Credit: Pacific Coast Producers
Credit: Keystone Cooperative (formerly Ceres Solutions)
Credit: Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative
Credit: American Crystal Sugar Company

Let Your Cooperative Voice Be Heard

Making the cooperative voice heard on Capitol Hill is essential to protecting the interests of farmer co-ops and their member-owners. This page provides the resources, tools, and talking points needed to advocate effectively on the issues that matter most to farmer cooperatives.

Resources

Whether you want to learn about the policy issues shaping the farmer cooperative business model, from the farm bill to ag labor reform and trade; hear directly from farmers, producers, board directors, and other co-op leaders about why advocacy on the Hill matters; or stay up-to-date on NCFC’s activities and stakeholder engagement, click through the information and resources below to access the materials NCFC staff created to support member advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill.

Informational Materials

NCFC compiled data from its members to highlight the significant economic impact farmer-owned cooperatives have across the country. Each state fact sheet contains the aggregated data received from the farmer co-ops with operations within each respective state.

Each state sheet includes the following data points:

  1. The number of farmer-owned cooperatives in the state;
  2. The number of farmer-members in the state;
  3. The number of jobs supported in the state; and
  4. The total annual wages paid to employees in the state.

In addition to the quantitative data set described above, we have also compiled “success stories” from some states that show the tangible benefits cooperatives provide to American farmers and their communities. These firsthand accounts provide powerful examples of the real-life impact policymakers have on co-ops.

Click the drop-down menu below to view and download PDF versions of each available state’s fact sheet.

Alex at award ceremony

Share Your Success Story

NCFC is collecting stories and narrative examples of how farmer cooperatives support the lives of farmers and their families, strengthen cooperative businesses, and benefit the communities they serve.

These stories will be used alongside quantitative data to inform the materials distributed at the 2026 Washington Conference. They give our advocacy team’s outreach on Capitol Hill a personal face, making the farmer co-op story that much more powerful to members of Congress.

Click the button below to submit your story.