United States

Department of

Agriculture

Rural Business–

Cooperative

Service

RBS Service

Report 61

FARMER COOPERATIVE

STATISTICS, 2001
Abstract A survey of U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives ending their business year during calendar year 2001 showed a net income of $1.36 billion, up from $1.28 billion in 2000.

Gross and net business volumes were also up for the 3,229 cooperatives surveyed.

Assets and liabilities were down and net worth was about the same. Business volume

by commodity handled is reported for all cooperatives. Number of cooperatives, cooperative memberships, and number of employees are classified according to marketing,

farm supply, and service function. Trends in cooperative numbers, memberships,

employees, business size, sales volume, net income, assets, liabilities, and net worth

are reported along with data on selected activities of other cooperative service organizations. 

Keywords: cooperatives, statistics, business volume, employees, memberships, balance sheet, net income.

FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2001

Charles A. Kraenzle, Celestine C. Adams,

Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. Penn

and E. Eldon Eversull

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Development,

U.S. Department of Agriculture,

STOP 3256, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W.,

Washington, DC 20250-3256,

Service Report 61

March 2003

This report is dedicated to Charles A. Kraenzle who died on August 14, 2002. He had

been the Director of Statistics and responsible for this report since 1988. He joined

RBS Cooperative Service program in 1973 after receiving his doctorate from the

University of Connecticut, masters and bachelors degrees from the University of

Missouri, and working with his brother on a grain and livestock farm in Missouri.

Price: Domestic—$5.00; foreign—$5.50

Cover Photos: USDA Photos except botton, left, photo by Cheryl Crase, courtesy of South

Dakota Wheat Growers
Preface Farmer cooperative statistics are collected annually to provide information on the

progress and trends in cooperatives’ growth and development. These statistics are

used for research, technical assistance, education, planning, and public policy.

Acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating farmer cooperative statistics is authorized by

the Cooperative Marketing Act of 1926.

This report provides aggregate information on the number, membership, business volume, net income, basic balance sheet items, and full-time employees of farmer cooperatives for their business years that ended in calendar year 2001. Cooperatives are

classified by principal product marketed and major function. Fishery and ethanol cooperatives are included as miscellaneous marketing cooperatives. Both gross (includes

inter-cooperative business) and net (excludes inter-cooperative business) dollar volumes are reported.

Statistics for 2001 were compiled on a national and State basis. State data are collected every other year and next will be published for calendar year 2003.

The information was collected from individual farmer and fishery cooperatives by a

mail survey of all organizations identified by USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative

Service (RBS) as a farmer or aquacultural cooperative. Information was requested for

the cooperatives’ 2001 business year.

RBS conducts an annual census to gain more accurate information to assist cooperatives. Information obtained from individual cooperatives is combined to maintain confidentiality. 

Statistics for all cooperatives were derived by adding data estimated for nonrespondents to respondent data. Data from respondents and other sources accounted for

90.1 percent of the total gross sales of farmer cooperatives in 2001.

RBS depends on the cooperative community’s response to its annual survey to develop a detailed and comprehensive set of statistics on farmer cooperatives. The time

and effort taken to provide information and the timeliness with which it is furnished are

greatly appreciated.

i
Contents HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi

I—DEFINITION OF A FARMER COOPERATIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Classification of Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Organizational Membership Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

II—2001 STATISTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Number of Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Memberships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Total Labor Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Business Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Business Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Net Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Selected Financial Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

III—COOPERATIVE TRENDS, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Number of Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Memberships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Business Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Net Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

IV—OTHER SERVICE COOPERATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Farm Credit System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Rural Electric Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Rural Credit Unions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Dairy Herd Improvement Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

ii
Contents Table

Table 1—Number of cooperatives and memberships, by major business 

activity, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Table 2—Number of cooperatives, by major function and State, 2001 . . . . . . . . .4

Table 3—Number of cooperatives and memberships, by major business

activity and State, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Table 4—Full-time and part-time and seasonal employees of farmer 

cooperatives, by type of cooperative, 2000-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Table 5—Average total labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by 

selected type and size, 2000-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Table 6—Average total labor expense for grain and oilseed and farm 

supply cooperatives, by region and size, 2000-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Table 7—Total sales per dollar of total labor expense for cooperatives 

reporting, by selected type and size, 2000-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Table 8—Total sales per dollar of total labor expense for grain and oilseed 

and farm supply cooperatives, by region and size, 2000-2001 . . . . . .19

Table 9—Farmer cooperatives and memberships, by gross 

business volume, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Table 10—Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes by 

commodity, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Table 11—Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes, by 

commodity and State, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Table 12—Farmer cooperatives’ net income, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Table 13—Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 2001 . . . . . .33

Table 14—Combined assets for farmer cooperatives, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Table 15—Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Table 16—Times interest earned for cooperatives, by selected 

type and size, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Table 17—Number of farmer cooperatives, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Table 18—Estimated number of branches operated by grain and 

farm supply cooperatives, 1995-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Table 19—Memberships in marketing, farm supply, and related-service 

cooperatives, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Table 20—Cooperatives’ number of full-time employees, 1996-2001 . . . . . . . .44

iii
Contents Table 21—Cooperatives’ net business volume, 1992 and 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Table 22—Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes, 1992-2001 . . . . . . .48

Table 23—Net income of farmer cooperatives, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Table 24—Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 

1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Table 25—Farm Credit Association Structure, Sept. 30, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Table 26—Farm Credit System’s combined assets, net worth, and 

net income, 1995-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Table 27—Combined assets, net worth, net loans, and net income 

of CoBank, ACB, 1995-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Table 28—Number, participation, and level of activity of rural 

electric cooperatives, by State, Dec. 31, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Table 29—Number, participation, and level of activity of rural credit unions,

by State, Dec. 31, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Table 30—Number, participation, and level of activity of dairy herd

improvement associations, by State, Dec. 31, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

FIGURES

Figure 1—Number of Cooperatives by Function, Leading States, 2001 . . . . . . . .3

Figure 2—Branches of Grain and Farm Supply Cooperatives, by Size, 2001 . . .5

Figure 3—Distribution of Memberships, by Type of Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . .10

Figure 4—Cooperative Memberships Grouped by Function 

and Gross Business Volume, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Figure 5—Full-Time and Part-Time and Seasonal Employees, 

by Type of Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Figure 6—Average Number of Full-Time and Part-Time and 

Seasonal Employees, by Type of Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Figure 7—Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives and Gross 

Business Volume, by Size, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Figure 8—Relative Importance of Farm Products Marketed 

by Cooperatives, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Figure 9—Relative Importance of Farm Supplies Handled by 

Cooperatives, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Figure 10—Net Income or Loss, by Type of Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

iv
Contents Figure 11—Percentage of Cooperatives’ Assets Financed 

by Net Worth, by Type of Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Figure 12—Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . .39

Figure 13—Cooperatives Removed from RBS’ List, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Figure 14—Grain and Farm Supply Cooperatives and Branches, 

1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Figure 15—Cooperative Memberships by Function, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Figure 16—Cooperatives' Net Business Volume, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Figure 17—Cooperatives' Net Sales of Selected Commodities, 

1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Figure 18—Cooperatives' Net Sales of Selected Farm Supplies, 

1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Figure 19—Cooperatives' Net Income, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Figure 20—Cooperatives' Net Worth and Liabilities, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . .50

APPENDIX FIGURES

Appendix Figure 1—Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume, 1976-2001 . . . . . . . .56

Appendix Figure 2—Cooperatives' Gross and Net Business 

Volumes, 1976-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Appendix Figure 3—U.S. Farms and Farmer Cooperative 

Memberships, 1976-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Appendix Figure 4—Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives, by Type, 2001 . . . . .57

Appendix Figure 5—Total Net Income or Loss, by Type of Cooperative, 2001 .58

Appendix Figure 6—Distribution of Total Losses, by Type of 

Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Appendix Figure 7—Distribution of Total Net Worth, by Type of 

Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Appendix Figure 8—Distribution of Total Full-Time Employees, by 

Type of Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Appendix Figure 9—Assets Per Full-Time Employee, by Type of 

Cooperative, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Appendix Figure 10—Cooperatives’ Investments in and Patronage Refunds 

Received from Other Cooperatives, 1992-2001 . . . . . . . .60

v
Highlights Both gross and net business volumes as well as net income increased according to

the 2001 survey of marketing, farm supply, and related-service cooperatives by

USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS). The number of cooperatives and

memberships, total assets, total liabilities, and net worth all declined. The survey also

showed a decrease in the use of full-time and part-time and seasonal employees.

● Total gross business volume (includes inter-cooperative business) handled by

cooperatives rose 2.4 percent, from $120.7 billion in 2000 to $123.6 billion in

2001.

● Total net business (excludes inter-cooperative business) increased (3.6 percent) from $99.7 billion to $103.3 billion.

● Total net income of $1.36 billion was up 6.3 percent from the $1.28 billion for

2000. The 2001 net included inter-cooperative dividends and refunds of $316.2

million–up 34.5 percent from $235.1 million.

● The number of cooperatives declined 3.5 percent, from 3,346 to 3,229. 

● Grain and farm supply cooperatives operated an estimated 5,583 branches in

2001, up from 5,327 in 2000.

● Cooperative memberships were 3,033,907, down 1.7 percent from 3,085,052

in 2000.

● Cooperatives employed 165,666 full-time (down 6.2 percent) and 55,078 parttime and seasonal employees in 2001. Numbers of part-time and seasonal

employees decreased significantly from the 77,993 reported in 2000.

● Gross value of farm products marketed by cooperatives in 2001 increased 4.4

percent, from $80.4 billion to $84.0 billion. Net value of these farm products,

after eliminating duplication from inter-cooperative business, was $75.0 billion,

up 4.1 percent from nearly $72.1 billion in 2000.

● Gross value of farm supplies handled by farmer cooperatives was down 1.8

percent, from $36.8 billion to $36.1 billion. After adjusting for inter-cooperative

business, the net value of farm supplies increased 2.8 percent, from $24.1 billion to $24.8 billion.

● Receipts for services related to marketing farm products and handling farm

supplies, plus other income, decreased slightly (1.1 percent), from $3.51 billion

to $3.47 billion.

● Combined assets for all farmer cooperatives decreased 2.5 percent, from

$49.7 billion to $48.5 billion. Net assets, after eliminating inter-cooperative

investments, was down 3 percent, from $44.6 billion to $43.3 billion. This

included investments in CoBank.

● Total liabilities of $28.3 billion was down 3.8 percent from $29.4 billion.

● Net worth, or member and patron equity, declined slightly from $20.28 billion to

vi
Highlights $20.15 billion. Member and patron equity financed 41.6 percent of total assets, up from

40.8 percent in 2000.

HIGHLIGHTS CAPSULE

2000 2001 Change

Number of cooperatives 3,346 3,229 -117

Memberships 3,085,052 3,033,907 -51,145

Gross business volume (mil. dol.) 120,719 123,566 2,847

Net business volume (mil. dol.) 99,659 103,269 3,610

Net income (mil. dol.) 1,276 1,357 81

Total assets (mil. dol.) 49,722 48,465 -1,257

Net worth (mil. dol.) 20,275 20,148 -127

Full-time employees 176,665 165,666 -10,999

Part-time and seasonal employees 77,993 55,078 -22,915

Leading States 1999 2001

Minnesota Minnesota

Number of cooperatives 305 293 -12

Kentucky Kentucky

Memberships 231,862 242,873 11,011

Minnesota Minnesota

Net business volume (mil. dol.) 9,306 9,896 590

vii
FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2001

Charles A. Kraenzle, Celestine C. Adams,

Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. Penn

and E. Eldon Eversull

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

I—Definition of a Farmer Cooperative

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS)

in USDA’s Rural Development mission area considers four major criteria in identifying an organization as a farmer-owned cooperative: (1) membership is limited to persons producing agricultural

and aquacultural products and to associations of

such producers; (2) cooperative members are limited to one vote regardless of the amount of stock or

membership capital owned, or the cooperative does

not pay dividends on stock or membership capital

in excess of 8 percent a year, or the legal rate in the

State, whichever is higher; (3) business conducted

with nonmembers may not exceed the value of business conducted with members; and (4) the cooperative operates for the mutual interest of members

by providing member benefits on the basis of

patronage.

These criteria may create larger or smaller

numbers of farmer cooperatives than found in lists

or directories of State agencies or cooperative councils. RBS includes only marketing, farm supply, and

related-service cooperatives on its list–fishery and

ethanol cooperatives as miscellaneous marketing

cooperatives; wool pools as marketing cooperatives;

livestock shipping associations and rice drying

cooperatives as service cooperatives.

Year-to-year comparisons with specific commodity groups reflect any differences in lists and

classifications in State and Federal data.

Classification of Cooperatives

Statistics are presented according to a cooperative's major function or classification—marketing,

farm supply, and related-service.

Marketing cooperatives derive most of their

total dollar volume from the sale of members' farm

products. These cooperatives are classified into one

of 13 commodities or commodity groups, depending upon which accounts for most of its business

volume. RBS may reclassify a cooperative into a different commodity category if its primary business

volume changes significantly.

Farm supply cooperatives derive most of their

business volume from the sale of farm production

supplies, farm machinery and equipment, and

building materials. Many also handle farm and

home items, such as heating oil, lawn and garden

supplies and equipment, and food.

Service cooperatives provide specialized services related to the agricultural business operations

of farmers, ranchers, or cooperatives, such as cotton ginning, trucking, storing, drying, and artificial

insemination. Livestock shipping associations and

rice drying cooperatives are also classified as service.

Many cooperatives handle multiple commodities and provide both marketing and farm

supply services, as well as the facilities and equipment used to perform these services. These associations are classified according to the predominant

commodity or function, as indicated by their business volume.

1
Information on other service cooperatives, such

as Farm Credit System banks, rural credit unions,

rural electric cooperatives, and dairy herd improvement associations, is presented separately.

Organizational Membership Structures

Centralized

Of the 3,229 farmer cooperatives in 2001, 3,147

were centralized organizations, mostly locals with

individual farmer-members. Centralized cooperatives usually serve a local area or community, county, or several counties. Most usually perform a limited number of initial marketing functions. Most

farm supplies were sold at the retail level. A few

centralized cooperatives, principally regionals, operate over multi-state areas and provide more vertically integrated services, such as processing farm

products or manufacturing feed and fertilizer.

Bargaining associations also have centralized

organizational structures. They derive all or most

of their business volume from negotiating with distributors, processors, and other buyers and sellers

over price, quantity, grade, terms of sale, and other

factors involved in marketing farm products. Only

a few bargain to purchase farm supplies. While the

primary function of such an association is to bring

buyers and sellers together to contract for the sale of

members' products, many bargaining associations

now perform additional functions.

For example, dairy bargaining associations at

one time only negotiated price. Now, many perform additional functions, such as physically handling part of the milk for spot sales. They, like other

dairy marketing cooperatives, represent their members at Federal or State milk marketing order hearings.

Federated

The 54 federated cooperatives—two or more

member associations organized to market farm

products, purchase production supplies, or perform

bargaining functions—often operate at points quite

distant from their headquarters. Members are usually local cooperatives, although some are interregional associations with regional cooperative members.

Mixed

The 28 mixed cooperatives have both individual farmer-members and autonomous cooperative

members, a combination of centralized and federated structures. They serve large geographic areas,

with members in many States, and provide a variety of integrated services.

II–2001 STATISTICS

Cooperatives' net business volume was $103.3

billion in 2001, up 3.6 percent from $99.7 billion in

2000. Net income of $1.36 billion, highest since 1998,

was up 6.3 percent from $1.28 billion in 2000.

Numbers of cooperatives and memberships, at 3,229

and 3,033,907, respectively, were down as were combined assets and liabilities. Net worth declined

slightly.

2

Table 1— Number of cooperatives and memberships,

by major business activity, 2001

Major business activity Cooperatives Memberships

Number

Beans and peas, dry edible 9 2,734

Cotton 14 45,946

Dairy 204 91,033

Fruits and vegetables 220 37,782

Grains and oilseeds1 789 581,532

Livestock 70 105,341

Nuts 18 40,075

Poultry2 19 19,121

Rice 15 13,924

Sugar3 48 16,251

Tobacco 24 165,661

Wool and mohair 80 12,584

Other marketing 96 28,016 ——— —————

Total marketing 1,606 1,160,000

Farm supply 1,234 1,745,771

Service 389 128,136 ——— —————

Total 3,229 3,033,907

1 Cooperatives primarily handling grains and oilseeds, excluding

cottonseed.

2 Cooperatives primarily handling eggs, turkeys, ratite, squab, and

related products.

3 Cooperatives primarily handling sugar beets, sugarcane, honey,

and related products
Number of Cooperatives

The 2001 survey had 3,229 marketing, farm

supply, and related-service1 cooperatives, compared

with 3,346 in 2000. The 3.5 percent decrease largely

reflects a continuing trend involving dissolution,

merger, or acquisition. The largest decreases were in

farm supply (43), grain and oilseed (grain) (37), and

fruit and vegetable(12) cooperatives.

Of the 3,229 cooperatives, 1,606 primarily marketed farm products, 1,234 primarily handled farm

production supplies, and 389 provided services

related to marketing or purchasing activities (table

1).

Marketing cooperatives decreased slightly

while farm supply cooperatives remained at 38.2

percent. Related-service cooperatives increased

slightly, from 11.9 to 12 percent of the total.

These percentage changes to some extent

reflect reclassification because of annual dollar volume changes. In any given year, sales of farm supplies or grains and oilseeds can be higher due to

market supply and demand conditions.

Cooperative numbers by marketing and farm

supply and service functions by State are shown in

table 2. Minnesota had the most marketing cooperatives (139), followed closely by North Dakota

(133). Texas had the most farm supply and service

cooperatives.

