association primarily marketed strawberries, but also purchased fertilizers and packing supplies for the farmers, maintaining relationships with various banks to finance the advance purchase of the fertilizer and packing crates, then paying the accounts with proceeds from the berry sales.

o   Similar coops existed for blueberry farmers, turnips, and asparagus.

·         Grading Associations

o   These associations worked to ensure good prices for farmers and standardized products and quality by contracting with a single sales agent (preventing price-lowering competition) and enforcing grading standards and uniform branding.

·         Bargaining Associations

o   Similar to a grading association. 

o   The New England Milk Producers’ Association used collective bargaining strategies to negotiate prices and terms of the sale of its members’ milk.

o   Ensure that all members had a market outlet for their product.

o   Verifying the tests, measurements, and methods of retailers to enforce agreements.

o   Working with local Boards of Health on behalf of members.

·         Service Associations

o   The Lawrence Market Gardeners’ Association and the Berkshire County Vegetable Growers’ Association ran something akin to farmers’ markets, some wholesale and some retail.

 What does this mean?

Cooperative businesses can be crafted and tweaked to meet the needs of the members.  When everyone was a farmer, there were many flavors of agricultural coops.  Today there is much talk about Platform Cooperatives, which are digital platforms that are governed and owned by the people who use them.

 If you and your neighbors have a common need, there might be an opportunity for mutual benefit if you act cooperatively.  What kind of coops are needed for the year 2020?