CVA celebrates co-ops and communities

This October, Central Valley Ag (CVA) cooperative is joining more than 40,000 cooperatives across the United States in celebrating Co-op Month, observed nationally since 1964. This year’s theme, “Co-ops: By the Community, For the Community,” was chosen to promote how cooperatives enable people to work together to meet their needs and build stronger communities.

“CVA was created by farmers, for the benefit of farmers. We don’t ever want to lose sight that we are here to add value and to help our farmers in their operation,” said Carl Dickinson, CEO/President of CVA.

From farmer co-ops to worker co-ops, credit unions to mutual insurance, and housing co-ops to energy co-ops, cooperative businesses thrive across the U.S. economy, where 350 million people are co-op members. Nationwide, cooperatives generate $514 billion in revenue and more than $25 billion in wages, according to a study conducted by the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. And because they are member-owned, co-ops are rooted in their communities and governed by the people who use them to meet their needs, rather than outside investors.

CVA employees across Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa are celebrating National Co-op Month throughout October with location photos, various events and sharing cooperative fun facts on CVA’s social media platforms.

“It’s really about our CVA team getting up every day, in an everchanging world, asking ‘what do we need to do to add value today’,” said Dickinson. “That’s an ongoing challenge for the cooperative that I think our people step up to each and every day as they find new and different ways to add value to the people that own this company.”

Community members are encouraged to take part in the celebration through their local CVA location. Visit cvacoop.com or follow CVA on Social Media to learn more about the co-op difference.