Understanding Regional Patronage

Phil Kenkel

Bill Fitzwater Cooperative Chair

Oklahoma State University

The Federated Cooperative Structure

Cooperatives that operate over a large geographic area are commonly referred to as “regional” cooperatives even though they may be national or even international in scope.  There are two ownership structures for regional cooperatives.  Centralized regional cooperatives are directly owned by producer members.  A federated regional cooperative is owned by the local cooperatives that transact business with it.  This discussion focuses on the federated category of regional …