United States

Department of 

Agriculture

Committed to the future 

of rural communities. 

 Service Report 64 

FARMER

COOPERATIVE

STATISTICS, 2003

 
A survey of 3,086 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives ending their 

business year during calendar year 2003 showed a net business 

volume of $100.6 billion with a net income of $1.1 billion. These 

cooperatives had assets totaling $47 billion, about $27 billion of 

liabilities, and $20 billion in equity. Cooperatives continued to be a 

major employer in rural areas, with 165,000 full-time workers. 

Business volume by commodity is reported for all cooperatives. 

Number of cooperatives, cooperative memberships, and number of 

employees are classified according to whether the business is a 

marketing, farm supply, or service cooperative. Trends in 

cooperative numbers, memberships, employees, business size, 

sales volume, net income, assets, liabilities, and net worth are 

reported. 

 

Keywords: cooperatives, statistics, business volume, employees, 

memberships, balance sheet, net income, financial ratios. 

 

FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2003 

Celestine C. Adams, Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. Penn, and 

E. Eldon Eversull 

Rural Development, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 3256, 1400 Independence 

Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250-3256 

 

Service Report 64 

April 2006 

This report is dedicated to Celestine C. Adams, an agricultural 

statistician who retired this year with 33 years of service, 25 of which 

were spent making reports in this series possible. 

Cover photos provided courtesy of CHS Inc. 

Abstract 
Farmer cooperative statistics are collected annually to provide 

information on the progress and trends among the Nation’s farmerowned cooperatives. These statistics are used for research, technical 

assistance, education, planning, and public policy. The collection, 

analysis, and dissemination of farmer cooperative statistics by USDA 

are 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 and part-time and seasonal employees of farmer 

cooperatives for business years ending in calendar year 2003. 

Cooperatives are classified by principal product marketed and major 

function. Fishery and ethanol cooperatives are included as “other 

product marketing” cooperatives. Both gross (includes intercooperative business) and net (excludes inter-cooperative business) 

dollar volumes are reported. 

Statistics for 2003 were compiled on a State and national basis. The 

information was collected from individual farmer and fishery 

cooperatives by a mail survey of all organizations identified by 

USDA’s Rural Development-Cooperative programs (RD) as farmer or 

aquacultural cooperatives. Information was requested for the 

cooperatives’ 2003 business year. 

RD conducts an annual census to gain accurate information for 

assistance purposes. Information obtained from individual 

cooperatives is combined with data from other cooperatives to 

maintain confidentiality. 

Statistics for all cooperatives were derived by estimating data for 

non-respondents and combining this information with respondent 

data. Data from respondents and other sources accounted for 88.5 

percent of the total gross sales of farmer cooperatives in 2003. 

RD 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 

Preface 
Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii 

I—Definition of a Farmer Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

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

 Organizational Membership Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

II—2003 Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

 Number of Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

 Memberships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

 Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

 Labor Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

 Business Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 

 Business Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 

 Net Income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

 Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 

 Selected Financial Ratios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 

Appendix Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

Appendix Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

 

ii 

Contents 
There are 3,086 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives, according to the 

2003 survey of marketing, farm supply, and related-service 

cooperatives by USDA’s Rural Development-Cooperative programs. 

o Total gross business volume (includes inter-cooperative business) 

handled by cooperatives was $116.9 billion; net business (excludes 

inter-cooperative business) was $100.6 billion. 

o Total net income was $1.1 billion, which includes inter-cooperative 

dividends and refunds of $92.1 million. 

o Grain and farm supply cooperatives operated over 3,000 branches. 

o Cooperative memberships were 2.8 million, down 1 percent from 

2002. 

o Cooperatives employed 165,000 full-time and almost 62,000 parttime and seasonal employees. 

o Gross value of farm products marketed by cooperatives was $77 

billion, with a net value (after eliminating duplication from intercooperative business) of $71 billion. 

o Gross value of farm supplies handled by farmer cooperatives was 

$35.5 billion, with a net value of $25.5 billion. 

o Receipts for services related to marketing farm products and 

handling farm supplies, plus other income totaled $4.1 billion. 

o Farmer cooperatives had $46.9 billion in combined assets. Net 

assets, after eliminating inter-cooperative investments, was $42.9 

billion. Inter-cooperative investments included those in CoBank. 

o Total liabilities totaled $26.5 billion. 

o Net worth, or member and patron equity, was $20.4 billion. Member 

and patron equity financed 43.5 percent of total assets. 

