Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund

10/24/2025

We’re imagining an economy rooted in community, cooperation, and shared prosperity!

Sharing a throwback to Coop Econ 2025, short for Cooperative Economics! A weekend filled with learning, networking, and celebration of our shared mission to build community-owned businesses and self-sustaining rural communities across the South.

We couldn’t have done it without our engaged and motivated members, staff, and caterers who made this year’s gathering so special.

✨ Subscribe to our newsletter in bio for updates on upcoming co-op events and training sessions for 2026!

10/10/2025

Interested in building resilient communities? 🌾
This Coop Month, join us October 16–18 for CoopEcon 2025 — a three-day cooperative education and networking event hosted by the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund!

This year’s theme, “Legacy, Leadership, Local Prosperity,” highlights the cooperative movement’s role in strengthening rural communities and creating shared economic growth across the South.

✨ What to Expect:
CoopEcon 2025 features three carefully curated learning tracks:
Leading Together (Governance)
Money, Records & Returns (Finance)
Enterprise & Innovation (Business Development)

Participants will select one track and immerse themselves in workshops that explore strategies, sustainable practices, and innovative approaches essential to cooperative success.

📅 October 16–18, 2025
📍 FSC/LAF’s Rural Training & Research Center — Gainesville, AL
🔗 Register via link in bio for agenda and workshop details.

09/20/2025

Farm Aid 40 pics

09/20/2025

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF has been working with since the beginning.

Here’s to a great day of raising g money to help all farmers across America!

09/20/2025

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF has been working with Farm Aid since the beginning.

Here’s to a great day of raising g money to help all farmers across America!

09/19/2025

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF is honored to be in community with all farmers at in with our membership delegation of farmers from across the South.

Yesterday we participated in the Farmer Forum and Aid Eve. We are here in solidarity advocating for food justice and the American family farmer!

08/25/2025

Dear Federation Family,

In honor of the life and legacy of Mr. Charles Prejean, the first Executive Director of the Federation, our offices will be closed on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, to celebrate his memory and allow staff to participate in his memorial service, either in person or virtually.

Mr. Prejean’s contributions and leadership laid the foundation for much of the work we continue today. We pause to remember him with gratitude.

Cornelius Blanding
Executive Director
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund

Read John Zippert's tribute to Mr. Prejean>> https://conta.cc/45wH8kf

08/19/2025

We celebrated our 58th Annual Meeting—a three-day event beginning Thursday, August 14, 2025, in Birmingham, Alabama, and continuing through Saturday, August 16, at our historic, Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama.

This year, we honored Phylicia Rashad as the 24th recipient of the Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award, the Federation’s highest honor.

The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting is “Memorializing Our Legacy.” This powerful theme honors the generations who built, protected, and advanced the cooperative movement across the rural South. Together, we will honor the past, uplift the present, and prepare for the future.

07/01/2025

✨

🚜 Say hello to the newest addition to our fleet at the Federation’s historic 1,100-acre Rural Training & Research Center in Epes, Alabama — a brand-new side-by-side utility vehicle!

This versatile off-road vehicle will help us safely navigate our forestry demo sites, support prescribed 🔥burns, and transport equipment across the property. Another step forward in sustaining our land and supporting the farmers, landowners, and cooperatives we serve.

A side-by-side (also known as a UTV) is an off-road vehicle built for work!

Look out for it in action during upcoming RTRC events, such as field days and workshops.

06/25/2025

Join us, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, in celebration, solidarity, and collective power as we celebrate 58 years of cooperative power and progress during our Annual Meeting in Alabama.

❤️ August 14-16th, 2025

We provide our membership of Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives across the South with cooperative development, land retention, and advocacy.


🚜

06/17/2025

This year on Juneteenth, we’re proud to share that Kontent Films is offering a free virtual screening of "Farming While Black," a powerful, feature-length documentary that uplifts the legacy, resilience, and leadership of farmers and land stewards across the country.

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund is honored to be featured in the film, which shines a light on our movement for land retention and cooperative development in the South.

🎥 Streaming Date: June 19, 2025
🕛 Available for 24 Hours
🔗 RSVP to Watch: https://bit.ly/3FYLaIb
📖 Learn More: https://conta.cc/3FYRmQm

Click here to learn more: https://conta.cc/3FYRmQm

Email from Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund Tuesday | June 17, 2025 📣 FSC/LAF Community Alert Photo by Kontent Films This year on Juneteenth, we’re proud to share t