Figure 1 shows the 10 leading States in terms of

number of cooperatives by function. For example,

Minnesota had about the same number of marketing and farm supply cooperatives, while the majority in Texas were cotton gin service cooperatives.

Wisconsin, the fourth leading State, had the largest

percentage of farm supply cooperatives.

Grain and Farm Supply Branches 

Many cooperatives operate branches to better

serve their members. Most branches are owned

while some are leased. A number of the branches

are formerly independent cooperatives that served

a local community. For economic or other reasons,

3

Figure 1— Number of Cooperatives by Function, Leading States, 2001

Number

Service

Farm Supply

Marketing

MN ND TX WI IL CA lA KS SD NE

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

1 Services include trucking, cotton ginning, storage, crop drying,

artificial insemination, livestock shipping, and similar services

affecting the form, quality, or location of farm products and

supplies. They do not include credit, electric, telephone, or other

such services not directly related to marketing or purchasing

activities.
4

Table 2—Number of cooperatives,1 by major function and State, 20012

Major function

——————————————————————

Farm Supply

State Marketing and Service Total

Number

Alabama 9 53 62

Arizona 5 4 9

Arkansas 11 41 52

California 103 68 171

Colorado 26 21 47

Florida 33 7 40

Georgia 9 8 17

Hawaii 13 7 20

Idaho 23 14 37

Illinois 115 60 175

Indiana 18 28 46

Iowa 110 56 166

Kansas 98 35 133

Kentucky 15 27 42

Louisiana 16 31 47

Maryland 4 13 17

Massachusetts 8 4 12

Michigan 34 28 62

Minnesota 139 154 293

Mississippi 12 58 70

Missouri 20 46 66

Montana 34 31 65

Nebraska 54 41 95

New Jersey 13 3 16

New Mexico 4 6 10

New York 79 13 92

North Carolina 17 5 22

North Dakota 133 106 239

Ohio 49 24 73

Oklahoma 36 45 81

Oregon 19 14 33

Pennsylvania 41 13 54

South Dakota 62 64 126

Tennessee 8 71 79

Texas 57 181 238

Utah 10 7 17

Virginia 18 39 57

Washington 45 33 78

West Virginia 13 13 26

Wisconsin 39 136 175

Wyoming 7 5 12

Other States3 47 10 57 ——— ——— ———

United States 1,606 1,623 3,229

1 Centralized and federated cooperatives and those with mixed organizational structures.

2 Data covering operations of cooperatives for fiscal years that ended in 2001. 3 Includes States with fewer than three cooperatives for any function. States with at least three cooperatives were: Alaska, 9; Connecticut, 5;

Delaware, 3; Maine, 26; South Carolina, 5; and Vermont, 5.
many were acquired by or merged with other cooperatives and operated as branches from which to

serve members and patrons at outlying locations.

Grain and farm supply cooperatives operated

an estimated 5,583 branches–2,046 and 3,537, respectively. In 2001, 131 grain cooperatives added branches as did 125 farm supply cooperatives. Grain cooperatives averaged 2.6 branches and farm supply

cooperatives 2.9. In 2000, grain and farm supply

cooperatives operated an estimated 5,327 branches.

Figure 2 shows that several of the largest cooperatives (mainly regional) had more branches than

the number of smaller (local) cooperatives combined. The 64 largest grain cooperatives–8.1 percent of all grain cooperatives—accounted for 34.6

percent of the total number of branches operated

by grain cooperatives. The 103 largest farm supply

cooperatives–8.3 percent of all farm supply cooperatives— had 1,776 branches, 50.2 percent of all

farm supply branches. 

Memberships

Memberships in marketing, farm supply, and

related-service cooperatives totaled an estimated

3,033,907 in 2001, down 1.7 percent from 3,085,052

in 2000 (table 3).

By major business activity, 57.5 percent of the

total cooperative memberships were held in farm

supply cooperatives and 19.2 percent in grain marketing cooperatives (figure 3). While only 3 percent

of total memberships, dairy cooperatives (91,033)

accounted for 25.4 percent, or $26.2 billion, of cooperatives' net business volume in 2001, up from 22.8

percent in 2000.

Most memberships in farm supply cooperatives were among the smallest and largest cooperatives (figure 4). Marketing cooperatives had the

greatest proportion of total memberships among

cooperatives with gross business volumes of $15

million to $100 million.

Employees

Farmer cooperatives hire full-time and parttime and seasonal employees to run their operations. Their number and type depend on a variety of

5

Fewer than 5 5-9.9 10-24.9 25 and more

Total Assets (million dollars)

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

Figure 2— Branches of Grain and Farm Supply Cooperatives, by Size, 2001

1,000 Cooperatives

Co-ops

Branches
6

BEANS AND PEAS, DRY EDIBLE

California 3 673

North Dakota 3 971

Other States 3 1,090 –— —--——

United States 9 2,734

COTTON4

California 3 1,317

Texas 5 24,208

Other States 6 20,395

Foreign5 -- 26 –— —--——

United States 14 45,946

DAIRY

California 6 1,438

Illinois 4 3,232

Iowa 6 6,579

Massachusetts 3 218

Minnesota 31 13,308

New Mexico 4 234

New York 64 5,964

North Dakota 4 1,055

Ohio 5 1,410

Oregon 3 677

Pennsylvania 19 3,813

Virginia 3 1,110

Wisconsin 30 22,359

Other States 22 29,636 –— —--——

United States 204 91,033

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

Arizona 4 886

Arkansas 4 93

California 59 16,629

Colorado 8 458

Florida 23 1,705

Hawaii 4 120

Idaho 3 1,475

Kentucky 4 302

Maine 7 494

Massachusetts 3 314

Michigan 15 3,407

Minnesota 3 223

New Jersey 9 879

New York 9 961

North Carolina 4 71

North Dakota 3 194

Ohio 5 397

Oregon 10 1,046

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (Continued)

Pennsylvania 6 530

Texas 3 236

Washington 16 4,854

Other States 18 2,424

Foreign5 -- 84 –— —--——

United States 220 37,782

GRAINS AND OILSEEDS, EXCLUDING COTTONSEED6

Colorado 15 7,751

Idaho 4 984

Illinois 107 90,101

Indiana 14 20,199

Iowa 97 77,672

Kansas 94 95,967

Michigan 5 2,463

Minnesota 85 48,522

Mississippi 3 2,764

Missouri 12 20,869

Montana 9 2,280

Nebraska 46 51,907

North Dakota 107 42,807

Ohio 32 22,931

Oklahoma 32 24,929

South Dakota 59 39,092

Texas 34 14,915

Washington 19 8,933

Other States 15 6,409

Foreign5 -- 37 –— —--——

United States 789 581,532

LIVESTOCK

Alabama 5 4,836

Idaho 3 4,127

Indiana 3 2,059

Kentucky 4 310

Mississippi 3 3,802

Missouri 5 2,551

North Dakota 5 577

Ohio 3 7,585

Virginia 4 683

West Virginia 3 396

Wisconsin 4 52,878

Other States 28 25,537 –— —--——

United States 70 105,341

Table 3— Number of co-ops,1 and memberships ,2 by major business activity and State, 20013

State Hqts. in State Memberships State Hqts. in State Memberships

Continued
7

NUT7

California 7 5,648

Other States 11 34,283

Foreign5 -- 144 –— —--——

United States 18 40,075

POULTRY8

California 4 78

Utah 3 71

Other States 12 18,916

Foreign5 -- 56 –— —--——

United States 19 19,121

RICE

California 4 1,034

Louisiana 3 472

Texas 5 873

Other States 3 11,545 –— —--——

United States 15 13,924

SUGAR9

Idaho 7 2,017

Louisiana 8 526

Michigan 7 2,173

Minnesota 3 2,743

Montana 3 524

Wyoming 4 579

Other States 16 7,657

Foreign5 -- 32 –— —--——

United States 48 16,251

TOBACCO7

Kentucky 5 73,734

North Carolina 6 24,679

Tennessee 7 65,863

Virginia 3 1,097

Other States 3 288 –— —--——

United States 24 165,661

WOOL AND MOHAIR

Idaho 4 131

Montana 19 697

North Dakota 4 341

Ohio 3 1,279

WOOL AND MOHAIR (Continued)

Pennsylvania 13 1,391

Utah 3 102

Virginia 6 343

West Virginia 9 709

Wyoming 3 152

Other States 16 7,370

Foreign5 -- 69 –— —--——

United States 80 12,584

MISCELLANEOUS10

Alaska 9 4,806

California 10 1,132

Florida 6 280

Georgia 3 63

Hawaii 4 463

Maine 15 871

Minnesota 13 10,565

North Dakota 4 2,692

Washington 5 633

Other States 27 6,511 –— —--——

United States 96 28,016

TOTAL MARKETING

Alabama 9 11,962

Alaska 9 4,812

Arizona 5 1,538

Arkansas 11 14,446

California 103 31,094

Colorado 26 10,248

Florida 33 4,546

Georgia 9 19,458

Hawaii 13 646

Idaho 23 9,224

Illinois 115 98,092

Indiana 18 23,900

Iowa 110 88,591

Kansas 98 99,682

Kentucky 15 77,956

Louisiana 16 5,597

Maine 24 1,771

Maryland 4 855

Massachusetts 8 814

Michigan 34 12,810

Minnesota 139 77,147

Table 3— Number of co-ops,1 and memberships ,2 by major business activity and State, 20013 (continued)

State Hqts. in State Memberships State Hqts. in State Memberships

Continued
8

TOTAL MARKETING (Continued)

Mississippi 12 10,568

Missouri 20 33,314

Montana 34 4,040

Nebraska 54 56,487

New Jersey 13 2,641

New Mexico 4 1,108

New York 79 8,834

North Carolina 17 27,175

North Dakota 133 53,000

Ohio 49 33,651

Oklahoma 36 34,662

Oregon 19 5,043

Pennsylvania 41 5,831

South Carolina 3 2,306

South Dakota 62 42,243

Tennessee 8 68,606

Texas 57 45,992

Utah 10 3,282

Vermont 5 1,673

Virginia 18 26,445

Washington 45 15,759

West Virginia 13 1,497

Wisconsin 39 77,179

Wyoming 7 947

Other States 6 2,080

Foreign5 -- 448 –—---- —--——

United States 1,606 1,160,000

FARM SUPPLY

Alabama 47 30,107

Arkansas 36 40,440

California 20 14,572

Colorado 20 18,874

Florida 6 12,444

Georgia 5 1,950

Idaho 13 11,035

Illinois 56 77,519

Indiana 26 42,818

Iowa 55 69,407

Kansas 33 29,779

Kentucky 26 163,280

Louisiana 20 6,716

Maryland 12 73,440

Massachusetts 4 3,759

FARM SUPPLY (Continued)

Michigan 23 11,760

Minnesota 129 92,147

Mississippi 38 87,422

Missouri 45 75,050

Montana 31 29,026

Nebraska 39 28,339

New York 8 28,241

North Dakota 103 63,013

Ohio 20 16,395

Oklahoma 28 24,921

Oregon 14 22,000

Pennsylvania 7 27,452

South Dakota 64 51,906

Tennessee 69 67,553

Texas 47 41,204

Utah 6 4,808

Virginia 36 156,611

Washington 29 12,900

West Virginia 13 81,554

Wisconsin 89 91,178

Wyoming 5 4,538

Other States 12 129,296

Foreign5 – 2,317 –----— —--——

United States 1,234 1,745,771

SERVICE11

Alabama 6 153

Arizona 4 759

Arkansas 5 545

California 48 3,887

Georgia 3 340

Hawaii 6 150

Illinois 4 260

Louisiana 11 719

Michigan 5 4,090

Minnesota 25 7,300

Mississippi 20 13,053

New Mexico 5 1,359

New York 5 356

North Carolina 3 58

North Dakota 3 4,290

Ohio 4 3,361

Oklahoma 17 6,057

Table 3— Number of co-ops,1 and memberships ,2 by major business activity and State, 20013 (continued)

State Hqts. in State Memberships State Hqts. in State Memberships

Continued
9

SERVICE11 (Continued)

Pennsylvania 6 159

Texas 134 22,730

Virginia 3 10,414

Washington 4 3,005

Wisconsin 47 18,133

Other States 21 26,958 –--— —--——

United States 389 128,136

TOTAL

Alabama 62 42,222

Alaska 9 4,812

Arizona 9 2,710

Arkansas 52 55,431

California 171 49,553

Colorado 47 29,122

Connecticut 5 1,899

Delaware 3 43,430

Florida 40 29,753

Georgia 17 21,748

Hawaii 20 904

Idaho 37 20,259

Illinois 175 175,871

Indiana 46 66,818

Iowa 166 162,249

Kansas 133 129,576

Kentucky 42 242,873

Louisiana 47 13,032

Maine 26 7,922

Maryland 17 74,404

TOTAL (Continued)

Massachusetts 12 4,573

Michigan 62 28,660

Minnesota 293 176,594

Mississippi 70 111,043

Missouri 66 109,134

Montana 65 33,066

Nebraska 95 84,834

New Jersey 16 7,052

New Mexico 10 2,705

New York 92 37,431

North Carolina 22 96,351

North Dakota 239 120,303

Ohio 73 53,407

Oklahoma 81 65,640

Oregon 33 27,043

Pennsylvania 54 33,442

South Carolina 5 2,639

South Dakota 126 98,395

Tennessee 79 137,805

Texas 238 109,926

Utah 17 9,354

Vermont 5 4,557

Virginia 57 193,470

Washington 78 31,664

West Virginia 26 83,051

Wisconsin 175 186,490

Wyoming 12 5,485

Other States 4 2,440

Foreign5 --- 2,765 –----— —--------——

United States 3,229 3,033,907

Table 3— Number of co-ops,1 and memberships ,2 by major business activity and State, 20013 (continued)

State Hqts. in State Memberships State Hqts. in State Memberships

1 Includes centralized and federated cooperatives and those with mixed organizational structures. Hqts. means the cooperatives were

headquartered in the State listed. 

2 Includes voting farmer-members, but not nonvoting patrons. (Duplication in these membership figures occurs because many farmers belong

to more than one cooperative.) Totals may not add due to rounding.

3 Data covering operations of cooperatives for fiscal years ended in 2001. States listed are those with more than two cooperatives or where

disclosure was not a problem.

4 Cotton ginning cooperatives are included as service cooperatives.

5 Includes memberships located in other countries.

6 Excludes soybean meal and oil.

7 Membership fluctuates annually and is affected by the extent to which producers participate in price stabilization programs. 8 Includes eggs, turkeys, ratite, squab, and related products.

9 Includes sugar, sugarcane, sugar beets, honey, maple syrup, molasses, and sorghum. 10 Includes forest products, fish, hay, hops, nursery stock, coffee, and other farm products not classified separately. 11 Cooperatives providing services such as cotton ginning, livestock shipping, storing, grinding, drying, and artificial insemination.
10

Figure 3— Distribution of Memberships, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Tobacco 5.5%

Livestock & Poultry 4.1%

Dairy 3.0%

Grain & Oilseed 19.2%

Farm Supply 57.5%

Fruit & Vegetable 1.3%

Service 4.2%

Nut 1.3%

Other Marketing 2.4%1

Cotton 1.5%

Percent based on 3,033,907 total memberships.

1 Includes dry bean and pea, wool and mohair, rice, sugar, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Figure 4— Cooperative Memberships Grouped by Function and Gross Business Volume, 2001

1,000 Memberships

Service

Farm Supply

Marketing

Less than 5 5-9.9 10-14.9 15-99.9 100-499.9 500 and more

Gross business volume (million dollars)

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
factors, such as size of operation, type of commodity handled, and involvement in value-added activities.

The number cooperatives hired dropped from

an estimated 254,658 in 2000 to 220,744 in 2001

(table 4). By type, marketing cooperatives had

147,811 employees (67 percent of total); farm supply

cooperatives had 63,607 (28.8 percent); and relatedservice cooperatives had 9,326 (4.2 percent).

In the marketing category, fruit and vegetable

cooperatives had 42,533 employees; livestock and

poultry, 36,861; and grain and oilseed, 25,066. 

Figure 5 shows the number of employees by

type of cooperative for 2001. Farm supply and fruit

and vegetable cooperatives used the most and cotton cooperatives the fewest. Most dairy cooperatives do not experience seasonal fluctuation in product so they carried the smallest proportion of

part-time and seasonal employees. By contrast, fruit

and vegetable cooperatives, cotton gins, and sugar

cooperatives have large seasonal variations and

used the most part-time and seasonal employees.

Use of full-time employees dropped 6.2 percent to 165,666 in 2001, down from 176,665 in 2000.

The 1,606 marketing cooperatives used 110,986

employees, down 8.4 percent from 2000. Livestock

and poultry cooperatives had the most full-time

employees (35,843) followed by dairy cooperatives

(20,714). Together, they accounted for 51 percent of

the full-time employees of marketing cooperatives.

Use of full-time employees and number of

farm supply cooperatives dropped from 2000 to

2001—1,234 cooperatives and 50,641 full-time

employees in 2001 versus 1,277 cooperatives and

51,321 employees in 2000. Full-time employees of

the 389 related-service cooperatives were down 4

percent to 4,039 in 2001 from 4,208 in 2000.

Cooperatives used 55,078 part-time and seasonal employees in 2001, down 29.4 percent to

77,993 in 2000. The largest decrease, 9,084, was in

fruit and vegetables cooperatives.

