This study investigates adjustments in capital structures for agricultural cooperatives and differences before and during the agricultural downturn which started in 2013. We estimate a simultaneous equation model to test for cooperatives’ capital structure strategies based on two main theories from the corporate finance literature: the trade-off theory and the pecking order theory. Estimation results reveal that agricultural cooperatives in the U.S. generally adjust to short-term financial targets for equity and debt, supporting the trade-off theory while there is little support for the pecking order theory within the agricultural cooperatives sector.