Editor's note:  Another View is an opinion column that provides perspective on issues that affect agriculture. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Today's Farmer or MFA Incorporated. Submissions should be 550 to 700 words. Send submissions or inquiries to Todaysfarmer@mfa-inc.com.

Cooperatives understand the unique needs of rural areas because one of the guiding cooperative principles is "concern for community." Missouri's cooperatives responded immediately to aid fellow members in the Gulf States. This assistance came in many forms—volunteers, livestock feed, fuel, generators, ice, bottled water, non-perishable foods and even emergency cash.

Dairy Farmers of America, based in  Kansas City, Mo., has 312 members and 39 employee families in the area hardest hit by Katrina. Dairy farmers face unique needs because fresh milk is highly perishable. Dairy cows must be milked at least twice daily. Many dairy farmers own a back-up generator, but this equipment is not designed to run continuously. With the lengthy use of generators following Katrina, fuel supplies in the region became desperately low. To complicate matters further, incoming fuel supplies were directed to urban relief efforts.

Before Katrina made landfall, Ozarks area DFA members were asked to loan generators to fellow members in Louisiana and Mississippi. Approximately 50 were delivered by Sept.1 from members in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. DFA also helped arrange for delivery of six loads of fuel to get through the shortage.

After the board president of MFA Incorporated, a dairyman himself, identified the need, MFA Incorporated and MFA Oil cooperated to arrange for a fuel tanker to deliver fuel directly to the co-op in Tylertown, Miss. MFA Incorporated also supplied two tractor trailer vans normally used to haul feed to haul supplies collected by the Columbia community. In many cases the drivers of the tankers and van trailers helped in their own way, donating their time to the effort. Everyone pitched in.

Electric power was restored as quickly as possible thanks to the help of crews from Missouri's rural electric cooperatives. Rebuilding the infrastructure will take months. Power was restored in 3 weeks even though initially it was expected to take 6 weeks. Response from rural electric cooperatives across the nation helped restore power quickly.

Rural electric cooperatives always help neighbors in times of need but the response following Katrina and Rita was unprecedented. Thirty-eight Missouri rural electric cooperatives sent crews following Katrina. They provided 296 linemen and 100 vehicles. When fuel supplies ran low, M&A Electric Power sent 14,000 gallons of diesel fuel to keep the trucks in the field. MFA Oil made sure that a convoy of electric utility trucks coming from the Wisconsin area had fuel once they entered the damaged areas. They filled a tanker and escorted the trucks southward ensuring the crews would not be stranded without fuel. Crews from Missouri joined nearly 10,000 linemen from cooperatives in 28 states.

At the peak, 488,000 electric cooperative customers were without power in Mississippi and another 99,000 in Louisiana. In Mississippi, approximately 50,000 poles were destroyed and thousands of miles of line lay on the ground.

Less than 4 weeks later, 142 lineman from 20 cooperatives in Missouri with 73 pieces of equipment returned to the Gulf Region after Hurricane Rita.

Cooperatives understand the need for long term assistance. The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives established a relief fund for electric cooperative employees and families who were Katrina's victims. For longer term assistance the DFA Board established a three tiered package for its producers—emergency cash assistance, a loan program for milk production losses and financing programs for reconstruction.

DFA also established DFA Cares, a tax deductible organization that will provide aid specifically to DFA dairy farm families—with 100 percent of the receipts going to the recovery efforts.

The devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita gives each of us a renewed appreciation for our families, our homes and our cooperative system. October is the month set aside to recognize the special nature and accomplishments of Missouri's cooperatives. There is no finer tribute to what sets the cooperative form of business apart than the generous outpouring from Missouri cooperatives to our neighbors in the Gulf. The commitment of cooperatives to their members and rural communities is unparalleled.

Bill Coen is a general manager for several MFA Agri Services Centers in east central Missouri. He is also  president of the Missouri Institute of Cooperatives.