In 2001, marketing cooperatives used 36,825

part-time and seasonal employees (66.9 percent of

the total) or an average of more than 22.9 per cooperative. Fruit and vegetable and grain cooperatives,

11

Table 4— Full-time and part-time and seasonal employees of farmer cooperatives, by type of co-op, 2000-2001

Total Full-time employees Part-time and seasonal1

Principal product(s) marketed ———————————— ———————————— —————————————

or major function 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001

Number

Products marketed:

Cotton 2,897 2,526 1,759 1,800 1,138 726

Dairy 24,314 21,389 23,408 20,714 906 675

Fruits & vegetables 56,816 42,533 25,108 19,909 31,708 22,624

Grains and oilseeds2 27,547 25,066 20,309 19,629 7,238 5,437

Livestock and poultry 36,881 36,861 34,592 35,843 2,289 1,018

Rice 3,178 3,230 2,606 2,364 572 866

Sugar 8,887 8,024 4,523 4,392 4,364 3,632

Other marketings3 10,737 8,182 8,831 6,335 1,906 1,847 ———— ———— ———— ––––––– ———— ————

Marketing 171,257 147,811 121,136 110,986 50,121 36,825

Farm supply 70,022 63,607 51,321 50,641 18,701 12,966

Service 13,379 9,326 4,208 4,039 9,171 5,287 ———— ———— ———— ––––––– ———— ————

Total 254,658 220,744 176,665 165,666 77,993 55,078

1 Number of part-time and seasonal employees was estimated for cooperatives not reporting based on the relationship of part-time and

seasonal to full-time employees for the respondent cooperatives. Totals may not add due to rounding.

2 Excludes cottonseed.

3 Includes dry edible beans and peas, nuts, tobacco, wool, fishery, and miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.
with 22,624, accounted for 41.1 percent of the total.

Farm supply cooperatives had 12,966 part-time and

seasonal employees, or an average of 10.5 per cooperative.

Most marketing cooperatives that further

process products operated with more employees

than farm supply cooperatives. For example, livestock and poultry cooperatives averaged more than

414 employees (figure 6).

Total Labor Expenses

Like other businesses, one of the largest

expense items of cooperatives is wages and benefits. Hiring employees full-time or part-time and

seasonally involves decisions on both the number of

employees and levels of salaries and wages. Other

employee-related expenses include payroll taxes,

health and life insurance, and other benefits.

The average total labor expense per cooperative for those reporting in both 2000 and 2001 is

shown in tables 5 and 6 by type of cooperative,

region, and asset group. This information can be

used for comparing the average total labor expense

of individual cooperatives of similar type, region,

and size. For those with no size grouping shown,

labor expense may not be a good barometer because

of the mix of sizes included in the group.

Total labor expense for cooperatives reporting

total wages and benefits both years was up 2.1 percent. The average total labor expense varied from

2000 to 2001 (table 5). The change ranged from an

18.4-percent decrease for dry bean and pea cooperatives to an increase of 14.5 percent for grain and

oilseed cooperatives with assets ranging from $25

million to $499.99 million. The average total labor

expense increased with the cooperative size, especially for dairy, fruit and vegetable and cotton gins.

Average total labor expenses for cooperatives

involved in processing or manufacturing activities

would naturally to be high because they are labor

intensive industries.

Average total labor expense for grain and

oilseed and farm supply cooperatives, by region

and size, is shown in table 6. Farm supply cooperatives usually have more employees so often have

higher labor expenses than similar sized grain and

oilseed cooperatives.

12

Figure 5— Full-Time and Part-Time and Seasonal Employees, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Cotton

Rice

Service

Cotton Gins

Sugar

Other Marketing 1

Dairy

Grain & Oilseed

Livestock & Poultry

Fruit & Vegetable 

Farm Supply

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

1,000 Employees

Full-Time

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, tobacco, wool and mohair, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Part-Time and Seasonal
Total Sales per Dollar of Total Labor Expense

One measure of labor productivity is the relationship between total sales and total labor expense

shown in tables 7 and 8 by type, region, and size of

cooperative.

Total sales per dollar of total labor expense is

relatively high for cooperatives involved in bargaining (dairy) or operating auctions (tobacco and

livestock). Their total labor requirements are low

and sales are high. Surveyed cooperatives reported the value of the product for which they bargained or auctioned off. Total sales per dollar of

total labor expense was up 3.4 percent from $13.20

in 2000 to $13.66 in 2001.

Dairy cooperatives with assets of $1 million to

$2.49 million accounted for the highest sales per

dollar of labor expense, $76.38 in 2001 (table 7).

Other service cooperatives with assets of $2.5 million to $99.99 million had the lowest at $2.07. 

Total sales per dollar of labor expense varies

more as cooperative size increases for dairy cooperatives than it does for grain and oilseed, fruit and

vegetable, and farm supply cooperatives. Dairy

cooperatives ranged from $10.46 to $76.38 in 2001;

grain and oilseed cooperatives from $16.18 to $26.94;

fruit and vegetable cooperatives from $7.55 to

$14.17; and farm supply cooperatives ranged from

$9.40 to $11.59.

Table 8 shows total sales per dollar of total

labor expense for grain and oilseed and farm supply

cooperatives by region because more homogeneity

exists among cooperatives by location than by type.

Total sales per $1 of total labor expense varied

by size, region, and year. Corn Belt grain and oilseed

cooperatives with assets of $1 million to $2.5 million had the largest sales per $1 total labor expense

both in 2000 and 2001. The largest sales per $1 total

labor expense among Corn Belt farm supply cooperatives was reported by those with total assets of

less than $0.5 million in both 2000 and 2001. In most

regions, the sales per $1 of total labor expense did

not vary significantly among the farm supply cooperatives.

Cooperative leaders may want to calculate

their total sales per dollar of total labor expense and

compare it with numbers in tables 7 or 8 to see how

well their cooperative is performing.

13

Figure 6— Average Number of Full-Time and Part-Time and Seasonal Employees, by Type of

Cooperative, 2001

Cotton Gins

Service

Grain & Oilseed

Other Marketing1

Farm Supply

Dairy

Sugar

Cotton

Fruit & Vegetable

Rice

Livestock & Poultry

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Number

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, tobacco, wool and mohair, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Full-Time

Part-Time and Seasonal
14

Table 5— Average total labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type and size, 2000-01

Average total labor expense1

Type of co-op —————————————————————

and asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------$1,000---------------------------- Percent

Dry bean and pea 3,355.4 2,738.5 -18.4

Cotton 3,847.1 3,365.8 -12.5

Less than $25.0 1,698.4 1,688.0 -0.6

25.0 and more 6,533.0 5,463.0 -16.4

Dairy 4,826.7 5,058.9 4.8

Less than $0.5 85.7 83.5 -2.6

0.5 - 0.99 103.0 99.3 -3.6

1.0 - 2.49 155.9 141.0 -9.5

2.5 - 24.99 1,531.8 1,678.1 9.6

25.0 and more 19,626.9 20,497.5 4.4

Fruit and vegetable 2,437.2 2,480.9 1.8

Less than $0.5 108.6 116.9 7.6

0.5 - 0.99 276.4 271.5 -1.8

1.0 - 2.49 603.4 624.2 3.5

2.5 - 24.99 3,065.6 2,957.4 -3.5

25.0 - 99.99 7,655.9 8,045.2 5.1

Fruit and vegetable 2,437.2 2,480.9 1.8

Fresh only 2,227.2 2,292.3 2.9

Processed only 2,044.8 2,183.3 6.8

Fresh and processed 3,450.9 3,370.3 -2.3

Grain and oilseed 1,305.2 1,398.4 7.1

Less than $0.99 138.8 134.0 -3.4

1.0 - 2.49 191.4 197.1 3.0

2.5 - 24.99 1,095.3 1,151.2 5.1

25.0 - 499.99 3,976.1 4,394.2 10.5

Livestock 1,029.3 1,093.8 6.3

Sugar 28,075.3 28,335.7 0.9

Tobacco 80.5 72.5 10.0

Fishery 2,249.6 2,148.7 -4.5

Miscellaneous marketing 3,171.9 2,859.5 -9.9

Farm supply 2,125.2 2,140.1 0.7

Less than $0.5 81.1 81.3 0.3

0.5 - 0.99 183.1 191.1 4.4

1.0 - 2.49 326.8 339.0 3.7

2.5 - 24.99 1,374.1 1,419.7 3.3

25.0 - 99.99 5,393.4 5,598.0 3.8

100.0 - 499.99 27,406.2 27,388.8 -0.1

500.0 and more 166,512.7 162,030.9 -2.7

Cotton gin 571.5 572.8 0.2

Less than $0.5 93.0 93.3 0.3

0.5 - 0.99 209.4 212.3 1.4

1.0 - 2.49 331.4 315.4 -4.8

2.5 - 99.99 1,039.7 1,056.5 1.6

Service 753.7 818.0 8.5

Less than $0.5 130.3 127.9 -1.8

0.5 - 0.99 445.1 466.9 4.9

1.0 - 2.49 934.7 1,015.9 8.7

2.5 - 99.99 2,329.3 2,573.5 10.5

1 Includes wages and salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for cooperatives reporting in both years.
15

Table 6— Average total labor expense for grain and oilseed and farm supply cooperatives, by region and size,

2000-01

Average total labor expense2

Type of co-op, region1 —————————————————————

and asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------$1,000---------------------------- Percent

Grain and Oilseed Cooperatives:

Corn Belt 1,453.2 1,554.4 7.0

0.5 - $2.49 207.2 207.8 0.3

2.5 - 24.99 1,215.3 1,276.2 5.0

25.0 - 499.99 4,260.4 4,709.9 10.6

Lake States 1,349.0 1,444.5 7.1

1.0 - $2.49 188.3 209.3 11.2

2.5 - 24.99 849.9 901.8 6.1

25.0 - 499.99 4,270.5 4,609.6 7.9

Mountain 1,019.3 1,066.9 4.7

Northern Plains 1,222.6 1,312.8 7.4

Less than $1.0 120.3 119.7 -0.5

1.0 - 2.49 180.4 186.4 3.3

2.5 - 24.99 1,042.1 1,092.4 4.8

25.0 - 99.99 4,065.2 4,526.1 11.3

Southern Plains 836.3 891.9 6.7

1.0 - $2.49 175.9 178.0 1.1

2.5 - 99.99 1,141.1 1,221.4 7.0 

Pacific 1,114.8 1,186.4 6.4

1.0 - $2.49 182.9 201.1 10.0

2.5 - 99.99 1,647.4 1,749.4 6.2

Farm Supply Cooperatives:

Appalachian 5,297.5 5,715.3 7.9

Less than $2.49 325.7 349.5 7.3

2.5 and more 8,009.4 8,642.0 7.9

Corn Belt 3,326.0 3,360.2 1.0

Less than $0.5 66.6 68.6 3.0

0.5 - 0.99 196.6 201.3 2.4

1.0 - 2.49 393.0 402.2 2.3

2.5 - 24.99 1,737.7 1,809.2 4.1

25.0 and more 22,447.0 22,273.1 -0.8

Delta States 601.8 636.8 5.8

Less than $1.0 162.9 161.1 -1.1

1.0 - 2.49 353.5 368.3 4.2

2.5 - 24.99 861.7 918.0 6.5

Continued
16

Table 6— Average total labor expense for grain and oilseed and farm supply cooperatives, by region and size,

2000-01 (continued)

Average total labor expense2

Type of co-op, region1 —————————————————————

and asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------$1,000---------------------------- Percent

Farm Supply Cooperatives:

Lake States 1,396.4 1,403.5 0.5

Less than $0.5 86.4 79.6 -7.9

0.5 - 0.99 193.3 194.8 0.8

1.0 - 2.49 337.4 344.6 2.1

2.5 - 24.99 1,412.0 1,433.2 1.5

25.0 - 499.99 6,492.2 6,352.9 -2.2

Mountain 1,058.4 1,126.5 6.4

Less than $1.0 109.2 115.3 5.6

1.0 - 2.49 348.0 351.3 0.9

2.5 - -99.99 1,372.0 1,464.7 6.8

Northeast 18,409.3 16,770.8 -8.9

Less than $1.0 219.6 254.1 15.7

1.0 and more 26,493.6 24,111.6 -9.0

Northern Plains 677.0 710.4 4.9

Less than $0.5 89.2 94.4 5.9

0.5 - 0.99 153.8 158.0 2.7

1.0 - 2.49 263.3 273.0 3.7

2.5 - 24.99 921.7 954.5 3.6

25.0 - 99.99 4,389.9 4,981.1 13.5

Pacific 2,266.5 2,270.3 0.2

1.0 - $2.49 324.0 358.0 10.5

2.5 - 499.99 3,084.4 3,075.4 -0.3

Southeast 285.1 312.5 9.6

Less than $1.0 136.6 137.9 1.0

1.0 - 2.49 216.6 253.5 17.0

2.5 - 24.99 484.9 531.3 9.6

Southern Plains 655.5 677.5 3.4

Less than $0.5 102.5 102.4 -0.1

0.5 - 0.99 240.8 256.6 6.6

1.0 - 2.49 294.1 295.5 0.5

2.5 - 24.99 1,282.6 1,333.7 4.0

1 See footnote to table 8 for an explanation of what States are in each region.

2 Includes wages and salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for cooperatives reporting in both years.

Note: The average total labor expense is derived by dividing total wages and benefits by the number of cooperatives where the information

was provided.
17

Table 7— Total sales per dollar of total labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type 

and size, 2000-01

Sales per $1 labor expense1

Type of co-op and

asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------Dollars -------------------------- Percent

Dry bean and pea 11.01 13.02 18.3

Cotton 55.48 59.06 6.4

Less than $25.0 17.14 19.28 12.5

25.0 and more 67.94 74.42 9.5

Dairy 22.14 24.27 9.6

Less than $0.5 15.52 10.46 -32.6

0.5 - 0.99 17.06 13.08 -23.3

1.0 - 2.49 65.37 76.38 16.8

2.5 - 24.99 35.50 37.52 5.7

25.0 - 99.99 20.15 22.22 10.3

Fruit and vegetable 8.97 8.93 -0.5

Less than $0.5 16.70 14.17 -15.1

0.5 - 0.99 12.81 10.73 -16.3

1.0 - 2.49 8.83 7.55 -14.6

2.5 - 24.99 8.52 8.03 -5.7

25.0 - 99.99 9.02 9.39 4.1

Fruit and vegetable 8.97 8.93 -0.5

Fresh only 7.95 7.57 -4.9

Processed only 21.54 21.54 0.1

Fresh and processed 8.89 9.69 9.1

Grain and oilseed 20.50 19.78 -3.5

Less than $0.99 16.20 16.18 -0.1

1.0 - 2.49 28.41 26.94 -5.2

2.5 - 24.99 19.81 19.53 -1.5

25.0 - 499.99 21.09 19.76 -6.3

Livestock 74.43 68.65 -7.8

Sugar 7.84 7.80 -0.5

Tobacco 31.26 32.36 3.5

Fishery 7.15 7.44 4.0

Miscellaneous marketing 8.53 10.27 20.3

Continued
Business Size

Most local farmer cooperatives, as measured

by annual gross business volume, are relatively

small. A few larger ones, however, are actively seeking regional, national, and even international markets to increase business volume. Although few in

number, these larger cooperatives account for much

of the business volume. They have grown in size

partly from mergers, consolidations, and acquisitions.

In 2001, 74.6 percent of all farmer cooperatives

reported a business volume of less than $15 million. However, they accounted for only 8.5 percent

of the total gross dollar volume, down from 9.3 percent in 2000 (table 9 and figure 7). Only 2.4 percent

of farmer cooperatives reported a business volume

of at least $200 million, but they accounted for 66.8

percent of the total sales, up slightly from 66.2 percent in 2000. Cooperatives with a business volume

of $15 million to $200 million in 2000 accounted for

a smaller share of all cooperatives’ total gross dollar volume—29.2 percent in 2001 versus 24.5 percent in 2000.

Business Volume

Total gross business volume of the 3,229 marketing, farm supply, and related-service cooperatives for 2001 was $123.6 billion (table 10), up 2.4

percent from $120.7 billion in 2000. Cooperatives’

gross business volume peaked at $128.1 billion in

1996.