Highlights 

iii 
2003 HIGHLIGHTS 

 2003 2002 

Change 

 Number 

Number of cooperatives 3,086 3,140 -54 

 

Memberships (million) 2.8 2.8 -0.04 

Gross business volume ($ billion) 116.9 111.6 5.3 

Net business volume ($ billion) 100.6 96.8 3.8 

Net income ($ billion) 1.1 1.2 -0.1 

Total assets ($ billion) 46.9 48.5 -1.5 

Net worth ($ billion) 20.4 19.6 0.8 

Full-time employees (thousand) 165.1 166.1 -1.0 

Part-time and seasonal employees (thousand) 61.6 54.3 7.3 

iv 
FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2003 

Celestine C. Adams, Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. Penn, and E. Eldon Eversull 

Rural Development 

 I -- DEFINITION OF A FARMER 

COOPERATIVE 

USDA’s Rural DevelopmentCooperative’s program 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; 

(4) The cooperative operates for the 

mutual interest of members by 

providing member benefits on the 

basis of patronage. 

These criteria may result in larger or 

smaller numbers of farmer cooperatives than 

found in lists or directories of State agencies 

or cooperative councils. Year-to-year 

comparisons with specific commodity groups 

reflect any differences in lists and 

classifications in State and Federal data. 

Classification of Cooperatives 

RD classifies each cooperative under 

one of the following major functions: 

marketing, farm supply, or related-service. 

Fishery and ethanol cooperatives are 

classified as other product marketing 

cooperatives; wool pools as marketing 

cooperatives; livestock shipping associations 

and rice drying cooperatives as service 

cooperatives. 

Marketing cooperatives derive most of 

their total dollar volume from the sale of 

members' farm products. These cooperatives 

are further classified into one of 13 

commodities or commodity groups, 

depending upon which accounts for most of 

its business volume. RD 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. 

Organizational Membership Structures 

Centralized 

Of the 3,086 farmer cooperatives in 

2003, 3,008 were centralized organizations, 

mostly locals with individual farmer-members. 

Centralized cooperatives usually serve a local 

1 
area or community, county, or several 

counties. Most usually perform a limited 

number of initial marketing functions. Most 

farm supply sales are 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 20 mixed cooperatives have 

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–2003 STATISTICS 

Cooperatives' total net business volume 

was $100.6 billion in 2003, while net income 

was $1.1 billion. There were 3,086 agricultural 

cooperatives in 2003, and they had 2.8 million 

members. Together they had $47 billion in 

assets with $20.4 billion in equity. 

Cooperatives remained a major employer in 

rural areas, using 165,000 full-time workers.

Number of Cooperatives 

The 2003 survey counted 3,086 

marketing, farm supply, and related-service1

cooperatives, compared with 3,140 in 2002. 

Of the 3,086 cooperatives, 1,551 primarily 

marketed farm products, 1,156 primarily 

handled farm production supplies, and 379 

provided services related to marketing or 

purchasing activities (table 1, appendix figure 

1). The proportion of marketing, farm supply, 

and service cooperatives to the total number 

of cooperatives remained virtually unchanged 

from 2002. Marketing cooperatives comprise 

about 50 percent of all cooperatives, farm 

supply, 38 percent, and service, 12 percent of 

the total (figure 1 and appendix table 1). 

There was a net decrease of 54 

associations (1.7 percent) from 2002 to 2003, 

largely reflecting a continuing trend involving 

merger, acquisition, or dissolution. The 

largest decrease was in farm supply 

cooperatives (45), followed by grain and 

oilseed, and service cooperatives, losing 8 

 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. 

2 
Table 1–Number of cooperatives and memberships, by major business activity, 2003 

 

 

Major business activity Cooperatives Memberships 

 

 Number Thousands

Bean and pea, dry edible 8 2.1 

Cotton 14 43.4 

Dairy 197 80.8 

Fruit and vegetable 207 32.7 

Grain and oilseed 1 772 555.3 

Livestock 67 91.9 

Nuts 17 33.8 

Poultry 2 19 26.3 

Rice 15 12.5 

Sugar 3 48 13.9 

Tobacco 21 127.4 

Wool and mohair 76 10.9 

Other products 90 23.3

 

 Total marketing 1,551 1,054.2 

 

 Farm supply 1,156 1,590.4 

Service 379 113.3

Total 3,086 2,758.0 

 

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. 

3 
Figure 2—Cooperatives Removed from RD’s List, 1994-2003

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Number

Based on an RD list of U.S. farmer cooperatives. Mergers also include consolidations.

“Other” includes cooperatives dropped due to inactivity and unknown and miscellaneous reasons.

