USDA Proclaims October National Cooperatives Month
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a proclamation to recognize October 2024 as the Department’s 60th anniversary of National Cooperative Month. This year’s theme for the month-long celebration is “The Future is Cooperative,” acknowledging the unique and essential role cooperatives play in providing clean, affordable energy, increasing economic opportunities and improving the quality of life for people in rural America. In his proclamation, Vilsack noted that more than 30,000 cooperatives throughout the U.S. account for more than two million jobs and generate more than $700 billion in annual revenue. Secretary Vilsack also noted that USDA has been serving the nation’s farmer cooperatives for 98 years with cooperative statistics, research, technical assistance, and informational products.