Total net business volume of farmer cooperatives in 2001 was $103.3 billion—$75 billion from

farm products marketed, $24.8 billion from farm

supply sales, and $3.5 billion from services performed and from other income sources. The total

net figure, excluding inter-cooperative business,

was up 3.6 percent from $99.7 billion in 2000 but

short of the record $106.7 billion in 1997. Adjusting

sales volume for inflation, net business volume actu18

Table 7— Total sales per dollar of total labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type 

and size, 2000-01 (continued)

Sales per $1 labor expense1

Type of co-op and

asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------Dollars -------------------------- Percent

Farm supply 9.58 10.21 6.5

Less than $0.5 11.07 11.59 4.7

0.5 - 0.99 8.75 9.40 7.4

1.0 - 2.49 9.78 10.19 4.2

2.5 - 24.99 9.69 10.27 6.0

25.0 - 99.99 10.12 10.74 6.2

100.0 - 499.99 11.46 11.39 -0.6

500.0 and more 8.95 9.76 9.1

Cotton gin 7.51 6.92 -7.9

Less than $0.5 7.55 7.16 -5.2

0.5 - 0.99 5.35 4.96 -7.4

1.0 - 2.49 5.53 5.38 -2.6

2.5 - 99.99 8.33 7.56 -9.3

Other service 2.26 2.24 -0.8

Less than $0.5 2.72 2.76 1.6

0.5 - 0.99 2.10 2.12 0.7

1.0 - 2.49 2.76 2.69 -2.8

2.5 - 99.99 2.08 2.07 -0.3

1 Labor expense includes wages and salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for cooperatives reporting in both years. Sales includes

receipts from marketings, farm supplies, and services, plus other income. Values considered not to be representative were not included.
19

Table 8— Total sales per dollar of total labor expense for grain and oilseed and farm supply cooperatives, by

region and size, 2000-01

Sales per $1 labor expense2

Type of co-op, region1

and asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------Dollars---------------------------- Percent

Grain and Oilseed Cooperatives:

Corn Belt 20.33 20.11 -1.1

1.0 - $2.49 32.26 40.55 25.7

2.5 - 24.99 20.40 20.32 -0.4

25.0 - 499.99 19.54 18.75 -4.1

Lake States 22.01 21.35 -3.0

1.0 - $2.49 26.78 20.92 -21.9

2.5 - 24.99 21.67 20.89 -3.6

25.0 - 499.99 22.25 21.79 -2.1

Mountain 21.04 19.64 -6.6

Northern Plains 19.67 18.49 -6.0

0.5 - $0.99 17.00 18.72 10.2

1.0 - 2.49 23.62 22.12 -6.3

2.5 - 24.99 19.06 18.45 -3.2

25.0 - 99.99 20.29 18.30 -9.8

Southern Plains 16.85 15.27 -9.4

1.0 - $2.49 21.88 19.66 -10.2

2.5 - 99.99 16.49 14.97 -9.2

Pacific 22.32 25.37 13.6

1.0 - $2.49 30.16 31.71 5.2

2.5 - 99.99 21.83 24.95 14.3

Farm Supply Cooperatives:

Appalachian 10.67 11.09 4.0

Less than $2.49 8.29 7.88 -5.0

2.5 and more 10.72 11.16 4.1

Corn Belt 10.06 10.28 2.2

Less than $0.5 35.43 31.77 -10.3

0.5 - 0.99 7.59 8.93 17.7

1.0 - 2.49 11.19 11.61 3.7

2.5 - 24.99 10.36 10.91 5.4

25.0 and more 9.84 9.85 0.1

Delta States 11.80 11.63 -1.4

0.5 - $0.99 10.43 10.10 -3.2

1.0 - 2.49 11.73 11.34 -3.3

2.5 - 24.99 11.89 11.77 -1.0

Lake States 9.70 10.67 10.0

Less than $0.5 6.91 8.43 22.2

0.5 - 0.99 9.51 10.28 8.1

1.0 - 2.49 8.30 9.05 9.0

2.5 - 24.99 8.69 9.59 10.3

25.0 - 499.99 12.51 13.83 10.5

Continued
20

Table 8— Total sales per dollar of total labor expense for grain and oilseed and farm supply cooperatives, by

region and size, 2000-01 (continued)

Sales per $1 labor expense2

Type of co-op, region1

and asset group (Mil. Dol.) 2000 2001 Change

---------------------------Dollars---------------------------- Percent

Mountain 10.48 11.39 8.7

Less than $1.0 10.20 11.56 13.4

1.0 - 2.49 9.32 10.49 12.6

2.5 - 99.99 10.55 11.44 8.4

Northeast 7.34 8.24 12.4

Less than $1.0 8.11 7.19 -11.4

1.0 and more 7.33 8.25 12.5

Northern Plains 10.60 10.98 3.7

Less than $0.5 7.52 8.90 18.4

0.5 - 0.99 8.39 9.96 18.7

1.0 - 2.49 9.70 10.40 7.3

2.5 - 24.99 10.52 11.34 7.8

25.0 - 99.99 12.28 9.98 -18.7

Pacific 8.27 9.19 11.1

0.5 - $2.49 8.72 9.19 5.4

2.5 - 499.99 8.25 9.19 11.4

Southeast 14.48 13.39 -7.5

Less than $1.0 8.75 8.29 -5.4

1.0 - 2.49 11.86 11.53 -2.8

2.5 - 24.99 16.96 15.38 -9.3

Southern Plains 10.83 10.72 -1.0

Less than $0.5 9.96 9.91 -0.5

0.5 - 0.99 8.33 8.99 8.0

1.0 - 2.49 11.36 11.64 2.4

2.5 - 24.99 10.83 10.61 -2.0

1 The States included in each region are as follows.

Region State

Northeast ME, VT, NY, MA, RI, CT, PA, NH, DE, MD, NJ, and DC 

Lake States MI, WI, and MN

Corn Belt OH, IN, IL, IA, and MO

Northern Plains ND, SD, NE, and KS

Appalachian VA, WV, KY, TN, and NC

Southeast SC, GA, AL, and FL

Delta States MS, LA, and AR

Southern Plains OK and TX

Mountain MT, ID, WY, CO, UT, NV, AZ, and NM

Pacific WA, OR, CA, HI, and AK

2 Labor expense includes wages and salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for cooperatives reporting in both years. Sales includes

receipts from marketings, farm supplies, and services, plus other income. Values considered not to be representative of each group were not

included. The sales per dollar of labor expense was derived by dividing total sales by total labor expenses.
21

Table 9— Farmer cooperatives and memberships, by gross business volume, 20011

Cooperatives Dollar volume Memberships2

Volume group ————————————— ———————————————— ———————————————

(mil. dol.) Number Percent of total Gross3 (mil. dol.) Percent of total Number (1,000) Percent of total

Less than $5.0 1,518 47.0 2,766 2.2 538 17.7

5 - 9.9 628 19.4 4,435 3.6 502 16.5

10 - 14.9 265 8.2 3,281 2.7 219 7.2

15 - 24.9 286 8.9 5,587 4.5 237 7.8

25 - 49.9 276 8.5 9,595 7.8 474 15.6

50 - 99.9 133 4.1 9,232 7.5 203 6.7

100 - 199.9 46 1.4 6,113 4.9 64 2.1

200 - 499.9 40 1.2 11,981 9.7 167 5.5

500 - 999.9 18 0.6 12,725 10.3 117 3.9

1,000 and more 9 0.6 57,851 46.8 514 17.0 ——— ——— ———— ——— ——— ———

Total4 3,229 100.0 123,566 100.0 3,034 100.0

1 Business volume includes revenues from marketing plus the value of products bargained for or handled on a commission basis, supply

sales, service receipts, and other income.

2 Includes number of farmers, ranchers, and fishermen eligible to vote for directors. Does not include memberships held by other

cooperatives, such as local cooperative memberships in regional cooperatives.

3 Includes inter-cooperative business volume. 

4 Total may not add due to rounding.

Figure 7— Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives and Gross Business Volume, by Size, 2001

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Less than 5 5-9.9 10-14.9 15-99.9 100-499.9 500 or more

Gross business volume (million dollars)

Percent

Co-ops

Dollar Volume
22

Table 10— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes by commodity, 20011

Commodity Gross volume Net volume

Million dollars Percent Million dollars Percent

Products marketed:

Beans and peas (dry edible) 154.1 0.1 151.4 0.2

Cotton 2,457.3 2.0 2,400.4 2.3

Dairy 29,408.9 23.8 26,186.7 25.4

Fruits and vegetables 9,685.7 7.8 8,822.2 8.5

Grains and oilseeds2 22,619.2 18.3 18,055.3 17.5

Livestock 9,559.0 7.7 9,559.0 9.3

Nuts 893.3 0.7 893.3 0.9

Poultry3 2,216.7 1.8 2,216.7 2.2

Rice 756.3 0.6 756.3 0.7

Sugar 2,738.2 2.2 2,647.7 2.6 

Tobacco 440.8 0.4 440.8 0.4

Wool and mohair 7.8 (4) 7.8 (4)

Other marketings5 3,016.6 2.4 2,904.3 2.8

———— —— ———— ——

Total farm products 83,953.7 67.9 75,041.8 72.7

Supplies purchased:

Crop protectants 3,643.8 3.0 2,956.8 2.9

Feed 5,486.0 4.4 3,998.3 3.9

Fertilizer 7,402.2 6.0 4,966.4 4.8

Petroleum 14,084.8 11.4 8,445.8 8.2

Seed 1,520.1 1.2 1,051.1 1.0

Other supplies6 4,004.4 3.2 3,337.9 3.2

———— —— ———— ——

Total farm supplies 36,141.3 29.3 24,756.2 24.0

Services and other income:

Trucking, cotton ginning, 

storage, grinding, locker 

plants, misc.7 3,470.7 2.8 3,470.7 3.4

———— —— ———— ——

Total business 123,565.8 100.0 103,268.8 100.0

1 Gross includes and net excludes inter-cooperative business. Totals may not add due to rounding.

2 Excludes cottonseed. Cottonseed oil is included in other marketings while cottonseed meal is included in feed.

3 Includes eggs, turkeys, ratite, squab, and related products.

4 Less than 0.05 percent.

5 Includes coffee, fish, forest products, hay, hops, seed marketed for growers, nursery stock, ethanol, other farm products not separately

classified, and sales of farm products not received directly from member-patrons. Also includes manufactured food products and resale items

marketed by cooperatives.

6 Includes building materials, containers and packaging supplies, farm machinery and equipment, meats and groceries, automotive supplies,

hardware, chicks, and other supplies not separately classified. 7 Charges for services related to marketing or purchasing, but not included in the volume reported for those activities, plus other income.
ally increased 7 percent2, the first increase in the

past 5 years due to higher commodity prices and

lower supply costs in 2001.

Gross dollar volume of farm products marketed by cooperatives increased (4.4 percent), from

$80.4 billion in 2000 to $84 billion in 2001. The net

volume of farm products marketed was up 3.6 percent from 2000—$72.1 billion to $75 billion. Net

marketing business volume accounted for 72.7 percent of the total in 2001.

Figure 8 illustrates the leading products marketed by cooperatives based on net marketing business volume. Dairy (milk and milk products) led

with 34.9 percent, followed by grain and oilseed

(excluding cottonseed) with 24.1 percent, and livestock with 12.7 percent. The importance of dairy

and livestock were up compared with 2000, while

grain and oilseed percentage of net marketing business volume dropped over 1 percentage point.

Gross volume of all farm supplies handled was

down 1.8 percent to $36.1 billion from $36.8 billion

in 2000. Net farm supply volume of $24.8 billion,

up 2.8 percent from $24.1 billion, accounted for 24

percent of the total net business volume.

The leading farm production supplies handled

by cooperatives in terms of net business volume

were petroleum, 34.1 percent; fertilizer, 20.1; and

feed, 16.2 percent (figure 9). While the importance

of seed, petroleum, and fertilizer increased in 2001,

feed, crop protectants and "other" supplies were

down a combined 7.6 percent.

Receipts for services provided by marketing,

farm supply, and related-service cooperatives, plus

other income, decreased 1.1 percent to $3.5 billion.

Service receipts and other income represented 3.4

percent of total net business volume.

Table 11 shows gross and net business volume

by State. Sales were allocated to the State in which

the product marketed was originated and the farm

supplies were sold. Minnesota led the States in total

gross and net business volume with $11.9 billion

and $9.9 billion, respectively, followed by Iowa

with $11.6 billion in gross business and $9.2 billion

in net business volume.

Net Income

Total net income (adjusted for losses and before

taxes) for all cooperatives in 2001 was $1.36 billion,

including inter-cooperative dividends and refunds

(table 12). Cooperatives operating strictly on a pooling basis were excluded. Net income was up 6.3

percent from the $1.28 billion in 2000. Patronage

refunds received from other cooperatives, including CoBank, totaled $316.2 million, up 34.5 percent

from $235.1 million in 2000.

Marketing cooperatives' total net income of

$809.5 million was down (6.7 percent) from the

$867.4 million generated in 2000. The drop was

mainly due to a decline by grain and livestock and

poultry cooperatives. Grain and dairy cooperatives

with the largest net incomes, together, accounted

for most (75.7 percent) of marketing cooperatives'

net income and 45.2 percent of total net income (figure 10).

Total net income of farm supply cooperatives

was $429 million in 2001, up 37.9 percent from

$311.2 million in 2000. They accounted for 31.6 percent of cooperatives' total net income in 2001, compared with 24.4 percent in 2000. Income from their

own operations, excluding patronage refunds from

other cooperatives and CoBank, was $312.1 million,

up 42.8 percent from $218.6 million in 2000.

Farmer cooperatives' net income from their

operations in 2001 totaled $1,040.7 million, down

slightly from $1,041.1 million. More than 23.3 percent, or $316.2 million, of total net income ($1,356.9

million) was generated by other cooperatives and

CoBank, up 34.5 percent from $235.1 million in 2000.

Marketing cooperatives' net income from other

cooperatives, including CoBank, totaled $172 million, up from $120 million or 43.3 percent. Grain

cooperatives' net income from other cooperatives

totaled $85.1 million, or 26.9 percent of their total

net income, up from $73.4 million, or 15.9 percent in

2000.

Income before adjusting for losses was $1,798.9

million compared with $1,630.1 million in 2000.

Losses totaled $441.9 million in 2001, up from $353.9

million in 2000. Number of cooperatives with loss23

2 Deflated 2001 cooperative business volume was $84.9 billion,

down 18 percent from the actual $103.3 billion but higher than the

deflated volume of $79.7 billion in 2000. Deflated values were

derived by dividing the index of prices received for all farm

products and farm supplies (inputs) and service income by the

index of prices paid by farmers for all production items and then

multiplying this value by net business volume, where 1991=100.
24

Figure 9— Relative Importance of Farm Supplies Handled by Cooperatives, 2001

Feed 16.2%

Fertilizer 20.1%

Percentage based on a net farm supply business volume of $24.8 billion.

1 Includes building materials; tires, batteries and accessories; equipment; animal health products; pet food; semen; hardware; food; clothing; etc.

Crop Protectants 11.9%

Other Supplies1 13.5%

Seed 4.3%

Petroleum 34.1%

Figure 8— Relative Importance of Farm Products Marketed by Cooperatives, 2001

Grains & Oilseeds 24.1%

Rice 1.0%

Dairy 34.9%

Percentage based on a total net marketing business volume of $75.0 billion.

1 Includes wool and mohair, dry beans and peas, fish, and other miscellaneous marketings.

Cotton 3.2%

Sugar 3.5%

Other Marketings1 4.1%

Nuts 1.2%

Livestock 12.7%

Fruits & Vegetables 11.8%

Tobacco 0.6%

Poultry 3.0%
25

PRODUCTS MARKETED:

BEANS AND PEAS, DRY EDIBLE

California 21,543 21,543

North Dakota 33,101 33,101

Other States 99,477 96,784 ————— —————

United States 154,120 151,427

COTTON

California 419,924 386,862

Texas 614,098 590,218

Other States 1,423,319 1,423,293 ————— —————

United States 2,457,339 2,400,371

DAIRY

California 2,748,360 2,729,191

Illinois 1,622,674 1,232,098

Iowa 1,695,277 1,460,111

Massachusetts 67,427 64,458

Minnesota 3,581,506 3,340,848

New Mexico 476,767 453,084

New York 1,743,247 1,254,041

North Dakota 307,491 282,930

Ohio 148,806 125,852

Oregon 358,792 305,260

Pennsylvania 540,128 410,149

Virginia 147,171 107,626

Wisconsin 6,146,892 5,732,286

Other States 9,740,728 8,610,775

Foreign3 83,612 78,010 —————— ——————

United States 29,408,877 26,186,721

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Arizona 90,752 48,526

Arkansas 3,358 3,164

California 2,877,242 2,584,936

Colorado 14,501 14,501

Florida 1,323,721 1,205,223

Hawaii 8,125 8,125

Idaho 301,261 301,261

Kentucky 5,217 5,217

Maine 10,987 10,987

Massachusetts 495,701 495,701

Michigan 882,821 726,774

Minnesota 8,184 8,184

New Jersey 191,056 191,056

New York 635,592 523,572

North Carolina 31,415 28,145

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (Continued)

North Dakota 15,948 15,948

Ohio 19,868 17,465

Oregon 450,502 445,457

Pennsylvania 378,982 362,246

Texas 60,190 21,586

Washington 1,059,948 1,040,968

Other States 722,705 665,590

Foreign3 97,614 97,614 ————— —————

United States 9,685,688 8,822,247

GRAINS AND OILSEEDS, EXCLUDING COTTONSEED

Colorado 235,555 208,467

Idaho 84,131 57,803

Illinois 2,008,141 1,879,668

Indiana 472,620 452,546

Iowa 4,023,718 3,354,093

Kansas 2,049,589 1,506,224

Michigan 155,554 148,782

Minnesota 3,200,999 2,394,477

Mississippi 113,906 110,470

Missouri 909,929 562,029

Montana 316,264 204,034

Nebraska 2,342,390 1,785,377

North Dakota 1,658,241 1,307,719

Ohio 703,015 686,811

Oklahoma 454,764 310,133

South Dakota 1,208,751 1,020,195

Texas 714,162 463,636

Washington 510,176 454,659

Other States 1,219,111 998,502

Foreign3 238,150 149,695 ————— —————

United States 22,619,166 18,055,321

LIVESTOCK

Alabama 31,576 31,576

Idaho 98,829 98,829

Indiana 186,350 186,350

Kentucky 83,878 83,878

Mississippi 48,735 48,735

Missouri 687,261 687,261

North Dakota 96,017 96,017

Ohio 915,667 915,667

Virginia 10,010 10,010

West Virginia 2,910 2,910

Wisconsin 594,794 594,794

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

Continued
26

LIVESTOCK (Continued)

