familiar with the economy in the area and probably
know many of the cooperative’s prospective members.
These banks also offer a variety of banking services the
cooperative will need once it begins operations. New
cooperatives often get loans or loan guarantees from
government agencies.
Farm Credit System banks, particularly CoBank, that
are nationally chartered are a major source of credit for
newly organized and established agricultural and rural
utility cooperatives and their members. Farm Credit
System banks make loans to cooperatives to purchase
fixed assets and for operations. Individual farmers bor-
row funds to purchase land and to finance farm opera-
tions. The system is used also to finance members’ share
of equity capital for a new or expanding marketing,
purchasing, or service cooperative.
NCB is another source for loans and startup financ-
ing. It primarily finances non-agricultural cooperatives,
including consumer, worker, retailer-owned, health,
housing, and other types of cooperatives, both urban
and in rural communities.
Preparing a Loan Application—Cooperative leaders
need to carefully develop the loan application to make a
good first impression on the potential lender. Lenders
will insist on seeing certain key documents before con-
sidering a loan request. Special expertise is important in
helping prepare these documents, including that of an
economist, marketing specialist, attorney, certified pub-
lic accountant, and perhaps others with expertise relat-
ed to the proposed cooperative’s business.
The lender will carefully review the business plan of
the proposed cooperative. It will want to know the pro-
jected volume of business and seasonal changes in it,
current market conditions, and how the cooperative
will fit into that market. The lender will also want to see
evidence for the proposed facility and equipment
needs, the projected cash flow, operational aspects, etc.
Cash flow will be a focal point as it provides the lender
with a continuous, month-by-month cash income and
expense prediction. Lenders are particularly concerned
with the net ending cash balance, which provides evi-
dence that the cooperative will have sufficient funds to
operate, pay bills, and repay loans, especially during
adverse market swings. Most lenders want 3-year pro-
jections. (See Appendixes F through J for examples of
cash flow, income, balance sheet, ratio analysis, and
sources and uses of funds, statements.)
The lender will carefully examine the projected oper-
ating statement and balance sheet. The income state-
ment provides a projected picture of operations for 1 or
more years. It contains information on sources of
income and expenses. The key figure is the “bottom
line,” which indicates whether net margins (profits) are
anticipated. A monthly operating statement provides
information to lenders and assists the board in making
major policy and management decisions.
The balance sheet will project the future value of the
cooperative and indicate its solvency and ability to sat-
isfy creditors’ claims when due. It lists the cooperative’s
assets, liabilities, and net worth.
To provide the lender with further condensed infor-
mation, a schedule of Fixed Assets Costs and
Depreciation (see Appendix K for a sample) should be
developed. A condensed listing quickly conveys what
the cooperative needs to purchase or lease. To assure
the lender that depreciation has been accurately noted,
it is also desirable to outline in table form the classes of
assets, cost, life expectancy of equipment, and annual
depreciation.
Another helpful document for lenders is a Financing
Needs and Sources Schedule (see Appendix L for a
sample schedule). This listing will save the lender time
in assembling the various pieces of data for analysis. It
should show major items for which loans and member
equity will be spent. These items are extracted from the
projected cash-flow data.
PART 3—LEGAL ASPECTS OF COOPERATIVE
DEVELOPMENT
Several Federal laws are especially important for
cooperatives. The Capper-Volstead Act of 1922, some-
times called the “Magna Carta” of farmer marketing
cooperatives, recognizes the rights of producers to act
together in handling, processing, and marketing their
production without violating antitrust law. Producers
may also form a marketing agency in common. But
even though cooperatives have this organizational pro-
tection, their operations are subject to the same antitrust
laws as other businesses. (See USDA CIR 35,
Understanding Capper-Volstead, under References.)
The Farm Credit Act of 1971 defines a cooperative
that is eligible to borrow from the banks for coopera-
tives in the Farm Credit System and the conditions the
cooperative must meet. The National Consumer
Cooperative Bank Act created a similar financial institu-
tion, the National Cooperative Bank (now called NCB),
to serve non-farm cooperatives.
The Internal Revenue Code describes the tax treat-
ment of cooperatives and their patrons and tax report-
ing requirements. (See USDA CIR 44, Parts 1-5, Income
Tax Treatment of Cooperatives, under References.)
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
Incorporation is usually the best method of organiz-
ing. Each State has special enabling laws under which
cooperatives may incorporate. It may be preferable to
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