Ben Burkett is a long-time advocate for Black farmers in the South and has spent the last 40 years as a farmer and cooperative organizer in Petal, Mississippi. To fight the ingrained discrimination that denied Black farmers open markets for their crops, access to federal and state programs, and even retention of their land, Ben organized neighboring farm families to sell their crop in Chicago, and later helped to develop the Indian Spring Farmers Association.
In 1978, Ben joined the staff of the Emergency Land Fund (ELF) where he identified and worked with other Black farmers and landowners to protect their landholdings. When EFL merged with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Ben’s role expanded to include spreading the word about the cooperative business model and teaching diversified crop development for conservation and marketing purposes.
Ben was later appointed to the USDA’s Farm Service Agency Committee for Mississippi where he helped raise the profile of agricultural and handicraft co-ops throughout the South, and work he continues to do as a State Coordinator for the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives. As a tireless promoter and advocate for the cooperative business model, Ben’s knack for connecting farmers globally and bringing them together for a common cause has made him a sought-after speaker, trainer, organizer and a true example of the cooperative spirit. Ben’s work was recognized with a leadership award from the James Beard Foundation in 2014.
Ben Burkett
State Coordinator
Mississippi Association of Cooperatives
Induction Ceremony
Commemorative Video
Some of the content captured in this video were courtesy of Kevin McCaffrey's Lunch Money: A New Marshall Plan for Rural America.
Thank you Kevin and e/PRIME Media for the use of your pictures.
Congratulatory Videos
Congratulatory Listings
F4DC is proud to know and work with the inimitable Ben Burkett, innovative farmer, community-minded leader, and stalwart of the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. Go Ben!
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The NCBA CLUSA members and staff congratulate Ben Burkett on his induction into the 2020 Cooperative Hall of Fame. We applaud you for your dedication to the cooperative movement.
CoBank congratulates Ben Burkett on your induction to the Cooperative Hall of Fame. We honor you for the extraordinary contributions you have made in the agricultural cooperative community.
Congratulations, Ben Burkett, on your induction into the Co-op Hall of Fame. Many thanks for your commitment, collaboration, and partnership, from the Neighboring Food Co-op Association and our member co-ops including Brattleboro Food Co-op, Fiddleheads Food Co-op, Flatbush Food Co-op, Hanover Co-op Food Stores, Monadnock Food Co-op, Upper Valley Food Co-op, and Willimantic Food Co-op.
The entire Federation Family congratulate you, Ben Burkett, on your induction into the 2020 Cooperative Hall of Fame.
You have been an invaluable part of our institution and we honor the stellar contributions that you have made to advance the cooperative movement throughout rural communities in the South, across the nation and around the world.
Ben,
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CooperationWorks is happy to celebrate your lifetime of achievements that have shaped the Southern cooperative movement and protected Black-owned farms and land. Congratulations, Co-op Hero!
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Carolina Common Enterprise
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Northwest Cooperative Development Center
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Food Co-op Initiative
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Indiana Cooperative Development Center
Congratulations to all 2020 Cooperative Hall of Fame inductees.
We send a special thank you to Ben Burkett and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, a member of Shared Capital Cooperative, for your partnership in our work of building economic democracy through cooperative enterprise across the United States.