| Agricultural cooperatives have historically played an important role in marketing farm products produced in New York State dating back to the 1800’s. Some of the first dairy marketing cooperatives organized in the U.S. were formed in New York. Many early dairy cooperatives were created to bargain for prices and terms of trade on behalf of farmer members with dairy processors. The number of dairy processing plants and firms in the U.S. and New York State have decreased significantly over the past fifty years. However, the number of New York dairy cooperatives, especially bargaining cooperatives, did not decrease at the same rate as the rest of the U.S. over the same period. There is a wide range of types of cooperatives operating in New York performing... |
