We could cherry pick round this for days but yep our farmers are important and they get plenty of help as they should . As they have slowly moved to agrarian means of moving the primary produce closer to the market through industrialization the value adding has shrunk . So also has the towns they once supported .
Co-operatives are a derivative of agrain socialism . They are shrinking . All good this is they way its going be . I dont think they have much of the chest pumping they used to have because A The market will buy a product it wont in time matter where it comes from . As far as i know we import over fifty percent of our food now in value added products and the public wants more of it .
ie its cheaper or to taste and the big marketers will sell one product over anther same as they farmer will sell to anther country for a better price if they can get it and the marketers will import cheaper .
I dont think any farmer is going give up selling to a higher price to support a lower price in the country . That requires law . Anyway plenty fold due to overseas industry closing out manufacturing locally .