The objective of this article is to describe the key elements of cooperative finance that have been found in the literature and illustrate how they relate to the function and structure of cooperatives.

This study examines the price competitiveness of marketing and production contracts depending on whether contracts are with cooperatives or investorowned firms. A propensity score matching method is used to compare prices using contract data from a national farm-level survey. The results show...

Seven years of debt covenant violations of private lending agreements of eighty-three agricultural cooperatives were examined. A LOGIT prediction model of debt covenant violations was developed and the factors that affect debt covenant violations were identified. These factors include...

The objective of this research is to assess the financial performance of North Dakota farm supply and grain handling cooperatives between 2002 and 2006. Audited financial statements from 120 cooperatives were used. Various financial variables are tested as determinants of profitability....

Financial stress in agricultural cooperatives may be due to a combination of three factors: inadequate profitability, excessive debt, or high interest rates. This paper uses an analytical technique to determine the relative degree of financial stress in agricultural cooperatives attributable to...

Bargaining in agriculture is collective because an agent represents multiple principals, the farmers, in contrast to an agent who negotiates on behalf of a single or corporate entity. Collective bargaining adds the complication of securing commitments from several individuals, each possibly...

On June 20, 2002, the members of the South Dakota Soybean Processors (SDSP) Cooperative approved the reorganization of the cooperative into a limited liability company. Between the vote of the SDSP board of directors to reorganize on October 12, 2001 and the majority vote of the membership to...

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) is the largest rural electric cooperative in the US. In this case, readers learn about various principal-agent problems that occurred at PEC and the steps taken to correct such problems. Electric cooperatives are a vital part of the US electrical grid....

Farmer cooperative managers and directors were contracted to determine their perspectives of the cooperative environment. Special emphasis was given to assessing their perceptions of division of responsibility between management and the board of directors, the importance of cooperative...

Cooperative directors’ perceptions of their roles, knowledge, and implementation of cooperative principles, business decision making, financial analysis, cooperative law, and division of responsibility with management were analyzed using data from forty-eight agricultural and thirty-one...