Each year in October, cooperatives across the country — credit unions, electric utilities, grain co-ops, and more — celebrate National Co-op Month. This federally recognized celebration is an opportunity for co-ops like ours to raise awareness of a trusted and proven way to do business and build communities.

Co-op Month was first proclaimed in October 1964 by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, a former Minnesota governor, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In fact, electric co-ops emerged from a national effort to electrify rural areas during the 1930s through the 1960s.

According to the NRECA, only 10% of rural America had electricity in the mid1930s. Thanks to the powerful work of cooperatives, run by local members and their communities, that grew to over 90% by 1953. Today, more than 99% of America’s farms have electric service, many of whom got their start thanks to the not-for-profit cooperative model.

This year’s National Co-op Month theme, “Co-ops Commit: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,” highlights how co-ops are working to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces and boards and promote economic participation and advancement in their communities.

And that includes Wheatland Electric. We’re not just a company — we’re a cooperative, owned by the people we serve. To learn more, follow us on social media and visit our website throughout this month to learn more about what we’re doing to better meet the needs of the communities we serve across southwest and south-central Kansas!