Other States 6,802,364 6,802,364

Foreign3 565 565 ————— —————

United States 9,558,957 9,558,957

NUTS

California 719,236 719,236

Other States 174,044 174,044 ————— —————

United States 893,281 893,281

POULTRY4

California 30,601 30,601

Utah 147,338 147,338

Other States 2,038,756 2,038,756 ————— —————

United States 2,216,694 2,216,694

RICE

California 158,104 158,104

Louisiana 16,486 16,486

Texas 36,336 36,336

Other States 545,337 545,337 ————— —————

United States 756,262 756,262

SUGAR

Idaho 469,994 468,183

Louisiana 350,749 350,749

Michigan 127,072 119,827

Minnesota 723,533 682,784

Montana 56,293 56,293

Wyoming 34,090 34,090

Other States 972,483 931,734

Foreign3 4,015 4,015 ————— —————

United States 2,738,229 2,647,675

TOBACCO

Kentucky 80,466 80,466

North Carolina 311,743 311,743

Tennessee 40,850 40,850

Virginia 5,088 5,088

Other States 2,612 2,612 ————— —————

United States 440,759 440,759

WOOL AND MOHAIR

Idaho 6 6

Montana 205 205

North Dakota 25 25

WOOL AND MOHAIR (Continued)

Ohio 556 556

Pennsylvania 97 97

Utah 635 635

West Virginia 70 70

Wyoming 194 194

Other States 5,871 5,871

Foreign3 107 107 ————— —————

United States 7,781 7,781

MISCELLANEOUS MARKETING5

Alaska 10,354 10,354

California 64,834 64,834

Florida 14,155 14,155

Georgia 1,675 1,675

Hawaii 3,360 3,360

Maine 38,688 38,688

Minnesota 660,837 633,323

North Dakota 174,691 174,681

Washington 81,058 81,058

Other States 1,954,035 1,869,289

Foreign3 12,897 12,897 ————— —————

United States 3,016,585 2,904,315

TOTAL FARM PRODUCTS MARKETED

Alabama 674,329 671,322

Alaska 10,920 10,920

Arizona 620,239 570,243

Arkansas 1,188,326 1,171,582

California 7,165,107 6,820,571

Colorado 644,612 592,294

Florida 2,200,376 2,054,252

Georgia 1,272,542 1,228,963

Hawaii 22,157 22,157

Idaho 1,208,367 1,177,680

Illinois 4,063,825 3,535,166

Indiana 1,136,058 998,565

Iowa 7,455,890 6,538,385

Kansas 4,266,349 3,637,478

Kentucky 289,194 287,259

Louisiana 662,293 604,334

Maine 115,672 113,125

Maryland 249,733 167,716

Massachusetts 566,967 563,998

Michigan 1,946,946 1,758,484

Minnesota 8,516,887 7,398,751

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012 (continued)

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

Continued
27

TOTAL FARM PRODUCTS MARKETED (Continued)

Mississippi 769,935 765,735

Missouri 3,908,593 3,216,905

Montana 433,399 321,170

Nebraska 4,092,744 3,394,554

New Jersey 285,554 283,026

New Mexico 508,636 484,711

New York 2,613,995 2,009,868

North Carolina 695,946 657,389

North Dakota 2,806,299 2,390,456

Ohio 2,098,069 2,049,846

Oklahoma 1,360,265 1,196,664

Oregon 1,299,263 1,151,134

Pennsylvania 1,033,950 887,236

South Carolina 113,271 105,679

South Dakota 1,965,594 1,749,427

Tennessee 147,113 136,283

Texas 3,626,316 3,153,075

Utah 279,044 252,515

Vermont 472,310 451,172

Virginia 216,259 176,487

Washington 2,700,130 2,616,957

West Virginia 18,269 14,101

Wisconsin 7,420,495 6,997,237

Wyoming 66,355 65,871

Other States 308,182 248,165

Foreign3 436,959 342,902 —————— ——————

United States 83,953,737 75,041,810

FARM SUPPLIES PROVIDED:

CROP PROTECTANTS

Alabama 59,766 36,485

Arkansas 103,952 84,066

California 24,356 24,290

Colorado 44,353 39,929

Florida 18,167 15,412

Georgia 175,536 168,035

Idaho 23,934 16,718

Illinois 447,644 280,401

Indiana 166,312 158,549

Iowa 438,131 343,147

Kansas 131,654 115,542

Kentucky 59,864 53,145

Louisiana 26,680 22,215

Maryland 20,094 18,820

Massachusetts 2,295 2,295

Michigan 44,913 44,090

Minnesota 306,607 253,592

CROP PROTECTANTS (Continued)

Mississippi 34,877 29,650

Missouri 108,256 73,343

Montana 37,243 30,028

Nebraska 221,774 187,444

New York 31,514 31,514

North Dakota 142,290 118,470

Ohio 108,359 108,252

Oklahoma 21,402 20,300

Oregon 62,697 56,689

Pennsylvania 30,874 30,874

South Dakota 150,699 126,837

Tennessee 114,302 68,244

Texas 56,068 52,810

Utah 7,228 7,225

Virginia 34,417 29,317

Washington 88,631 78,642

West Virginia 4,190 3,889

Wisconsin 158,646 121,419

Wyoming 3,566 3,540

Other States 109,778 100,784

Foreign3 22,724 773 ————— —————

United States 3,643,793 2,956,777

FEED

Alabama 53,795 36,923

Arkansas 78,979 75,136

California 130,943 79,199

Colorado 44,267 42,708

Florida 35,256 32,450

Georgia 34,127 26,944

Idaho 44,996 13,655

Illinois 223,267 200,017

Indiana 77,020 74,670

Iowa 986,477 672,798

Kansas 163,094 141,895

Kentucky 67,689 56,758

Louisiana 26,117 23,878

Maryland 43,851 38,343

Massachusetts 19,521 19,043

Michigan 64,858 63,485

Minnesota 577,919 395,504

Mississippi 42,192 40,008

Missouri 181,308 141,326

Montana 20,543 15,256

Nebraska 197,979 135,198

New York 123,633 111,897

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012 (continued)

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

Continued
28

FEED (Continued)

North Dakota 60,037 47,790

Ohio 108,518 107,814

Oklahoma 52,335 48,188

Oregon 164,685 46,514

Pennsylvania 102,618 99,833

South Dakota 213,815 176,332

Tennessee 185,908 115,269

Texas 129,504 114,022

Utah 87,158 85,587

Virginia 135,527 119,080

Washington 131,195 33,022

West Virginia 22,585 19,014

Wisconsin 478,171 287,612

Wyoming 4,979 4,893

Other States 268,225 205,367

Foreign3 102,859 50,859 ————— —————

United States 5,485,950 3,998,286

FERTILIZER

Alabama 146,835 100,409

Arkansas 121,727 100,225

California 130,164 121,452

Colorado 105,689 89,919

Florida 125,741 50,844

Georgia 106,716 92,571

Idaho 60,292 42,495

Illinois 796,161 434,294

Indiana 319,301 244,758

Iowa 827,502 506,196

Kansas 328,828 273,530

Kentucky 117,347 108,904

Louisiana 28,222 24,995

Maryland 35,087 32,623

Massachusetts 3,611 3,611

Michigan 68,607 65,220

Minnesota 610,541 370,641

Mississippi 65,662 57,166

Missouri 358,399 234,510

Montana 82,323 56,883

Nebraska 430,809 314,597

New York 56,686 51,196

North Dakota 345,761 186,996

Ohio 238,097 173,644

Oklahoma 116,645 79,236

Oregon 110,997 90,567

Pennsylvania 42,363 42,246

South Dakota 253,841 165,263

FERTILIZER (Continued)

Tennessee 203,751 132,963

Texas 168,778 110,768

Utah 28,829 28,361

Virginia 92,329 86,322

Washington 114,810 98,677

West Virginia 12,040 9,972

Wisconsin 290,621 179,655

Wyoming 14,824 11,632

Other States 177,384 159,051

Foreign3 264,903 34,054 ————— —————

United States 7,402,223 4,966,445

PETROLEUM

Alabama 14,779 13,777

Arkansas 99,725 85,500

California 9,734 7,560

Colorado 349,019 236,106

Florida 12,194 12,036

Georgia 135,728 44,208

Idaho 207,681 111,750

Illinois 1,127,651 653,260

Indiana 775,309 416,457

Iowa 1,202,465 652,668

Kansas 1,869,732 378,741

Kentucky 137,057 100,598

Louisiana 15,054 13,566

Maryland 122,064 105,548

Massachusetts 17,884 17,884

Michigan 208,373 118,732

Minnesota 1,169,590 799,583

Mississippi 27,657 23,420

Missouri 669,054 524,155

Montana 322,301 221,951

Nebraska 593,957 422,606

New York 286,357 278,682

North Dakota 503,416 348,491

Ohio 192,963 151,370

Oklahoma 280,416 136,884

Oregon 256,133 173,895

Pennsylvania 263,543 259,501

South Dakota 421,177 300,846

Tennessee 267,509 116,570

Texas 223,943 144,541

Utah 128,602 41,936

Virginia 355,472 231,691

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012 (continued)

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

Continued
29

PETROLEUM (Continued)

Washington 300,440 210,428

West Virginia 33,005 29,081

Wisconsin 881,946 678,907

Wyoming 185,567 119,185

Other States 212,942 200,466

Foreign3 204,407 63,174 —————— —————

United States 14,084,842 8,445,751

SEED

Alabama 63,941 24,224

Arkansas 33,664 33,037

California 22,940 22,940

Colorado 4,928 4,928

Florida 6,822 4,571

Georgia 11,440 10,332

Idaho 36,978 8,392

Illinois 121,385 83,239

Indiana 45,446 29,553

Iowa 174,234 95,530

Kansas 20,970 20,970

Kentucky 36,123 33,325

Louisiana 10,751 10,577

Maryland 12,630 11,634

Massachusetts 2,685 2,542

Michigan 16,447 16,447

Minnesota 111,375 79,614

Mississippi 21,384 20,987

Missouri 174,621 57,289

Montana 24,069 17,715

Nebraska 48,568 39,039

New York 21,416 21,019

North Dakota 40,669 31,141

Ohio 38,061 38,035

Oklahoma 6,336 6,336

Oregon 21,637 21,637

Pennsylvania 20,137 19,754

South Dakota 57,494 47,429

Tennessee 79,410 51,839

Texas 20,892 20,891

Utah 2,369 2,366

Virginia 30,710 28,589

Washington 28,906 25,730

West Virginia 5,996 5,494

Wisconsin 87,120 55,601

SEED (Continued)

Wyoming 664 664

Other States 50,381 46,473

Foreign3 6,507 638 ————— —————

United States 1,520,107 1,051,064

MISCELLANEOUS SUPPLIES6

Alabama 84,861 46,835

Arkansas 72,830 70,452

California 125,648 88,092

Colorado 91,916 74,050

Florida 178,793 174,412

Georgia 32,260 25,011

Idaho 39,778 36,650

Illinois 151,595 98,898

Indiana 92,060 76,420

Iowa 199,655 145,261

Kansas 113,123 81,290

Kentucky 71,601 62,114

Louisiana 22,761 21,619

Maryland 35,910 33,375

Massachusetts 21,282 19,941

Michigan 67,502 61,400

Minnesota 265,676 233,734

Mississippi 43,416 41,721

Missouri 198,215 151,012

Montana 51,357 48,918

Nebraska 105,393 86,622

New York 126,355 121,990

North Dakota 129,255 121,560

Ohio 75,787 67,053

Oklahoma 41,259 31,305

Oregon 129,011 125,825

Pennsylvania 97,879 94,930

South Dakota 91,497 80,323

Tennessee 271,063 155,414

Texas 86,971 67,911

Utah 46,799 44,251

Virginia 169,344 148,984

Washington 129,004 99,875

West Virginia 17,178 17,178

Wisconsin 254,636 246,484

Wyoming 36,914 33,696

Other States 220,794 196,032

Foreign3 15,012 7,265 ————— —————

United States 4,004,391 3,337,902

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012 (continued)

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

Continued
30

TOTAL FARM SUPPLIES

Alabama 423,977 258,654

Arkansas 510,876 448,416

California 443,786 343,533

Colorado 640,173 487,639

Florida 376,973 289,725

Georgia 495,806 367,100

Idaho 413,658 229,661

Illinois 2,867,703 1,750,110

Indiana 1,475,447 1,000,408

Iowa 3,828,464 2,415,600

Kansas 2,627,401 1,011,968

Kentucky 489,681 414,844

Louisiana 129,585 116,850

Maryland 269,636 240,343

Massachusetts 67,278 65,316

Michigan 470,699 369,374

Minnesota 3,041,706 2,132,668

Mississippi 235,188 212,951

Missouri 1,689,853 1,182,174

Montana 537,837 390,751

Nebraska 1,598,479 1,185,506

New York 645,961 616,298

North Dakota 1,221,429 854,449

Ohio 761,786 646,168

Oklahoma 518,392 322,249

Oregon 745,160 515,128

Pennsylvania 557,414 547,138

South Dakota 1,188,524 897,031

Tennessee 1,121,944 640,300

Texas 686,155 510,943

Utah 300,985 209,726

Virginia 817,799 643,983

Washington 792,985 546,373

West Virginia 94,995 84,629

Wisconsin 2,151,141 1,569,677

Wyoming 246,514 173,610

Other States 1,039,503 908,171

Foreign3 616,412 156,761 —————— ——————

United States 36,141,305 24,756,224

SERVICES PROVIDED7

Alabama 19,813 19,813

Arizona 15,964 15,964

Arkansas 50,858 50,858

SERVICES PROVIDED7 (Continued)

California 408,582 408,582

Georgia 80,891 80,891

Hawaii 3,432 3,432

Illinois 185,108 185,108

Louisiana 14,519 14,519

Michigan 70,263 70,263

Minnesota 364,313 364,313

Mississippi 77,051 77,051

New Mexico 10,097 10,097

New York 199,625 199,625

North Carolina 18,506 18,506

North Dakota 47,267 47,267

Ohio 96,000 96,000

Oklahoma 43,186 43,186

Pennsylvania 6,356 6,356

Texas 212,443 212,443

Virginia 26,311 26,311

Washington 167,780 167,780

Wisconsin 171,517 171,517

Other States 1,180,837 1,180,837 ————— —————

United States 3,470,717 3,470,717

TOTAL

Alabama 1,118,120 949,788

Alaska 58,209 43,561

Arizona 665,398 607,896

Arkansas 1,750,060 1,670,856

California 8,017,475 7,572,686

Colorado 1,323,484 1,118,632

Connecticut 266,362 214,144

Delaware 117,725 103,958

Florida 2,646,906 2,413,535

Georgia 1,849,239 1,676,955

Hawaii 48,951 28,829

Idaho 1,637,072 1,422,387

Illinois 7,116,637 5,470,384

Indiana 2,683,166 2,070,633

Iowa 11,562,600 9,232,231

Kansas 7,038,751 4,794,447

Kentucky 784,605 707,833

Louisiana 806,397 735,703

Kentucky 784,605 707,833

Louisiana 806,397 735,703

Maine 228,675 225,165

Maryland 522,792 411,482

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012 (continued)

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

Continued
31

TOTAL (Continued)

Massachusetts 641,987 637,056

Michigan 2,487,908 2,198,121

Minnesota 11,922,906 9,895,732

Mississippi 1,082,174 1,055,738

Missouri 5,810,489 4,611,124

Montana 978,469 719,154

Nebraska 5,831,761 4,720,598

New Jersey 393,966 388,148

New Mexico 535,221 507,304

New York 3,459,582 2,825,792

North Carolina 1,069,688 975,355

North Dakota 4,074,994 3,292,172

Ohio 2,955,855 2,792,014

Oklahoma 1,921,843 1,562,099

Oregon 2,082,055 1,703,893

Pennsylvania 1,597,720 1,440,730

South Carolina 202,769 185,466

South Dakota 3,207,161 2,699,501

Tennessee 1,301,410 808,937

Texas 4,524,914 3,876,461

Utah 629,882 512,095

Vermont 545,212 523,119

Virginia 1,060,369 846,781

Washington 3,660,895 3,331,110

West Virginia 113,815 99,281

Wisconsin 9,743,153 8,738,431

Wyoming 314,431 241,042

Other States 119,135 110,730

Foreign3 1,053,371 499,664 ——————— ———————

United States 123,565,760 103,268,751

Table 11— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes,1 by commodity and State, 20012 (continued)

Business volume Business volume

State —————–––––————————— ————–––––———————--———

Gross Net

State

Gross Net

1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars

1 Data covering operations of cooperatives whose business years ended in calendar 2001. Includes independent local cooperatives,

federations, centralized regionals, and those with mixed organizational structures. Products marketed were allocated to the States in which

they were originated and farm supply sales were allocated to the States in which they were sold; service volume and other income were

allocated to the States of origin when services related to farm products marketed or to the State of destination when related to farm supplies

sold.

2 Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives while net business volume excludes such sales. States listed had more than

two cooperatives handling the commodity or farm supply or where disclosure was not a problem. Totals may not add due to rounding. 3 Includes value of farm products imported, farm supplies exported, services related to imported farm products or exported farm supplies,

sales to domestic military installations, or sales of farm products not received directly from member-patrons.

