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Cooperatives benefit farmers and rural communities.
Cooperative spirit

Farmers share what ‘It Takes a Co-op™’ means to them

Cooperative members explain what being part of a co-op means to them.
Matthew Wilde
Oct 14, 2025

 
You may have seen “It Takes a Co-op™”, recently introduced by CHS. But, what does it mean?

CHS launched the campaign to celebrate its heritage as the nation’s leading ag and energy cooperative. The campaign also recognizes the important role CHS, and cooperative system, plays in feeding and fueling the world.

Several farmers and cooperative owners recently shared what “It Takes a Co-op” means to them. Here are four responses:

  • “It Takes a Co-op means it takes more than one co-op. It takes... more than one person to move things forward. In agriculture, it takes a group of people to come together, move issues or get facilities or build a market, whatever it is.”
  • “It means community, and it means everybody. And again, I always like to say we're all after the same end result. And it takes us all to come together.”
  • “It Takes a Co-op means that it takes a group of people working together to make things better for everyone on the end of the process.” 
  • “It means involvement at the grassroots level. You have to be committed to the long term on it, and you have to provide input and say in how the operation goes. And it brings a community together where you're bringing size and scale that you can't do individually. So, it allows you to compete in the marketplace, not only domestically, but in the world environment. Without that, I don't know how you would do that on your own.” 

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