Abstract
Norwegian farmers have in recent years established many different types of small-scale cooperation. The author of this paper has been working on a project called “Rural Cooperation at the Turn of the Century”, which received support from the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture. The project’s goal was to increase farmers’ and advisers’ competence, and inspire them to increased cooperation. This presentation shortly describes the various forms of cooperation which at present are most common in Norwegian agriculture. Some advantages and disadvantages of cooperative measures will also be discussed. Many of the disadvantages of cooperation can be reduced by thorough planning andformalization of the planned cooperation. Various organizational forms will be discussed. It is also important to develop an advisory system that can assist in the establishment of new meastires, and follow up existing ones. Often, networking of similar cooperation schemes can be useful.