4 Includes eggs, turkeys, ratite, squab, and related products.

5 Includes forest products, hay, hops, nursery stock, fish, coffee, seed marketed for growers, and other farm products not separately

classified. Also includes manufactured food products and resale items marketed by cooperatives. 6 Includes building supplies, containers and packaging supplies, farm machinery and equipment, animal health products, automotive supplies,

food, hardware, chicks, and other supplies not separately classified. 7 Income from services related to marketing and purchasing activities not included in the volumes reported for these activities.
32

Table 12— Farmer cooperatives’ net income, 20011

Principal product(s) marketed Total Income from Income from

and major function Cooperatives2 net income own operations other co-ops3

Number – – – – – – – – – – Million dollars – – – – – – – – – – 

Products marketed:

Cotton 14 33.4 31.9 1.5

Dairy 204 364.2 334.7 29.5

Fruits & vegetables 220 76.6 60.7 15.9

Grains and oilseeds4 789 248.8 163.7 85.1

Livestock and poultry 89 -67.3 -102.5 35.3

Rice 15 .1 -.6 .7

Sugar 48 -23.2 -25.3 2.1

Other marketings5 227 176.8 174.9 2.0 ——— ———— ———— ————

Total marketing 1,606 809.5 637.5 172.0

Total farm supply 1,234 429.0 312.1 116.9

Total related-service 389 118.4 91.1 27.3 ——— ———— ———— ————

Combined total 3,229 1,356.9 1,040.7 316.2

1 Adjusted for losses and before taxes. Totals may not add due to rounding.

2 Includes number of cooperatives operating on a strictly pooling basis, but not their pool proceeds. 

3 Includes patronage refunds from CoBank.

4 Excludes cottonseed. Cottonseed oil is included in other marketings while cottonseed meal is included in farm supplies (feed).

5 Includes dry edible beans and peas, fish, nuts, tobacco, wool, and miscellaneous products.

Figure 10— Net Income or Loss, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

From Own Operations

From Other Cooperatives1

-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Dollars (million)

1 Includes dividends and patronage refunds from other farmer cooperatives, and CoBank. 2 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, tobacco, wool and mohair, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Livestock & Poultry

Sugar

Rice

Cotton

Fruit and Vegetable 

Service

Other Marketing2

Grain & Oilseed

Dairy

Farm Supply
es was down slightly, from 625 to 620. Increased

losses for 2001 stemmed mainly from livestock and

poultry cooperatives, from a $101.5 million loss in

2000 that grew to $134.1 million in 2001. Fruit and

vegetable cooperative losses dropped significantly, $20.7 million in 2001 compared with $93.5 million

in 2000.

Marketing cooperative losses totaled $240.3

million in 2001, compared with $245.9 million in

2000. Related-service cooperative losses in 2001

totaled $5.5 million, compared with $7.2 million the

previous year. Losses among farm supply cooperatives increased significantly from $100.7 million in

2000 to $196.2 million in 2001.

Balance Sheet

Combined assets for all farmer cooperatives

totaled nearly $48.5 billion in 2001, down 2.5 percent from $49.7 billion in 2000 (table 13). Total assets

of cooperatives, excluding inter-cooperative investments, was down 3 percent to $43.3 billion, compared with $44.6 billion in 2000.

Total liabilities of $28.3 billion were down 3.8

percent from $29.4 billion in 2000. Net worth, or

member and patron equity, was down to $20.1 billion compared with $20.3 billion in 2000. The proportion of total assets financed by member and

patron equity increased from 40.8 percent to 41.6

percent.

Net worth, or member and patron equity, for

all marketing cooperatives totaled $12.4 billion,

down 2.2 percent from 2000. Marketing cooperatives accounted for 61.4 percent of farmer cooperatives' combined net worth, down from 62.4 percent

in 2000. The figure for farm supply cooperatives

was $7.2 billion, up 1.2 percent from $7.1 billion in

2000 or 36 percent of the total. Rice cooperatives

had the highest percentage of total assets financed

by net worth of all marketing cooperatives, at 53.2

percent (figure 11). "Other" marketing cooperatives

ranked second while at 46 percent, grain and oilseed

cooperatives were third. The lowest, 30.1 percent,

was for cooperatives primarily marketing fruits and

vegetables. Marketing and farm supply cooperatives had 38.9 percent and 46.3 percent, respectively, of their assets financed by net worth.

Of the $48.5 billion in total assets, marketing

cooperatives accounted for $31.8 billion, down 3.1

33

Table 13— Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 20011

Principal product(s) marketed

and major function Cooperatives Total assets Total liabilities Net worth 

Number – – – – – – – – – – Million dollars – – – – – – – – – – 

Products marketed:

Cotton 14 1042.4 708.6 333.8

Dairy 204 8,668.6 5,419.4 3,249.3

Fruits & vegetables 220 5,083.4 3,554.3 1,529.1

Grain and oilseed2 789 7,427.3 4,008.4 3,418.9

Livestock and poultry 89 4,291.0 2,991.4 1,299.7

Rice 15 491.5 230.1 261.3

Sugar 48 2,244.4 1,304.2 940.2

Other marketings3 227 2,598.6 1,257.4 1341.3 ——— ––———— ————— -—————

Total marketing 1,606 31,847.3 19,473.7 12,373.6

Total farm supply 1,234 15,481.3 8,306.4 7,174.9

Total related-service 389 1,136.7 537.4 599.3 ——— ––———— ————— -—————

Combined total 3,229 48,465.2 28,317.5 20,147.7

1 Totals may not add due to rounding.

2 Excludes cottonseed. Cottonseed oil is included in other marketings while cottonseed meal is included in farm supplies (feed).

3 Includes dry edible beans and peas, fish, nuts, tobacco, wool, cottonseed, and miscellaneous products.
34

Figure 11— Percentage of Cooperatives’ Assets Financed by Net Worth, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Fruit & Vegetable

Livestock & Poultry

Cotton

Dairy

Sugar

Grain & Oilseed

Farm Supply

Other marketing1

Service

Rice

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Percent

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, tobacco, wool and mohair, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Table 14— Combined assets for farmer cooperatives, 20011

Principal product(s) Investments in

marketed and Assets of own Investments in Total other co–ops as

major function Cooperatives2 operations other co–ops 3 assets percent of total

Number – – – – – – – – – – Million dollars – – – – – – – – – – Percent

Products marketed:

Cotton 14 1,011.3 31.2 1,042.4 3.0

Dairy 204 7,870.8 797.8 8,668.6 9.2

Fruits & vegetables 220 4,927.0 156.3 5,083.4 3.1

Grains and oilseeds4 789 6,233.1 1,194.2 7,427.3 16.1

Livestock and poultry 89 3,839.0 452.1 4,291.0 10.5

Rice 15 475.9 15.6 491.5 3.2

Sugar 48 2,166.1 78.2 2,244.4 3.5

Other marketing5 227 2,559.1 39.5 2,598.6 1.5 ———— ————— ————— —————

Total marketing 1,606 29,082.3 2,765.0 31,847.3 8.7

Total farm supplies 1,234 13,166.1 2,315.2 15,481.3 15.0

Total services 389 1,036.7 100.0 1,136.7 8.8 ———— ————— ————— —————

Combined total 3,229 43,285.0 5,180.2 48,456.2 10.7

1Totals may not add due to rounding.

2 Many cooperatives have multiproduct and multifunctional operations. Most are classified according to predominant commodity or function as

indicated by business volume.

3 Also includes investments in CoBank.

4 Excludes cottonseed. Cottonseed oil is included in other marketing while cottonseed meal is included in farm supplies (feed).

5 Includes dry edible beans and peas, fish, nuts, tobacco, wool, and miscellaneous products.
percent from 2000 (table 14). Cooperatives primarily handling grains and oilseeds (excluding cottonseed) had total assets of $7.4 billion in 2001, up 2.1

percent from $7.3 billion in 2000. Among the marketing cooperatives, those primarily handling grains

and oilseeds also maintained the largest proportion

of their assets as investments in other cooperatives

in both 2001 (16.1 percent) and 2000 (16 percent).

Dairy cooperatives invested 9.2 percent of their

assets in other cooperatives, down from 9.5 percent

in 2000.

Assets of marketing cooperatives, excluding

investments in other cooperatives and CoBank,

totaled $29.1 billion, down 3.4 percent from $30.1

billion in 2000.

Assets of farm supply cooperatives were down

2.8 percent from $15.5 billion to $15.9 billion in 2000.

Excluding inter-cooperative investments, total assets

decreased 4 percent from $13.7 billion in 2000 to

$13.2 billion.

Selected Financial Ratios

Financial ratios express relationships between

items in the financial and income statements of a

business operation and help in analyzing a cooperative's economic and financial situation. Ratios

can indicate problem areas, serve as guidelines for

planning, and aid in formulating actions. However,

ratio interpretation is largely subjective.

Six financial ratios are used to measure cooperative performance or financial condition—return

on assets, net worth-to-assets, return on sales, total

sales-to-assets, the current ratio, and times interest

earned.

The return on assets and return on sales ratios

indicate profitability. The net worth-to-assets ratio

shows a cooperative's ability to meet long-term

financial obligations. The total sales-to-assets ratio

(asset turnover ratio) indicates how efficiently a

cooperative is using its assets. The current ratio

(current assets divided by current liabilities) measures a cooperative's ability to meet short-run obligations. Times interest earned shows the number of

times interest charges are covered by net income.

Tables 15 and 16 present the values of these

ratios. Extreme high and low values were excluded

so those used would be more representative of the

cooperatives reporting. Ratios are also shown by

selected asset category for those cooperatives where

sufficient information was available. These ratios

offer cooperative leaders a general barometer to use

in comparing their operations with others of the

same type (and/or size).

The return on assets (net income/assets) varied

considerably. It was negative for small farm supply, nut, large livestock, rice, and sugar cooperatives, but highest (28.3) for "other" marketing cooperatives. The dairy ratio was highest for those

cooperatives with assets of $1 million to $2.49 million. Among grain cooperatives, the largest return

(3.5) came from those with assets in the range of

$100 million to $499.9 million.

The net worth-to-assets ratio ranged from a

low of 15.5 percent for the largest fresh and

processed fruit and vegetable cooperatives to a high

of 83.3 percent for the smallest livestock cooperatives. Generally, as cooperatives become larger

and/or do more processing, less of their assets is

financed by members, which lowers the net worthto-assets ratio.

The return on sales (net income before

taxes/total sales) ranged from a negative 1.6 percent for poultry cooperatives to a high of 29 percent for the larger related-service cooperatives. Few

cooperative groups generated a return on sales

above 3 percent (only 9 of the 52 groups shown in

table 15).

The sales-to-assets ratio ranged from a high of

22.2 for the small fresh fruit and vegetable cooperatives to 0.8 for the larger related-service cooperatives. Among dairy, fruit and vegetable, grain, and

cotton ginning cooperatives, the ratio tended to

decrease as their size increased. Generally, this

reflects the large investment in processing or manufacturing equipment typical of the larger dairy

and fruit and vegetable cooperatives. The sales-toassets ratios for farm supply cooperatives varied

little with their size. Most are less involved in manufacturing or processing than the larger marketing

cooperatives.

The generally high sales-to-assets ratios for the

smaller and some types of cooperatives is due to

bargaining activity or other marketing functions

not requiring major investments in plant and equipment.

The current ratio (current assets/current liabilities) ranged from 1.1 for larger fruit and vegetable, smaller fresh and smaller processing fruit

35
36

Table 15— Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, 20011

Type of co–op Return Net worth Return Sales Current

and asset group (mil. dol.) on assets2 to assets3 on sales4 to assets5 ratio6

– – – – – – – – – – Percent – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Number – – – – – 

Cotton 1.7 30.9 0.7 2.6 1.2

Less than $25.0 12.9 50.2 5.5 2.4 2.2

25.0 and more 1.0 29.7 0.4 2.6 1.2

Dairy7 3.5 37.4 1.1 3.3 1.3

Less than $1.0 1.7 52.6 0.2 8.6 1.8

1.0 - 2.49 9.8 63.9 1.7 5.8 1.7

2.5 - 24.99 5.0 31.4 0.7 6.8 1.2

25.0 - 99.99 6.3 42.5 0.9 7.0 1.3

100.0 and more 3.2 37.1 1.1 2.9 1.3

Fruit and vegetable 1.8 26.4 1.1 1.6 1.6

Less than $1.0 6.4 64.0 0.3 19.5 2.8

1.0 - 2.49 6.0 53.5 1.3 4.5 1.3

2.5 - 24.99 3.3 47.0 0.9 3.6 1.4

25.0 - 99.99 1.5 28.2 0.9 1.7 1.1

100.0 and more 1.8 25.3 1.2 1.5 1.7

Fruit and vegetable 1.8 26.4 1.1 1.6 1.6

Fresh only 3.3 41.2 1.4 2.3 1.3

Less than $1.0 7.6 58.5 0.3 22.2 2.4

1.0 - 2.49 3.3 51.7 0.1 5.2 1.1

2.5 - 24.99 3.9 51.4 2.3 3.7 1.4

25.0 - 499.99 3.2 39.6 1.6 1.9 1.3

Processed only 3.0 30.9 1.7 1.7 1.6

Less than $99.99 3.0 28.5 0.8 3.6 1.1

100.0 and more 2.9 31.0 1.8 1.6 1.6

Fresh and processed 0.3 16.7 0.2 1.3 1.9

Less than $2.49 6.5 64.1 1.9 3.5 2.2

2.5 - 24.99 6.2 56.5 2.5 2.5 1.3

25.0 - 499.99 0.1 15.5 0.1 1.2 1.9

Grain and oilseed8 3.3 45.2 1.4 2.3 1.2

Less than $0.99 1.7 68.4 0.4 4.0 2.5

1.0 - 2.49 3.1 66.4 1.0 3.0 2.0

2.5 - 24.99 3.3 48.5 1.4 2.4 1.3

25.0 - 99.99 3.4 41.2 1.5 2.3 1.2

100.0 - 499.99 3.5 34.7 2.1 1.6 1.2

Livestock7 -4.4 28.0 -0.9 4.9 1.2

Less than $2.49 11.5 83.3 1.2 9.9 4.5

2.5 - 24.99 1.9 34.6 0.3 6.4 1.3

25.0 and more -4.5 27.8 -0.9 4.9 1.2

Continued
37

Table 15— Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, 20011 (continued)

Type of co–op Return Net worth Return Sales Current

and asset group (mil. dol.) on assets2 to assets3 on sales4 to assets5 ratio6

– – – – – – – – – – Percent – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Number – – – – – 

Beans & peas 5.7 34.0 3.5 1.6 1.2

Nut -1.1 36.2 1.1 1.5 1.6

Poultry 4.9 28.2 -1.6 2.8 1.1

Rice -8.0 29.8 1.3 1.7 1.2

Sugar -1.4 41.9 -0.5 0.9 1.1

Tobacco 0.8 68.8 0.5 18.0 3.6

Other marketing 28.8 48.7 1.3 2.5 1.4

Fishery 5.8 33.1 3.7 1.5 1.7

Farm supply 1.8 42.6 0.8 2.0 1.3

Less than $0.5 -1.1 57.3 1.0 2.8 1.9

0.5 - 0.99 0.5 71.3 0.2 2.5 2.8

1.0 - 2.49 2.5 70.1 1.5 2.1 2.2

2.5 - 24.99 4.4 58.7 1.7 2.0 1.5

25.0 - 99.99 3.1 43.2 1.3 1.9 1.3

100.0 - 499.99 2.6 45.4 3.1 1.7 1.3

500.0 and more 1.8 36.3 0.3 2.0 1.2 

Artificial insemination 2.6 57.8 0.3 2.9 1.7

Cotton gins 16.3 63.1 13.4 1.2 1.5

Less than $1.0 9.2 64.6 5.5 1.7 2.2

1.0 - 2.49 7.0 69.4 5.7 1.2 1.5

2.5 - 99.99 18.8 61.6 15.8 1.2 1.5

Other service9 8.9 43.9 10.5 0.8 1.4

Less than $0.5 1.2 77.0 0.8 1.5 2.0

0.5 - 2.49 22.8 55.4 29.0 0.8 3.2

2.5 - 24.99 8.2 42.3 9.9 0.8 1.3

1 Based on cooperatives reporting. Excludes strictly pooling cooperatives. The same cooperatives were included in each group to calculate

all five ratios. Values not representative of the group were excluded. 2 Calculated by dividing net income (before taxes) by total assets.

3 Net worth, or member equity, is the book value of the assets owned by members. The ratio was calculated by dividing total net worth by total

assets.

4 Total sales includes service receipts, other income, and patronage refunds received from other cooperatives and CoBank. The return on

sales was found by dividing net income (before taxes) by total sales.

5 Calculated by dividing total sales by total assets.

6 The current ratio was derived by dividing current assets by current liabilities.

7 Includes bargaining cooperatives.

8 Excludes cottonseed.

9 Includes cooperatives providing primarily services related to storage, transportation, livestock shipping, and rice drying.
and vegetable, poultry, and sugar cooperatives, to

4.5 for small livestock cooperatives. Smaller cooperatives’ current liabilities are generally low, but

become larger in relation to current assets as business grows.

Times interest earned varied by type and size

of cooperative (table 16). By type the ratio ranged

from 0.1 for livestock cooperatives to 13 for poultry cooperatives. This indicates that the net income

of livestock cooperatives would not have covered

their interest charges, while poultry cooperatives

could have covered their interest charges 13 times.

By size, the ratio varied significantly by type of

cooperative. For example, among dairy cooperatives, the times interest earned ratio ranged from

2.9 for those with total assets of $100 million or more

to 16.9 for those with total assets ranging from $1

million to $2.5 million. No significant relationship

existed between size of cooperative and times interest earned.

