- 4 -
cooperatives and cooperative activity among Ohio farmers. An
agricultural cooperative is a business organization in which the
members, who are generally individual farmers, are both owners of
the organization and its customers. The farmer-owners sell
products to, and purchase products and supplies from, the
cooperative. A farmer’s ownership interest in the cooperative is
determined by the amount of business he or she does with the
cooperative. Petitioner has historically encouraged farmers to
join cooperatives, pointing out the benefits of ownership, the
availability of products or services that may not otherwise be
available to farmers, and the focus on keeping farmers’ needs and
interests primary. In fact, petitioner was the founder or
sponsor of most of the agricultural cooperatives in Ohio.
In 1934, petitioner formed an Ohio agricultural cooperative
by the name of the Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Inc.
The name was later changed to Landmark, Inc. (Landmark).
Landmark was a regional cooperative organization. As such, it
did not generally sell products to or purchase products from
individual farmers. Instead, local Landmark cooperatives or
affiliated organizations (local Landmarks) purchased from or sold
to individual farmers.
From the time of Landmark’s formation until December 5,
1981, petitioner held a controlling interest in Landmark’s voting
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011