House Resolution 122 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 122 BY ALONS , MUHLBAUER , WENTHE , H. MILLER , WOLFE , THEDE , KEARNS , THOMAS , GASKILL , HANSON , ABDUL-SAMAD , MASCHER , M. SMITH , ISENHART , BERRY , WILLEMS , T. OLSON , KELLEY , WITTNEBEN , GAINES , SHAW , MASSIE , WORTHAN , IVERSON , J. SMITH , HEIN , DE BOEF , LOFGREN , CHAMBERS , HUSEMAN , WATTS , BAUDLER , RAYHONS , FORRISTALL , GARRETT , BRANDENBURG , DRAKE , SANDS , SODERBERG , GRASSLEY , KLEIN , S. OLSON , PAUSTIAN , MOORE , SWEENEY , DOLECHECK , SCHULTE , HORBACH , HANUSA , RASMUSSEN , VAN ENGELENHOVEN , JORGENSEN , HAGENOW , ROGERS , FRY , KAUFMANN , DEYOE , KOESTER , VANDER LINDEN , HAGER , BALTIMORE , and BYRNES A Resolution recognizing the year 2012 as the Year of 1 the Farmer Cooperative. 2 WHEREAS, over 3,000 farmer cooperatives are 3 currently serving America, from corner groceries, to 4 superstores, to school lunch programs; and 5 WHEREAS, farmer co-ops give the country a safe, 6 affordable, and abundant food supply; and 7 WHEREAS, co-ops also help their producer-owners 8 compete in a global marketplace, engage in value-added 9 processing, and supply just about any input, from feed, 10 seed, and fertilizer to fuel, tires, and tools needed 11 to run a successful farm or ranch; and 12 WHEREAS, the cooperatively owned Farm Credit System 13 makes sure that farmers, ranchers, and their co-ops 14 have a dependable and competitive way to finance their 15 operations —— in both good times and bad; and 16 WHEREAS, across America farmer co-ops are the 17 -1- LSB 6086HH (11) 84 jr/rj 1/ 2

H.R. 122 economic lifeblood of many rural communities, providing 1 jobs to over a quarter of a million Americans, with 2 payrolls in excess of $8 billion a year; and 3 WHEREAS, all across rural America farmer co-ops are 4 an important part of the social fabric, doing things as 5 simple as sponsoring the local little league team to 6 things as difficult as helping their neighbors recover 7 from natural disasters; and 8 WHEREAS, in July 2011, the United States Senate 9 passed a resolution declaring 2012 to be the Year of 10 Cooperatives to recognize and celebrate the benefits 11 cooperatives of all types deliver to the communities 12 they serve; NOW THEREFORE, 13 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 14 That the House of Representatives recognizes the year 15 2012 as the Year of the Farmer Cooperative and urges 16 all Iowans to recognize and support the vital role 17 of co-ops in the economic and social well-being of 18 communities across Iowa and America. 19 -2- LSB 6086HH (11) 84 jr/rj 2/ 2