Abstract
Farmer Cooperatives have for over a century played a large role in the agricultural sector of the American economy; and yet they are a subject about which the average citizen knows very little. | There are usually three questions asked when one attempts to discuss Farmer Cooperatives with an individual who is not familiar with them. What are they? Why were they needed? When did they originate? I will attempt to answer these questions since the answers may help the reader to better understand and evaluate the analysis presented in the text of the study. The answers to these questions will, of necessity, be brief since my purpose in making this study was to analyze performance and not to justify the existence of the Farmer Cooperative, which for the purpose of brevity will hereafter be referred to simply as cooperative.