Op-Ed By USDA Rural Development Rural Business-Cooperative Services Administrator Gimmie Jo Jansonius
I love October. The air is crisp and invigorating, apples and pumpkins are everywhere, and our country is as beautiful as ever.
October isn’t just a pretty month. It’s also National Co-op Month and as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Business-Cooperative Services Administrator, I’m proud to shine a light on the good work cooperatives do across this great nation. In fact, I just visited some incredible co-ops in Wisconsin and Iowa.
In the small town of Westby, Wisconsin, the Westby Cooperative Creamery has been operating for over 120 years. I toured the creamery with Wisconsin State Director Andrew Iverson to see how the co-op is using a nearly $15.5 million loan provided through our Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan program along with Security Financial Bank to expand and modernize its manufacturing facility. This modernization is key to assisting the long-standing cooperative with meeting the demands of the growing cottage cheese industry. From a dairy farm to a grocer’s shelf, this investment will reinforce rural prosperity in Wisconsin and beyond.
I traveled to Story County in central Iowa next, along with USDA Rural Development Iowa State Director Mike Sexton, to learn more about Mid-States Material Handling & Fabrication. This manufacturing cooperative in Nevada, Iowa, received an $824,682 pass-through loan through USDA Rural Development from Central Iowa Power Cooperative to help the cooperative purchase a welding machine. This equipment is increasing production capacity at the manufacturing facility and is expected to create eight new jobs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins proclaimed the 62nd anniversary of Cooperative month. The theme this year is “Built for this Moment,” as chosen by the National Cooperative Business Association. This theme acknowledges the electric co-ops delivering essential infrastructure to rural America, the food co-ops that support local farmers and agricultural producers, the housing co-ops creating lasting affordability and the worker co-ops preserving local businesses. It also highlights co-ops as resilient networks, working hard every day to care for communities.
Cooperatives are powerful engines of economic growth for our whole nation. Across the U.S., more than 30,000 cooperatives—including food, grocery, worker, retail, purchasing, utility, housing, and financial cooperatives—support over 2.5 million jobs and generate roughly $650 billion in annual revenue.
Given this far-reaching impact, it is no surprise that co-ops are central to President Trump’s America First agenda to strengthen our economy and empower communities. Since the start of the Trump-Vance administration and under the leadership of Secretary Rollins, USDA has invested more than $18.1 billion in loans and grants to support 242 cooperatives. These investments are spurring economic development, supporting critical electric and broadband infrastructure, and paving the way for unprecedented prosperity through rural cooperatives supported by USDA Rural Development’s programs.
Supporting cooperatives strengthens farmer profitability, expands market access and creates jobs in rural communities. It also encourages innovation and reinforces America’s leadership role in agriculture, food production and farm security. At USDA Rural Development, we will be celebrating the co-ops we support throughout the month of October, because they work so hard on behalf of people in rural communities across the U.S. We invite you to join our celebration on social media at @usdaRD.
USDA Rural Development offers a variety of financial assistance and services to assist rural businesses, including cooperatives and agricultural producers. For more information on cooperatives, visit USDA Rural Development Cooperative Services.