38

Cotton 1.6

Less than $25.0 5.9

25.0 and more 1.3

Dairy 3.1

Less than $1.0 4.2

1.0 - 2.49 16.9

2.5 - 24.99 4.2

25.0 - 99.99 5.8

100.0 and more 2.9

Fruit and vegetable 1.4

Less than $1.0 0.1

1.0 - 2.49 2.1

2.5 - 24.99 3.4

25.0 - 99.99 1.7

100.0 - 499.99 1.3

Grain and oilseed2 2.4

Less than $1.0 2.7

1.0 - 2.49 1.9

2.5 - 24.99 2.4

25.0 - 99.99 2.4

100.0 - 499.99 2.6

Livestock 0.1

Less than $25.0 10.5

25.0 and more 0.1

Dry bean and pea 2.9

Nut 0.7

Poultry 13.0

Rice 1.0

Sugar 0.4

Tobacco 0.5

Other marketing3 2.8

Farm supply 1.6

Less than $0.5 -6.6

0.5 - 0.99 0.7

1.0 - 2.49 1.9

2.5 - 24.99 3.3

25.0 - 99.99 1.9

100.0 - 499.99 1.4

500.0 and more 1.2

Cotton gin 9.5

Less than $1.0 14.9

1.0 - 2.49 3.1

2.5 and more 11.7

Other service4 2.1

Less than $2.5 9.6

2.5 and more 1.9

1 Based on cooperatives reporting. The ratio was calculated by summing net income before taxes and interest expense and dividing by

interest expense for each grouping. Extreme values not representative of the groupwere excluded.

2 Excludes cottonseed.

3 Includes miscellaneous marketing and fishery cooperatives. 4 Includes cooperatives providing services such as storage, transportation, and rice drying.

Table 16—Times interest earned for cooperatives, by selected type and size, 20011

Type of co-op Times interest Type of co-op Times interest

and asset group earned and asset group earned

Million Dollars Dollars Million Dollars Dollars
III—COOPERATIVE TRENDS, 1992-2001

Although the number of cooperatives

decreased during the past decade, dollar business

volume increased, until recent years. Cooperatives

continue to adjust to the changing economic environment through dissolution, merger, consolidation, acquisition, and the sale of assets. In some

cases, farmers organized new-generation cooperatives and formed joint ventures and alliances to

become involved in value-added activities. In 1992,

the net business volume of 4,315 cooperatives

totaled $79.3 billion. A decade later, net business

volume generated by 3,229 cooperatives was $103.3

billion.

Number of Cooperatives

The total number of marketing, farm supply,

and related-service cooperatives declined from 4,315

in 1992 to 3,229 in 2001 (table 17 and figure 12).

Marketing cooperatives declined from 2,218 to 1,606,

farm supply cooperatives from 1,618 to 1,234, and

service cooperatives from 479 to 389.

39

Table 17— Number of farmer cooperatives, 1992-2001

Year1 Marketing Farm supply Service Total

Number

1992 2,218 1,618 479 4,315

1993 2,214 1,547 483 4,244

1994 2,173 1,496 505 4,174

1995 2,074 1,458 474 4,006

1996 2,012 1,403 469 3,884

1997 1,941 1,386 464 3,791

1998 1,863 1,347 441 3,651

1999 1,749 1,313 404 3,466

2000 1,672 1,277 397 3,346

2001 1,606 1,234 389 3,229

1Prior to 1992, see Cooperative Historical Statistics, CIR 1, Section

26, USDA, Revised April 1998.

Figure 12— Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Number

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

Marketing

Farm Supply

Service
From 1992 through 2001, 1,695 cooperatives

(about 170 per year) were removed from RBS' list of

farmer cooperatives. Of those, 44.7 percent were

dissolved, 36 percent merged or consolidated, 12.7

percent were acquired by other cooperatives or

investor-owned firms, and the remaining 6.6 percent were removed for other reasons (figure 13).

Even while cooperatives were disappearing

from RBS’ list, newly formed ones or others not previously listed were added. From 1992 through 2001,

430 cooperatives (43 per year) were added.

Fourteen cooperatives were added during 2001.

Grain and Farm Supply Branches

In 1995, 2,548 grain and farm supply cooperatives had an estimated 5,101 branches—2,172 for

grain and 2,929 for farm supplies. In 2001, grain

and farm supply cooperative numbers had dropped

to 2,023, but branches had increased to 5,583 (table

18 and figure 14).

Larger cooperatives, particularly those handling farm supplies accounted for most branches. Of

those with assets of $25 million or more in 2001, 103

farm supply cooperatives had an estimated 1,856

branches and 64 grain cooperatives had 708 branches.

Memberships

Cooperative memberships dropped from 4.1

million in 1992 to 3 million in 2001 (table 19 and

figure 15). The decline largely reflects the decreasing number of farms, farmers, and ranchers in the

United States. Many farmers are members of more

than one cooperative and each membership is

counted. Consequently, the number of memberships

exceeds the number of farmers. Duplications cannot

be eliminated with current reporting methods.

Member classification depends on the type of

cooperative used and may not be related to the

member's product(s) marketed or supplies purchased. For example, a member may market only

one of the farm products handled by the cooperative

or use one classified in the marketing group to purchase one or more production items. A member's

business with the cooperative, therefore, may not

40

Figure 13— Cooperatives Removed from RBS’ List, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Based on an RBS list of U.S. farmer cooperatives. Mergers also include consolidations. “Other” includes cooperatives dropped due

to inactivity and unknown and miscellaneous reasons.

Number

Other

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Dissolution

Merger

Acquisition
be in the group that represents the cooperative's

major business volume (the criterion for classifying cooperatives in this report). The membership,

however, will be included arbitrarily in that classification.

During the past decade, memberships in related-service and marketing cooperatives decreased

more than twice the rate in farm supply cooperatives. Memberships in marketing cooperatives

dropped 678,948 (36.9 percent) while farm supply

cooperatives decreased 274,694 (13.6 percent).

Employees

The number of full-time employees working

in marketing and related-service cooperatives

declined between 1996-2001. Farmer cooperatives

had an estimated 165,666 full-time employees in

2001, down from 176,665 in 2000 (table 20) and the

lowest since 1997 (172,199).

Business Volume

Net cooperative business, unadjusted for price

change, increased from $79.3 billion in 1992 to $103.3

billion in 2001 (table 21). When adjusted,3 net business totaled $84.9 billion in 2001 (figure 16).

41

Table 18— Estimated number of branches operated by grain and farm supply cooperatives, 1995-2001 

Asset Group (million dollars)

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Year Less than 5 5 - 9.9 10 - 24.9 25 or more Total

Grain Cooperatives

1995 658 223 174 35 1,090

1996 618 229 176 43 1,066

1997 616 196 155 47 1,014

1998 550 216 150 48 964

1999 512 187 147 50 896

2000 435 183 149 59 826

2001 406 184 135 64 789

Branches

1995 399 440 756 577 2,172

1996 387 505 743 691 2,326

1997 364 463 717 706 2,250

1998 292 517 774 716 2,299

1999 295 422 685 761 2,163

2000 280 428 690 517 1,915

2001 252 414 672 708 2,046

Farm Supply Cooperatives

1995 1,134 211 97 16 1,458

1996 1,064 213 109 17 1,403

1997 1,022 232 109 23 1,386

1998 928 277 112 30 1,347

1999 933 223 121 36 1,313

2000 886 208 139 44 1,277

2001 780 205 146 103 1,234

Branches

1995 571 502 460 1,396 2,929

1996 542 523 526 1,438 3,029

1997 481 579 576 1,576 3,183

1998 528 548 570 1,672 3,318

1999 423 547 534 1,663 3,167

2000 518 493 723 1,663 3,412

2001 482 494 705 1,856 3,537

3 Marketing sales was deflated by the index of producer prices

received for “all farm products” (1991 = 100). Supply sales and

service receipts and other income were deflated by the index of

prices paid by farmers for “production items,” excluding interest,

taxes, and wages (1991=100).
Consequently, the difference between actual and

real net business volume in 2001 was more than

$1.8 billion. The real net business volume was more

than $5 billion higher than the real value in 2000

due to higher prices received for farm products and

lower input costs. Prices received for all farm commodities from 1992 to 2001 did not change, while

prices paid for production items increased 22.8 percent. However, farm supply net business volume

and service receipts and other income accounted

for only 27.3 percent of the total net business volume in 2001.

Marketing sales of four major commodity

groups—dairy; grains and oilseeds, excluding cottonseed; fruits and vegetables; and livestock–increased

as a proportion of marketing sales, from 82.5 percent in 1992 to 83.5 percent in 2001 (figure 17). In

both 1992 and a decade later, net volume (among

commodity groups) was highest for dairy. In terms

of net volume, dairy led with $26.2 billion ($20.2

billion in 1992), followed by grains and oilseeds

with $18.1 billion in 2001. In 1996 and 1997, higher

grain prices helped grain and oilseed sales top the

other commodity groups.

Dairy sales showed the strongest absolute dollar growth during 1992-2001. Sales dipped in 2000,

but rebounded strongly in 2001.

In the farm supply group, petroleum, feed, and

fertilizer sales were especially important (figure 18).

They accounted for 70.3 percent of cooperatives'

total farm supply sales in 2001. Sales of petroleum,

feed, fertilizer, and crop protectants grew steadily

until 1998. In 2000 and 2001, feed sales dropped

due to decreased demand and lower prices. Seed

sales were fairly stable but have been growing in

the past 3 years.

Net marketing of farm products totaled $58.2

billion in 1992 and increased annually through 1996.

Since 1997, the net marketing dollar volume has

declined as demand and prices for farm commodities has dropped. In 2000, net business volume of

farm products marketed rose slightly, then increased

4.1 percent in 2001 (table 22). Aggregate farm supply sales increased every year, from $18.5 billion in

1992 to $25.2 billion in 1997, dropped in 1998 and

1999, and rose again in 2000 and 2001. Service

receipts (includes other income and revenue)

42

Figure 14— Grain and Farm Supply Cooperatives and Branches, 1992-2001

1,000

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Cooperatives

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Branches
increased from $2.6 billion in 1992 to a record $3.9

billion in 1999, and then dropped to $3.5 billion in

2000 and 2001.

Gross business volume grew from $93.4 billion in 1992 to $123.6 billion in 2001, up from $120.7

billion in 2000, but down from a record $128.1 billion in 1996. The volume increase ($15.9 billion) in

1996 was due mainly to higher prices for grains and

oilseeds.

Net Income

Starting with $1.44 billion in 1992, total net

income fluctuated annually setting a record at $2.36

billion in 1995 (table 23 and figure 19). Net income

received from operations and from other cooperatives varied over time. Both reflected better economic times in agriculture in the mid-1990s compared with conditions in the early and late 1990s.

In 1992, refunds from other cooperatives totaled

$406 million, or 28.2 percent of total net income versus 2001 refunds of $316.2 million, or 23.3 percent of

total net income.

43

Table 19— Memberships in marketing, farm supply, 

and related-service cooperatives, 1992–2001

Period1 Marketing Farm supply Service Total

1,000

1992 1,839 2,020 212 4,072

1993 1,830 1,977 216 4,023

1994 1,805 1,936 245 3,986

1995 1,712 1,846 210 3,767

1996 1,682 1,795 187 3,664

1997 1,498 1,743 183 3,424

1998 1,398 1,774 181 3,353

1999 1,283 1,731 159 3,173

2000 1,243 1,718 124 3,085

2001 1,160 1,746 128 3,034

1 Prior to 1992, see Cooperative Historical Statistics, CIR 1, Section

26, USDA, Revised April 1998.

Figure 15— Cooperative Memberships by Function, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Million

Service

Marketing

Farm Supply

5

4

3

2

1

0
Balance Sheet

Cooperatives’ total assets rose continuously

from 1992 to 2000 then dipped slightly in 2001, up

$16.5 billion, from $32 billion in 1992 to $48.5 billion in 2001 (table 24 and figure 20). In 1992, nearly

$3.0 billion (9.5 percent of total assets) was invested

in other cooperatives, including CoBank. In 2001,

they climbed to $5.2 billion (10.7 percent).

In the 1992 to 2001 decade, cooperatives’ total

liabilities also grew from $17.8 billion to $28.3 billion, up $10.5 billion.

Total liabilities financed 58.4 percent of total

assets in 2001. The strength of a balance sheet

depends on the proportion of assets financed by

net worth or equity capital. In 1992, cooperatives’

net worth totaled $14.2 billion, financing 44.4 percent of total assets. By 2001, total net worth climbed

to more than $20.1 billion, but financed only 41.6

percent of cooperatives’ assets. The proportion of

net worth used to finance total assets peaked at 44.4

percent in 1992, but declined to a low of 40.8 percent

in 1996 and 2000. Farmer cooperatives, overall, have

a strong balance sheet, but the trend toward

increased use of debt and less equity capital to

finance assets causes concern.

IV—OTHER SERVICE COOPERATIVES

In 2001, service cooperatives, other than those

directly related to marketing and purchasing,

included farm credit system cooperatives, rural electric cooperatives, rural credit unions, and dairy herd

improvement associations.

Farm Credit System

The Farm Credit System (FCS) is a nationwide

network of financial cooperatives that lends to agriculture and rural America. FCS provides credit and

related services to farmers, ranchers, producers and

harvesters of aquatic products, rural homeowners,

certain farm-related businesses, agricultural and

aquatic cooperatives, rural utilities, and certain foreign and domestic entities in connection with international transactions.

By 2001, FCS was represented by 25 Federal

Land Credit Associations (FLCAs), 15 Production

Credit Associations (PCAs), and 78 Agricultural

Credit Associations (ACAs) (table 25). The combined assets of FCS for 2001 totaled $100.8 billion—

up 7.2 percent from $94 billion in 2000 (table 26).

44

Table 20— Cooperatives’ number of full-time employees, 1996-2001

Full-time Employees

Commodity ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Number

Cotton 1,787 1,995 1,844 1,787 1,759 1,800

Dairy 27,621 28,323 27,056 24,598 23,408 20,714

Fruits & vegetables 26,456 22,847 23,734 23,329 25,108 19,909

Grains & oilseeds 25,981 23,538 23,873 20,998 20,309 19,627

Livestock & poultry 28,453 26,399 28,031 32,690 34,592 35,843

Rice 2,636 2,713 2,655 2,600 2,606 2,364

Sugar 3,482 3,473 4,402 4,459 4,523 4,392

Other marketings 7,109 9,191 8,474 8,525 8,831 6,335 ————— ————— ————— —————— —--——— —-———

Marketing 123,525 118,479 120,069 118,986 121,136 110,986

Farm supply 45,566 47,870 48,171 49,466 51,321 50,641

Service 5,704 5,850 5,551 4,499 4,208 4,039 ————— ————— ————— —————— —--——— —-———

Total 174,795 172,199 173,791 172,951 176,665 165,666
Net worth was $16 billion, up 11.1 percent from

2000, and net income was $1.79 billion, up from

$1.42 billion (25.5 percent).

Of the 25 FLCAs operating on September 30,

2001, 10 were in the FCB of Texas and 9 in the FCB

of Wichita. FLCAs (former FLBAs) were authorized

by the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 and given

direct-lending authority by FCBs.

PCAs provide farmers and ranchers with shortand intermediate-term loans for various purposes,

such as operating expenses, farm equipment and

livestock purchases, and farm buildings and other

capital improvements. Of the 15 PCAs, 8 were located in the FCB of Wichita and 4 in the AgriBank,

FCB District.

ACAs resulted from the merger of FLBAs or

FLCAs with PCAs and offer both long- and shortterm loans. Of the 78 ACAs operating on September

30, 2001, 24 were in AgFirst, FCB territory and 17

in the AgriBank, FCB district. The FCBs provide

loans and support services to ACAs, FLCAs, and

PCAs within their districts.

CoBank, ACB, provides short-, intermediate-,

and long-term credit to agricultural cooperatives,

rural utility systems, and other rural businesses

nationwide. It also provides credit to the Farm

Credit Associations serving agricultural producers

in the Northeast. CoBank is owned by about 2,300

stockholders, consisting of U.S. farmer cooperatives,

rural utilities, ACAs, and other businesses serving

rural America. CoBank also finances U.S. agricultural exports and provides international banking

services for farmer cooperatives.

CoBank’s combined assets grew from $24.3 billion in 2000 to $25.2 billion in 2001 (nearly 3.7 percent). Net worth climbed from $1.8 billion to nearly $2.2 billion (22.7 percent). As of December 31,

2001, CoBank had net loans of $19.9 billion and net

income of $221 million, up from $185 million in 2000

(19.5 percent, table 27).

Rural Electric Cooperatives

The number of rural electric cooperatives

declined from 614 in 2000 to 601 in 2001 but their

memberships increased from 10.7 million to 10.9

million, and revenue increased from $14.7 billion

in 2000 to $15.4 billion in 2001 (table 28). Minnesota

had the most associations (36 or 6 percent of the

total), while Georgia had the most members at 1,150

(10.6 percent) and the largest revenue at $1,611 million (10.5 percent).

Rural Credit Unions

The 542 rural credit unions (569 in 2000) reported 3.8 million members and savings of almost $20.3

billion (table 29). Membership was down slightly

from 2000, but savings was up 12.4 percent from

$18 million in 2000. Wisconsin had the most associations (57 or 10.5 percent of the total), while

45

Table 21— Cooperatives’ net business volume,1992

and 20011

Net Business Volume

Function 1992 2001

Million dollars 

Products marketed: 

Beans and peas (dry edible) 265.4 151.4

Cotton 2,076.6 2,400.4

Dairy 20,238.6 26,186.7

Fruits and vegetables 7,591.0 8,822.2

Grains and oilseeds2 15,223.3 18,055.3

Livestock 4,938.5 9,559.0

Nuts 916.3 893.3

Poultry 1,216.2 2,216.7

Rice 771.6 756.3

Sugar 2,225.7 2,647.7

Tobacco 415.5 440.8

Wool and mohair 19.0 7.8

Other marketings3 2,298.3 2,904.3 ————— —————

Total farm products 58,195.9 75,041.8

Supplies sold:

Crop protectants 2,097.9 2,956.8

Feed 4,554.1 3,998.3

Fertilizer 3,708.1 4,966.4

Petroleum 4,775.2 8,445.8

Seed 610.5 1,051.1

Other supplies 2,766.6 3,337.9 ————— —————

Total farm supplies 18,512.5 24,756.2

Services provided:

Trucking, cotton ginning, 

storage, grinding, locker 

plants, misc. 2,575.3 3,470.7

————— ——————

Total business 79,283.7 103,268.8

1 Excludes inter-cooperative business volume. Totals may not add

due to rounding.

