Zen-Noh History

Zen-Noh Kubota History

Zen-noh, being one of the largest agricultural coops in Japan, has machinery, and many other products, produced for them under the Zen-Noh name, by some of the largest companies in Japan, such as Kubota. Kubota has manufactured thousands of tractors for Zen-noh over the years.

Since established in 1890, Kubota has had a long history of producing farming machinery in Japan. With a superb product line, including compact tractors, Kubota entered the North American market in 1969. Then, in 1974, Kubota unveiled the 12 HP 4wd tractor in the U.S. market. Before this, U.S. companies did not produce 4wd except in their larger models. Kubota has a world-renowned reputation of high quality and reliability.

Zen-Noh Company Profile

Zen-Noh (National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations) in Japan is one of the largest cooperatives in the world. The majority of the three million farming households in Japan are members of Zen-Noh.

Zen-Noh purchases and distributes materials and equipment for agricultural production, as a service to its many members. Zen-Noh is also involved in the gathering, distribution, and marketing of agricultural products. Zen-Noh also works diligently to advance the development of Japanese agriculture, improving farm life, and securing reliable supplies of food.

Japan depends greatly on foreign sources for raw materials. Zen-Noh imports high quality products for Japanese farmers, including fertilizers, feedstuffs, and LP gas and oil.

Outline
Established	3/30/1972
Membership	1,173 agricultural co-operatives (8/01/2004)
Number of Directors and Auditors	10 Directors and 6 Auditors (as of August 1, 2004)
Number of Employees	12,557 (8/01/2004)
Paid-in Capital	¥115,884 million (8/01/2004)
Total Turnover	¥5,954.5 billion (Fiscal Year 2003)
Chronology
[Prior to Establishment]
1900:	The Cooperative Law proclaimed.
1947:	The Agricultural Cooperative Society Law proclaimed.
1948:	ZENKOKU NOGYOKAI dissolved to establish ZENHANREN (National Marketing Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations) and ZENKOREN (National Purchasing Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations).
1967:	ZENKOREN incorporated ZENUNREN.
[Post-Establishment]
March 1972:	ZENKOREN and ZENHANREN combined to establish ZEN-NOH.
June 1973:	Japanese A CO-OP Chains started.
April 1976:	Construction business launched for ZEN-NOH related facilities
July 1977:	4,329 primary-level agricultural cooperatives in Japan became direct members of ZEN-NOH.
April 1978:	Logo mark (unified) for Pearl Rice introduced in Japan
June 1981:	“Basic Plan for the Development of Facilities for Oil Business” chosen and building of oil storage facilities begun in Japan
April 1982:	ZEN-NOH UNICO AMERICA CORPORATION founded
October 1982:	ZEN-NOH GRAIN CORPORATION designed a grain elevator
April 1984:	Dai-ichi ZEN-NOH Maru,” ship for the shipping of potash and phosphate rock, launched
March 1992:	20th anniversary of ZEN-NOH
April 1992:	Nickname of “JA” adopted and its latest logo introduced by the new corporate identity of ZEN-NOH.
December 1993:	1st chain store of JA Green (selling of farming materials) opens
December 1994:	Large scale, normalized, size A CO-OP store opens
May 1996:	Homepage opens on the world wide web
May 1997:	Aqaba Plant of NIPPON JORDAN FERTILIZER CORPORATION opens
August 1997:	Successfully cloned a cow from a fertilized ovum (egg cell)
October 1998:	ZEN-NOH joined with three prefectural economic federations of agricultural cooperatives
April 2000:	ZEN-NOH joined with three prefectural economic federations of agricultural cooperatives and the National Federation of Sericulture Agricultural Cooperative
April 2001:	ZEN-NOH joined with twenty one prefectural economic federations of agricultural cooperatives
April 2002:	ZEN-NOH merged with six prefectural economic federations of agricultural cooperatives
April 2003:	ZEN-NOH joined with 2 prefectural economic federations of agricultural cooperatives
April 2004:	Ehime Prefecture Economic Federation founded