Coopers Dream Rescue (CDR) is a cooperative farm in Ohio that helps provide financial aid to struggling farmers and ranchers.
The cooperative’s website explains: Cooperative farms are designed to foster economic opportunity and support small farmers.
We partner with farmers, ranchers, and community members to help them turn their farms into successful cooperatives.
We help families, students, and communities in need.
Our farms are committed to working collaboratively to produce products that meet the needs of consumers, while providing a safe, healthy, and affordable food supply for all.
Coopers is one of the nation’s largest consumer cooperatives, and is one the most successful cooperatively owned businesses in the country.
Since its founding in 1995, Coopers has become one of America’s largest farmers and meat producers, with nearly 5,000 farms operating in 27 states and Washington, D.C. The farm cooperatives are based in Toledo, Ohio.
A member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, CDR is one OFS member and is supported by more than $4 billion in grants from the USDA, the Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
A co-founder of the Farm Bureau’s Food & Nutrition Program, CDF President, Joe Wertheimer, said: “We have a long history of helping farmers succeed, and we’re committed to doing everything in our power to make a difference in the lives of people in need.”
Coopers farms are located in rural communities in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.
The Cooperative Farmers Cooperative Association (CFCA), an organization of co-ops in the U-M Cooperative Extension Network, has a national network of more than 5,500 farms in 34 states and territories.
Covers of food and groceries, and other goods and services are available at more than 6,000 locations, from grocery stores to retail outlets to local restaurants and cafeterias.
More than 1,600 food banks serve more than 10 million people each year, including about 700,000 adults.
Co-ops have more than 7,000 members in more than 200 states and the District of Columbia.
Coopers Dream Rescue is a member of CFCA, and it offers financial aid for individuals who are working on a farm, or have started a farm.
According to CDR, the Farm Bank of America, a non-profit organization, was one of CDR’s first financial partners and has supported the cooperative since 1999.
The bank offers financial assistance of up to $50,000 for the purchase of goods and equipment, and up to one-quarter of the cost of a new tractor or farm equipment.
Coops Dream Rescue also offers loans for equipment, including a loan of up $100,000 if a farmer has purchased a tractor and a loan up to a $500,000 loan if a new farm is built.
Copps Food & Grocery, a national retail grocery chain, is a co-op member of CDRs Dream Rescue.
The company also participates in other financial assistance programs.
Coppers Dream Rescue says that co-operatives have a strong impact on local economies.
Copper Creek Cooperative has a membership of about 400 farms in 12 states and two territories, and has an annual operating profit of $1.4 million.
Coppies has more than 600 members in 33 states and D.
Cs.
More information about Coopers and its financial aid programs is available at www.copps.com/coopers.
Consumers can find financial aid information on Copps website at www://coppsfoodgrains.com.
The Farm Bureau is a 501(c)(3) non-profits organization that provides financial assistance to the U,M Community College and the University of Michigan for students and employees.
The Bureau supports students, employees, faculty and the local economy through financial assistance and education programs.