The predecessor of the Great Lakes Wool Growers Cooperative was the Wisconsin Co-Operative Wool Growers' Association. The latter was established April 11, 1930 by Wisconsin sheep producers and the State Department of Agriculture and Markets because of poor wool market conditions faced by individual wool growers. The intended purpose of the organization was to market members' wool through the National Wool Marketing Corporation to obtain a better price for the product. The Wisconsin Co-Operative was a stockholder of the National Wool Marketing Corporation, a selling agency owned and operated by state and regional wool marketing cooperatives. The governance of the Wisconsin Co-Operative was the responsibility of seven elected directors.
Membership was open to any producer of wool or mohair who agreed to consign or sell their wool to or through the association. No membership fees, dues, or stock purchases were required.
Members delivered their shorn wool directly to designated receiving agencies or sent it to the Co-Operative's warehouse via designated truck lines. On a consignment basis, once the wool was received and graded at the warehouse, the grower received an advance or partial payment. As soon as all of the wool was sold, the grower received a final settlement statement which was a payment based on what the wool brought at mill markets. On a cash basis, the Co-Operative or designated receiving agency purchased the wool outright. The system of Patron's Equity provided for distribution of “savings in operation.” More specifically, when the directors determined the earnings were sufficient for a sound operation, the savings were distributed to the members based on the amount of tonnage they had delivered to the Co-Operative.
Services of the Co-Operative were expanded in the late 1940s to include equipment sharpening; bag mending; and supply sales. In the early 1960s, they expanded to include retail sales and thus marketed products made from wool such as sheep pelts and wool flowers. The retail sales operations were one of the major responsibilities of the Co-Operative's Women's Auxiliary. The Co-Operative also functioned as an advocate for wool growers in legislative matters.
Beginning in 1932, a warehouse in Milwaukee was utilized for grading and storage of the Co-Operative's wool. The Co-Operative's office facilities were in Portage from 1930 to 1944 and were consolidated with the warehouse facilities in Milwaukee in 1945. The Co-Operative constructed a new building in Waukesha in 1970.
In early 1970, the Wisconsin Co-Operative Wool Growers' Association changed its name to the Great Lakes Wool Growers Cooperative. The name change was partially implemented because the organization anticipated receiving more wool from other states. With this change, the Cooperative was also incorporated in Illinois.
By the late 1970s, declining sheep flocks in Wisconsin and Illinois affected the financial status of the Great Lakes Wool Growers. Partially as a result, in May 1976, the Great Lakes Wool Growers Cooperative joined the North Central Wool Marketing Corporation in Minneapolis. North Central agreed to provide the services necessary for gathering and marketing wool for Great Lakes and its members in Wisconsin and Illinois. The Great Lakes Wool Growers Cooperative Association continues to exist and is represented on the North Central board of directors. The wool products and sheep supply division of the Great Lakes Wool Growers was sold to its former general manager, Roger Harris, in 1977.
