Nebraska Cooperative Council

The Nebraska Cooperative Council, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan trade association representing agricultural cooperatives. It was formed in the fall of 1945 after a small group of cooperative leaders throughout Nebraska came together to discuss the idea of organizing a trade association for agricultural cooperatives. What evolved from a series of meetings of these individuals was the formation of the Nebraska Cooperative Council. As a full-service trade association, the Council has played a key role in furthering the growth of cooperative businesses in the state. Currently, over 90% of the agricultural cooperatives in Nebraska are members of the Council; and the membership base includes not only farm supply and marketing cooperatives but also rural electric and telephone cooperatives; financial services cooperatives; regional cooperatives; and those providing services such as insurance, livestock marketing, communications, consumer goods, and others. In addition, members include auditing firms and other organizations serving cooperatives. The agricultural cooperatives that are members of the Council account for nearly $9 billion of economic activity each year.