Farmer Cooperatives: Members and Use

摘要

Fifty-six percent of farmers were either members or nonmember patrons of marketing/farm supply cooperatives in both 1980 and 1986. However, the percent of farmers who held memberships dropped from 40 to 36 percent and nonmember patrons increased from 16 to 19 percent. The biggest change was an increase in percent of members among farmers with sales of $500,000 or more from 56 percent in 1980 to 69 percent in 1980. The percent of farmers who used cooperatives for marketing declined but increased for those who used cooperatives for purchasing farm supplies.