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Center for Rural Affairs, www.cfra.org taste, quality, and for the way they were produced. By pooling a steady supply of production from many farmers, the cooperative could gain the economic power to secure markets and negotiate good prices. The cooperative could go the full step of selling its own branded products to retail stores. Or, it could take the less expensive and less risky approach of selling livestock or crops that meet exacting standards to food com- panies already familiar with branding products and getting them on supermarket shelves. Cooperative mem- bers would receive a premium because their production methods increase the price the food company could charge for its product. Second, the cooperative could provide technical assistance on niche market production. Niche markets offer premiums because producing for them requires specialized knowledge and, generally, more intensive management. It is not practical for every family farmer to search out that knowledge and develop those skills from scratch. A cooperative could help by providing information and technical assistance. Third, the cooperative could help link new producers to capital. For example, it might link beginning farmers who want to produce for a niche market with supportive land owners willing to rent to them. It might link beginning farmers and ranchers with socially motivated investors who would buy breeding stock and lease it to them in return for a percentage of production. Or it might find socially motivated investors willing to make loans to beginning farmers in return for a federal income tax break. Finally, the cooperative could have market research staff to search out new premium markets family farmers and ranchers could serve. As potential new markets are identified, the cooperative could organize interested producers and work with them to develop and capture that market. For example, a cooperative with roots as a livestock cooperative might also discover an opportunity in organic medicinal herbs and help a new group of family farmers capture that market. A New Model for the 21st Century The opportunities for family farmers and ranchers in producing undifferentiated commodities are declining. But new opportunities exist in niche markets. To capture them, family farmer and ranchers need a new type of cooperative. 'The discussion of Mondragon draws on the book, From Mondragon to America: Experiments in Commu- nity and Economic Development, by Greg MacLeod. For more information on the Mondragon cooperative, visit their website at http: / /www.modragon.mcc.es. Page 19 1