Selecting a Cooperative Membership Structure for the Agriculture-of-the- Middle Initiative

This study explores choices of cooperative structure — local, centralized, or federated — for mid-size farms, also referred to as the “agriculture-of-the-middle” (AOTM) or farms of “the disappearing middle.” They are referred to as “in the middle” structurally (in terms of numbers and production output) because they are positioned between large industrialized farms and much smaller farms located near metropolitan areas. The largest farms have increased in numbers as well in the proportion of total U.S. farms..These farms fit the large-scale, industrialized and commodity-production farm model. The smallest farms have increased in numbers and output as well and are generally specialized for “local” and organic markets. The financial stability of many farms in the middle is tenuous. They generally have both too much output and are too distant from metropolitan areas to take advantage of the niche markets that the smallest farms have been able to access. While further industrialization and increasing scale may be an option for some, for most it is not desired and/or possible financially. “Middle farms” are a focus for different interest groups-including farmers, food wholesalers and retailers, university and government personnel, non-government organizations (NGOs), independent certification organizations and rural and community development experts- -seeking to protect and expand farm viability. Their strategies are generally organized to develop niche-specified, differentiated products that encompass various sustainability agendas (economic, social, and environmental sustainability). These initiatives are, in fact, budding collective actions that seek to mobilize AOTM farmers for survival. This report argues that the historical conditions setting the context for this mobilization cannot be taken lightly. The report, therefore, reviews the historically based changes that have occurred in the agricultural context--i.e., shifts in agricultural production, changes in agribusiness complexity, and changes in consumption patterns--and understands these changes as the historically set conditions that the AOTM initiatives must accommodate in their development strategies. From this socio-historical context, the paper assesses different cooperative membership structures--local, centralized, and federated-- for their appropriateness to the collective action initiatives of the mid-level farms.