Dissolution

Merger

Acquisition

Other

Figure 1—Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, 1994-2003

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Marketing

Farm Supply

Service

Number

4 
Table 2–Number of cooperatives1

, by major function and State, 20032 

 

 Major function 

 

 Farm supply 

 State Marketing and service Total 

 Number

 

Alabama 8 53 61 

Arizona 5 4 9 

Arkansas 10 41 51 

California 97 65 162 

Colorado 23 20 43 

Florida 32 7 39 

Georgia 9 8 17 

Hawaii 13 7 20 

Idaho 24 13 37 

Illinois 113 47 160 

Indiana 16 27 43 

Iowa 102 46 148 

Kansas 94 35 129 

Kentucky 15 27 42 

Louisiana 16 30 46 

Maryland 3 13 16 

Massachusetts 8 4 12 

Michigan 33 27 60 

Minnesota 137 146 283 

Mississippi 12 58 70 

Missouri 18 44 62 

Montana 34 29 63 

Nebraska 52 34 86 

New Jersey 12 1 13 

New Mexico 3 6 9 

New York 76 11 87 

North Carolina 14 5 19 

North Dakota 129 99 228 

Ohio 47 22 69 

Oklahoma 35 43 78 

Oregon 19 13 32 

Pennsylvania 38 13 51 

South Dakota 60 58 118 

Tennessee 8 71 79 

Texas 57 174 231 

Utah 9 6 15 

Virginia 19 39 58 

Washington 44 33 77 

West Virginia 13 13 26 

Wisconsin 41 130 171 

Wyoming 7 5 12 

Other States3

 46 8 54 

 

United States 1,551 1,535 3,086 

 

 1

 Centralized and federated cooperatives and those with mixed organizational structures. 2

 Data covering operations of cooperatives for fiscal years that ended in 2003. 

3

 Includes States with fewer than three cooperatives for any function. States with at least three cooperatives were: Alaska, 7; Connecticut, 4; 

 Delaware, 3; Maine, 27; South Carolina, 5; and Vermont, 4. 

5 
and 1, respectively (figure 2). 

Cooperative numbers by marketing, 

farm supply, and service functions by State 

are shown in table 2. Minnesota had the most 

marketing cooperatives (137), followed 

closely by North Dakota (129). Texas had the 

most farm supply and service cooperatives 

(174). 

The 10 leading States in terms of 

number of cooperatives by function are 

shown in figure 3. Minnesota had about the 

same number each of marketing and farm 

supply cooperatives, while Texas had the 

most service cooperatives, mainly cotton gins. 

North Dakota had the second highest number 

of cooperatives, with 30 more marketing 

cooperatives than farm supply. 

Grain and Farm Supply Branches 

Many cooperatives operate branches to 

better serve their members. Most branches 

are owned, others are leased. A number of 

the branches are formerly independent 

cooperatives that served a local community. 

For economic or other reasons, 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 oilseed and farm supply 

cooperatives operated over 5,000 branches—

2,000 and 3,000, respectively (table 3). Grain 

and oilseed cooperatives averaged 2.7 

branches, while farm supply cooperatives 

averaged 2.6 branches per cooperative. 

In 1996, 2,469 grain and oilseed and 

farm supply cooperatives had an estimated 

5,355 branches: 2,326 owned by grain and 

oilseed cooperatives and 3,029 by farm 

supply cooperatives. In 2003, grain and 

oilseed and farm supply cooperative numbers 

had dropped to 1,919, and branches to 5,146 

(figure 4). It is not clear if the cooperatives are 

now contracting the number of outlets they 

operate as they have consolidated in total or if 

data have been misinterpreted. 

 Figure 5 shows that less than 200 of the 

largest cooperatives (mainly regional) had 

about the same number of branches that all 

the smaller (local) cooperatives had 

Figure 3—Number of Cooperatives by Function, Leading States, 2003

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

MN TX ND WI CA IL IA KS SD NE

Number

Marketing

Farm Supply

Service

6 
Figure 5—Branches of Grain and Farm Supply Cooperatives, by Size, 2003

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

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

Total Assets (Million dollars)

1,000 Cooperatives or Branches

Cooperatives

Branches

Figure 4—Grain and Farm Supply Cooperatives and Branches, 1994-2003

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

1,000

Cooperatives

Branches

7 
Table 3–Estimated number of branches operated by grain and oilseed and farm supply cooperatives, 1996-2003 

 

 Asset Group (Million $) 

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

 

 Grain and Oilseed Cooperatives

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 

2002 379 173 141 76 769 

2003 367 157 142 73 739 

Branches

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 

2002 244 340 637 901 2,122 

2003 221 299 579 821 1,921 

Farm Supply Cooperatives

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 

2002 740 203 152 106 1,201 

2003 719 199 148 114 1,180 

Branches

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 

2002 436 432 840 1,884 3,592 

2003 434 426 630 1,735 3,224 

8 
combined. The 73 largest grain and oilseed 

cooperatives (assets in excess of $25 

million)—or about 10 percent of all grain and 

oilseed cooperatives—accounted for 43 

percent of the total number of branches 

operated by grain and oilseed cooperatives. 

The 114 largest farm supply cooperatives—

10 percent of all farm supply cooperatives—

had 1,735 branches, or 54 percent. 

