ooperatives have historically been utilized to market wholesale quantities of produce in Kentucky. In the early 2000s, as many as four grower co-ops in Kentucky were actively marketing tomatoes, melons, sweet corn, cabbage, bell peppers, pumpkins and other crops to wholesale buyers. By 2006, however, produce marketing by grower co-ops had largely disappeared from Kentucky's produce industry, with only one co-op still operating as growers found other ways to market produce. The involvement of co-ops in marketing produce from Kentucky has since been limited. Cooperatives remain a potential form of business organization for specialty crop growers located in a similar geographic area. Producers interested in exploring the cooperative business structure can investigate resources available from the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD), which is recognized by USDA Rural Development as a cooperative development center.