Ag Guild has only 34 members, while the southwest Iowa group, Iowa Quality Producers Alliance, has almost 80 and is headed to a possible 200. But they share common traits. Most aim to help producers gain more clout in the marketplace without investing in bricks and mortar. The goal is to return any profits or premiums to members quickly. But membership isn't free.
Any new organization requires some capital to get up and running.
Producers outside of the Midwest learned this lesson long ago. One reason that California tomato grower Steve Heringer's family is still in the business is that his father, Les Heringer, Sr., helped organize the California Tomato Growers Association in the 1950s. Les went up and down the road selling the idea, just as Northey and Denne are doing now. It bargains with nearly all of the state's processors to set a minimum price. In the 1950s the group's goals were more modest.