2 Excludes cottonseed. Cottonseed sales were included with

cotton. Cottonseed meal and oil sales were included with feed

and other products, respectively.

3 Includes value of processed oilseeds.
46

Figure 16— Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

1 Actual sales were adjusted for price change based on 1991 = 100.

Billion dollars

Actual

Real1

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Figure 17— Cooperatives’ Net Sales of Selected Commodities, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Billion dollars

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Milk & Milk Products

Grains & Oilseeds

Fruits and Vegetables

Livestock
California had the most members (726,000) and

credit union savings ($4.8 billion). California,

Wisconsin, and Michigan accounted for nearly 1.8

million memberships (46.9 percent of the total) and

$9.8 billion in savings (48.2 percent).

Dairy Herd Improvement Associations

Dairy Herd Improvement Associations (DHIA)

had 29,466 memberships in 2001 (table 30), down

from 31,196 in 2000. The DHIAs tested more than

4.2 million cows in 2001, down slightly from 2000.

Wisconsin (7,031), Pennsylvania (4,637), Minnesota

(3,153), and New York (2,598), combined, accounted for 59.1 percent of total members, about the same

as 2000. California tested 21.3 percent (899,600) of

the cows, up from 20.9 percent in 2000.

47

Figure 18— Cooperatives’ Net Sales of Selected Farm Supplies, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Billion dollars

Petroleum

Fertilizer

Feed

Crop Protectants

Seed

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0
48

Table 22— Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes, 1992–20011

Gross volume Net volume

—————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————

Farm Farm Farm Farm

Period2 products supplies Services3 Total products supplies Services3 Total

Billion dollars

1992 63.8 27.0 2.6 93.4 58.2 18.5 2.6 79.3

1993 66.8 28.2 2.7 97.7 60.9 19.2 2.7 82.9

1994 72.1 30.4 3.0 105.5 65.5 20.8 3.0 89.3

1995 77.9 31.0 3.3 112.2 69.3 21.2 3.3 93.8

1996 90.3 34.7 3.1 128.1 79.4 23.7 3.1 106.2

1997 85.9 37.1 3.6 126.7 77.8 25.2 3.6 106.7

1998 84.5 33.0 3.5 121.0 76.6 24.6 3.5 104.7

1999 80.5 30.9 3.9 115.3 72.0 23.2 3.9 99.1

2000 80.4 36.8 3.5 120.7 72.1 24.1 3.5 99.7

2001 84.0 36.1 3.5 123.6 75.0 24.8 3.5 103.3

Percent

1992 68.3 28.9 2.8 100 73.4 23.4 3.2 100

1993 68.4 28.8 2.8 100 73.5 23.2 3.3 100

1994 68.4 28.8 2.8 100 73.4 23.3 3.3 100

1995 69.5 27.6 2.9 100 73.9 22.6 3.5 100

1996 70.5 27.1 2.4 100 74.8 22.3 2.9 100

1997 67.8 29.3 2.9 100 72.9 23.7 3.4 100

1998 69.9 27.2 2.9 100 73.2 23.5 3.3 100

1999 69.8 26.8 3.4 100 72.7 23.4 3.9 100

2000 66.6 30.5 2.9 100 72.3 24.2 3.5 100

2001 67.9 29.3 2.8 100 72.7 24.0 3.4 100

1 Gross includes and net excludes inter-cooperative business. Totals may not add due to rounding.

2 Prior to 1992, see Cooperative Historical Statistics, CIR 1, Section 26, USDA, Revised April 1998. Data for prior years are not entirely

comparable due to revisions in statistical procedures.

3 Services related to marketing or supply purchasing, but not included in the volumes reported for these activities.
49

Table 23— Net income of farmer cooperatives, 

1992–20011

From own From other

Year operations cooperatives2 Total

Million dollars

1992 1,034 406 1,440

1993 985 373 1,358

1994 1,571 392 1,963

1995 1,766 597 2,363

1996 1,475 773 2,248

1997 1,557 757 2,314

1998 1,169 573 1,742

1999 945 384 1,328

2000 1,041 235 1,276

2001 1,041 316 1,357

1 Totals may not add due to rounding. Excludes income from

cooperative pooling operations.

2 Dividends and patronage refunds received from other marketing,

farm supply, and related-service cooperatives, CoBank, and

Banks for Cooperatives, where applicable.

Figure 19— Cooperatives’ Net Income, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

1 Includes dividends and patronage refunds from other farmer cooperatives, CoBank, and Banks for Cooperatives.

Billion dollars

From Own

Operations

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

From Other Cooperatives1
50

Table 24— Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 1992–2001

Assets Investments

from own in other Total Total Net

Year operations co–ops1 assets liabilities worth

Million dollars 

1992 28,967 3,027 31,994 17,780 14,213

1993 30,484 2,962 33,446 18,634 14,812

1994 32,784 3,176 35,960 20,339 15,621

1995 37,046 3,228 40,274 23,643 16,631

1996 39,011 3,577 42,588 25,195 17,392

1997 39,922 4,074 43,996 25,459 18,537

1998 41,884 4,676 46,560 26,606 19,954

1999 42,330 5,352 47,682 27,418 20,263

2000 44,635 5,087 49,722 29,447 20,275

2001 43,285 5,180 48,465 28,317 20,148

Percent of total assets

1992 90.5 9.5 100 55.6 44.4

1993 91.1 8.9 100 55.7 44.3

1994 91.2 8.8 100 56.6 43.4

1995 92.0 8.0 100 58.7 41.3

1996 91.6 8.4 100 59.2 40.8

1997 90.7 9.3 100 57.9 42.1

1998 90.0 10.0 100 57.1 42.9

1999 88.8 11.2 100 57.5 42.5

2000 89.8 10.2 100 59.2 40.8

2001 89.3 10.7 100 58.4 41.6

1 Includes investments in other farmer cooperatives, CoBank, and Banks for Cooperatives, where applicable.

Figure 20— Cooperatives’ Net Worth and Liabilities, 1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

Billion dollars

Liabilities

Net Worth

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0
51

Table 25— Farm Credit Association Structure, 

September 30, 20011

District or bank affiliation PCA ACA FLCA

Number

CoBank, ACB - 4 -

AgFirst FCB - 24 -

AgriBank, FCB 4 17 4

FCB of Wichita 8 8 9

FCB of Texas 2 11 10

Western FCB 1 12 2

AgAmerica, FCB - 2 -

—— —— ——

Total 15 78 25

- = No bank affiliation.

1 PCA = Production Credit Association, ACA = Agricultural Credit

Association, FLCA = Federal Land Credit Association,

ACB=Agricultural Credit Bank, the successor Bank resulting from

a BC/FCB merger.

Source: Farm Credit Administration, Accountability Report FY

2001, McLean, VA, p. 41

Farm Credit System, Annual Information Statement - 2001

Jersey City, NJ, p.27

Table 26— Farm Credit System’s combined assets, net

worth, and net income, 1995-20011

Year Assets Net worth Net income

Million dollars

1995 71,438 9,864 1,165

1996 74,917 10,729 1,201

1997 78,144 11,694 1,267

1998 84,139 12,522 1,251

1999 88,692 13,319 1,233

2000 94,036 14,397 1,422

2001 100,810 15,999 1,785

1 Farm Credit System, Annual Information Statement, 2001,

Federal Farm Credit Banks, Funding Corporation, Jersey City, NJ,

Feb. 26, 2002, p. 3.

Table 27— Combined assets, net worth, net loans, and

net income of CoBank, ACB, 1995-20011

Year Assets Net worth Net loans Net income

Million dollars

1995 21,268 1,429 17,553 167

1996 20,771 1,504 16,871 145

1997 21,207 1,600 16,821 164

1998 22,104 1,671 17,513 145

1999 24,089 1,665 18,398 121

2000 24,255 1,791 19,230 185

2001 25,160 2,197 19,944 221

1 As of December 31 of each year. Source: CoBank, ACB,

Creating Customer Value in the 21st Century, 2001 Annual

Report, Englewood, CO.
52

Alabama 18 390 549

Alaska 8 55 150

Arizona 5 137 165

Arkansas 14 301 467

California 3 16 21

Colorado 17 315 434

Florida 10 464 647

Georgia 35 1,150 1,611

Idaho 4 33 44

Illinois 7 55 87

Indiana 21 257 340

Iowa 25 134 229

Kansas 27 156 256

Kentucky 24 697 1,149

Louisiana 10 312 428

Maine 3 14 9

Michigan 7 215 188

Minnesota 36 412 494

Mississippi 14 421 622

Missouri 32 466 544

Montana 21 97 107

Nebraska 2 9 19

New Mexico 16 188 254

New York 4 16 15

North Carolina 23 750 1,005

North Dakota 17 123 212

Ohio 20 303 386

Oklahoma 17 249 335

Oregon 7 39 67

Pennsylvania 9 159 178

South Carolina 18 543 803

South Dakota 28 131 176

Tennessee 20 853 1,253

Texas 33 602 825

Virginia 12 389 685

Washington 5 33 51

Wisconsin 14 130 134

Wyoming 9 62 143

Other States3 6 219 317

—— ——— ———

United States 601 10,894 15,398

Table 28— Number, participation, and level of activity of rural electric1 cooperatives, by State, 

December 31, 20012

Members Members

State Cooperatives (consumers) Revenue State Cooperatives (consumers) Revenue

Number 1,000 Mil. dol. Number 1,000 Mil. dol.

1 Source: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

2 Totals may not add due to rounding.

3 Includes States with fewer than three cooperatives – Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Vermont, and West Virginia.
53

Alabama 7 22 95

Arizona 4 19 60

Arkansas 3 10 43

California 48 726 4,811

Colorado 12 22 96

Florida 14 118 504

Georgia 10 36 124

Hawaii 11 105 738

Idaho 8 18 68

Illinois 10 68 344

Indiana 13 48 464

Iowa 6 7 24

Kansas 15 74 271

Kentucky 6 30 101

Louisiana 8 16 51

Maine 7 22 97

Maryland 5 62 342

Massachusetts 3 8 24

Michigan 23 382 1,538

Minnesota 33 230 1,341

Mississippi 4 13 39

Missouri 4 17 61

Montana 9 36 170

Nebraska 14 21 114

Nevada 5 48 368

New Jersey 5 9 18

New Mexico 3 43 225

New York 23 148 887

North Carolina 13 30 75

North Dakota 28 97 640

Ohio 12 38 81

Oklahoma 4 7 40

Oregon 9 57 255

Pennsylvania 19 33 102

Rhode Island 3 83 771

South Dakota 7 11 38

Tennessee 7 15 47

Texas 30 110 439

Utah 9 16 59

Virginia 5 41 176

Washington 12 157 821

West Virginia 3 5 13

Wisconsin 57 676 3,427

Other States3 11 60 274

—— ——— ———

United States 542 3,798 20,276

Table 29— Number, participation, and level of activity of rural credit unions,1 by State, December 31, 20012

State Cooperatives Members Savings State Cooperatives Members Savings

Number 1,000 Mil. dol. Number 1,000 Mil. dol.

1 Source: Credit Union National Association, Inc. (Includes federally chartered and State-chartered credit unions.)

2 Totals may not add due to rounding.

3 Includes States with fewer than three cooperatives – Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and

Wyoming.
54

Alabama 53 8.9

Arizona 59 88.3

Arkansas 69 8.3

California 1,103 899.6

Colorado 69 42.2

Connecticut 113 13.2

Delaware 38 4.6

Florida 104 71.1

Georgia 217 54.1

Hawaii 4 1.4

Idaho 205 115.7

Illinois 601 52.3

Indiana 483 46.9

Iowa 1,180 103.4

Kansas 290 47.3

Kentucky 282 26.2

Louisiana 126 16.6

Maine 155 14.9

Maryland 395 39.5

Massachusetts 115 11.1

Michigan 948 151.0

Minnesota 3,153 267.1

Mississippi 75 12.1

Missouri 500 46.0

Montana 54 7.4

Nebraska 221 31.5

Nevada 19 9.7

New Hampshire 107 10.9

New Jersey 76 7.2

New Mexico 34 49.1

New York 2,598 326.4

North Carolina 233 39.2

North Dakota 70 7.1

Ohio 1,069 104.6

Oklahoma 122 15.9

Oregon 275 55.3

Pennsylvania 4,637 342.1

Rhode Island 6 .4

South Carolina 85 16.3

South Dakota 243 25.9

Tennessee 266 33.8

Texas 260 118.0

Utah 213 46.3

Vermont 495 58.2

Virginia 518 70.2

Washington 253 71.9

West Virginia 60 6.6

Wisconsin 7,031 587.7

Wyoming 6 1.2 ————— --

United States3 29,466 4,226.7

Table 30— Number, participation, and level of activity of dairy herd improvement associations,1 by State, 

December 31, 20012

Members Cows Members Cows

State (herds) tested State (herds) tested

Number 1,000 Number 1,000

1 Source: Agricultural Research Service, USDA.

2 Totals may not add due to rounding.

3 Includes Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, with 178 members and 41,995 cows tested.
55

Appendix Figures
56

Appendix Figure 1— Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume, 1977-2001

1977 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 2001

1 Total includes value of related services and other income.

Billion dollars

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Appendix Figure 2— Cooperatives’ Gross and Net Business Volumes, 1977-2001

1977 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 2001

1 Includes inter-cooperative business. 2 Excludes inter-cooperative business.

Billion dollars

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Total 1

Marketing

Farm Supply

Gross1

Net 2
57

Appendix Figure 3— U.S. Farms and Farmer Cooperative Memberships, 1977-2001

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1977 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 2001

1 Memberships were higher than farm numbers because many farmers belonged to more than one cooperative.

Million

Farms

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Appendix Figure 4— Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives, by Type, 2001

Grain & Oilseed 24.4%

Dairy 6.3%

Livestock & Poultry 2.8%

Fruit & Vegetable 6.8%

Other Marketing1 9.0%

Percentages based on a total of 3,229 cooperatives.

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, rice, sugar, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Cotton 0.4%

Service 12.1%

Farm Supply 38.2%

Memberships1
58

Appendix Figure 5— Distribution of Total Net Income, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Rice

Cotton

Fruit & Vegetable

Other Marketing 1

Service

Grain & Oilseed 

Dairy

Farm Supply

Percentage based on net income of $1.36 billion.

1 Includes dry bean and pea, livestock, poultry, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, sugar, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Appendix Figure 6— Distribution of Total Losses, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Dairy

Service

Cotton

Grain & Oilseed

Fruit & Vegetable

Other Marketing 1

Sugar

Livestock & Poultry

Farm Supply

Percentage based on losses of $441.9 billion.

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, rice, sugar, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

0 10 20 30 40 50
59

Appendix Figure 7— Distribution of Total Net Worth, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Grain & Oilseed 17.0%

Rice 1.3%

Dairy 16.1%

Sugar 4.7%

Fruit & Vegetable 7.6%

Livestock & Poultry 6.4%

Other Marketing 1 6.7%

Service 3.0%

Farm Supply 35.6%

Cotton 1.7%

Appendix Figure 8— Distribution of Total Full-Time Employees, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Grain & Oilseed 11.8%

Rice 1.4%

Dairy 12.5%

Sugar 2.6%

Fruit & Vegetable 12.0%

Livestock & Poultry 21.6%

Percentages are based on a total of 165,666 full-time employees.

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Cotton 1.1%

Service 2.4%

Farm Supply 30.6%

Other Marketing1 3.8%

Percentages are based on total net worth of $20.1 billion

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.
60

Appendix Figure 9— Assets Per Full-Time Employee, by Type of Cooperative, 2001

Livestock & Poultry

Rice

Fruit & Vegetable

Service

Farm Supply

Grain & Oilseed

Other Marketing1

Dairy

Sugar

Cotton

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Thousand dollars

1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, fishery, and other miscellaneous marketing cooperatives.

Appendix Figure 10— Cooperatives’ Investments in and Patronage Refunds Received from Other Cooperatives1

1992-2001

1992 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001

1 Includes other farmer cooperatives, CoBank, and Banks for Cooperatives.

Billion dollars

Investments

Refunds

6

5

4

3

2

1

0
61
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Rural Business–Cooperative Service

Stop 3250

Washington, D.C. 20250-3250

www.rurdev.usda.gov

Rural Business–Cooperative Service (RBS) provides research,

management, and educational assistance to cooperatives to

strengthen the economic position of farmers and other rural

residents. It works directly with cooperative leaders and

Federal and State agencies to improve organization,

leadership, and operation of cooperatives and to give guidance

to further development.

The cooperative segment of RBS (1) helps farmers and other

rural residents develop cooperatives to obtain supplies and

services at lower cost and to get better prices for products they

sell; (2) advises rural residents on developing existing

resources through cooperative action to enhance rural living;

(3) helps cooperatives improve services and operating

efficiency; (4) informs members, directors, employees, and the

public on how cooperatives work and benefit their members

and their communities; and (5) encourages international

cooperative programs. RBS also publishes research and

educational materials and issues Rural Cooperatives magazine.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of

race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability,

political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family

status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for

communication of program information (braille, large print,

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at

(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director,

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or

call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal

opportunity provider and employer.