Brief history of the Cooperative
In May 1915, a group of pioneers decided to get together to set up the Ibars d’Urgell (now Ivars d’Urgell) Agricultural Union and Rural Savings Bank, following the experience at Conca de Barberà, which had seen very difficult financial circumstances as a result of phylloxera.
It is notable that the documents of the time highlight the role of the Rural Savings Bank, both in the results achieved – 70,000 pesetas of the time – and its participation in the development and promotion of agricultural activity.
The initial aim of this Agricultural Union was the sale of alfalfa, which was later expanded to olives and almonds, always adapting to the changes in the sector over the years.
The construction of the Urgell Canal in the second half of the 19th century, turned this dry land into fertile, irrigated fields: the new crops of maize and irrigated cereals led to new changes of orientation and services in the Cooperative.
Stock farming appeared strongly in the county, particularly poultry breeding and pig production.
Some of these changes have coincided with more prosperous periods of expansion and others with lower growth, but the same spirit of service to the members, who, by joining forces, achieve aims and objectives they could not manage individually, has always been preserved.