Iowa Code § 497.1: Purposes of cooperative.

Any number of persons, not less than five, may associate themselves as a cooperative association, society, company, or exchange, for the purpose of conducting any agricultural, dairy, ethanol production, mercantile, mining, manufacturing, or mechanical business on the cooperative plan. For the purposes of this chapter, the words “association”, “company”, “corporation”, “exchange”, “society”, or “union”, shall be construed to mean the same.