Understanding membership's business and their expectations for the cooperative is essential to its survival. More farmers are also concerned about finding markets for their livestock and dealing with environmental issues, such as animal waste. Some farmers are marketing their livestock directly to consumers and don't have the knowledge or resources needed to deal with new environmental standards. Cooperatives will undoubtedly be asked to provide a bigger role than just providing feed. Their members will want more forward integration into livestock processing, marketing and waste handling.
Technology is in the driver's seat for information dissemination and sales in the near future.
A recent National Agricultural Statistics Service farmer survey found that 40 percent owned computers and 29 percent had Internet access. Just two years ago, businesses saw the Internet mainly as an information and sales tool. Many people thought it would be a long, long time before consumers would pay for information or buy products from it. The Internet will continue to expand and will become an increasingly important input to agriculture and cooperatives. Service, or advice, lends itself well to the Internet.