On the other hand, the manager must also be able to relate to the member owners. Very few beekeeping cooperatives seem to have survived for long periods, Mr. Matson said. He suggested that case studies done on those that have longevity would be valuable exercises. To my knowledge, the U.S. beekeeping cooperative that has survived longest is located near Sioux City, Iowa. The association is a cooperative in every sense of the word.
Members own and control the organization through a board of directors elected by members.
The management of the association is responsible to the directors . Other examples exist in Canada, such as Bee Maid, Canada's largest marketer of consumer packaged honey with distributing centers around the world. The Rural Business-Cooperative Web site also has some good information. A financial profile of the top 100 cooperatives for both 1996 and 1997 is found there. A publication on how to develop a business plan, the first step in forming a cooperative, can be found on the Small Business Administration's site. .