Welcome! Did you know that the pizza you ate last weekend was most likely topped with cheese produced by a cooperative? Did you know that the garden tool you bought last summer came from a hardware store which is part of a cooperative? Or that the grocery store in your hometown is also a part of a cooperative? Or that the news report you read this morning was from a cooperative news organization? The cooperatives referred to above are Land O' Lakes, True Value stores, Shoprite/Wakefern stores, and the Associated Press! Surprised? Don't be - some cooperatives are among the Fortune 500 companies.

The primary goal of this website is to introduce you to the world of cooperatives and the role they play in our economy and daily lives. What you will find here is more informative than pedagogical. If you find the information presented here interesting and want to learn more about cooperatives, you are welcome to contact me or various cooperative organizations listed in the link page.

I am grateful to the Rural Business-Cooperative Services division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for funding this web site and some of my research on cooperatives.