Memberships 

Memberships in marketing, farm supply, 

and related-service cooperatives totaled an 

estimated 2.8 million in 2003, down 1.3 

percent from 2002 (table 4). By major 

business activity, 58 percent and 20 percent 

were memberships of farm supply and grain 

cooperatives, respectively (appendix table 2, 

figure 6). Dairy cooperative memberships 

were only 3 percent of the total, but 

accounted for 23 percent, or $23 billion, of 

cooperatives' net business volume in 2003. 

Memberships in farmer cooperatives 

dropped from 4 million in 1994 to 2.8 million in 

2003 (figure 7). The long-term decline largely 

reflects the decreasing number of farms, 

farmers, and ranchers in the United States 

(appendix figure 2). Many farmers are 

members of more than one cooperative and 

each membership is counted. Consequently, 

the number of memberships exceeds the 

number of farmers. Duplication in 

membership 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; another 

may use a cooperative classified in the 

marketing group to purchase one or more 

production items. A member's business with 

the cooperative, therefore, may not 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 at more than twice the rate of 

memberships in farm supply cooperatives. 

Memberships in marketing cooperatives 

dropped 751,000 (42 percent) and service 

cooperatives had a decline of 132,000 (54 

percent), while memberships in farm supply 

cooperatives decreased 345,000 (18 

percent). 

The largest proportions of memberships 

in farm supply cooperatives were in the 

smallest and mid-size cooperatives (figure 8). 

Memberships in marketing cooperatives were 

the greatest proportion of total memberships 

among those same mid-size cooperatives 

(gross business volumes of $15 million to 

$99.9 million). 

Employees 

 Farmer cooperatives had an estimated 

165,000 full-time employees in 2003, a 

decrease of about 1,000 from 2002 (table 5), 

and far less than the peak of 176,665 in 2000. 

Livestock and poultry and sugar cooperatives 

have increased their full-time employees by 

about 7,000 from 1998 while all other 

cooperatives have decreased by a combined 

14,000. There has been a fairly steady 

decline in full-time employees in most 

marketing cooperatives while farm supply 

cooperatives increased some but now are 

back to 1998 levels of employment. Larger 

cooperatives have more employees, but 

some types of cooperatives have many more 

assets per employee (appendix figure 3). 

Sugar cooperatives have the largest amount 

of assets per employee at $496,000. Other 

cooperatives that process raw products, such 

as livestock and poultry ($86,000 per 

employee), and fruit and vegetable 

cooperatives ($199,000), have more assets 

than sugar cooperatives, but they also use 

many more employees. 

Farmer cooperatives employ full-time 

and, in most cases, part-time and seasonal 

employees to run their operations. Their 

number and type depends on a number of 

factors, such as size of operation, type of 

9 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

BEANS AND PEAS, DRY EDIBLE 

California 3 0.3 5.43 5.43 

North Dakota 3 0.8 52.81 52.81 

Other States 2 1.0 73.91 70.79

United States 8 2.1 132.16 129.03 

 

COTTON6

 

California 3 1.4 382.72 332.72 

Texas 5 24.5 672.35 661.98 

Other States 6 17.5 1,561.60 1,540.93 

Foreign7

 0 0.0 0.00 0.00

United States 14 43.4 2,616.67 2,535.63 

 

DAIRY 

California 6 1.3 2,216.23 2,199.99 

Illinois 4 2.9 1,473.22 1,109.07 

Iowa 5 4.4 1,557.01 1,311.95 

Massachusetts 3 0.2 64.56 64.07 

Minnesota 32 12.7 3,193.56 2,994.83 

New Mexico 3 0.2 421.44 400.88 

New York 61 5.5 1,575.37 1,229.88 

North Dakota 4 0.9 285.34 262.41 

Ohio 6 1.2 135.71 116.54 

Oregon 3 0.6 383.76 367.00 

Pennsylvania 18 3.6 478.22 423.36 

Virginia 3 1.0 691.20 691.20 

Wisconsin 32 19.5 5,262.28 4,867.26 

Other States 20 26.8 8,171.99 7,341.02 

Foreign7

 0 0.0 74.46 74.46

United States 200 80.8 25,984.37 23,453.91 

10 
 

Table 4–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

Arizona 4 0.8 79.98 79.98 

Arkansas 3 0.1 2.14 1.96 

California 53 13.8 2,577.30 2,577.11 

Colorado 6 0.4 9.58 9.58 

Florida 22 1.2 909.03 431.18 

Hawaii 4 0.1 6.10 6.10 

Idaho 3 1.4 269.77 269.77 

Kentucky 4 0.2 5.12 5.12 

Maine 8 0.5 5.62 5.62 

Massachusetts 3 0.4 366.07 366.07 

Michigan 14 2.7 524.80 465.57 

Minnesota 4 0.2 8.87 8.87 

New Jersey 8 0.7 160.34 160.34 

New York 9 0.9 72.57 72.50 

North Carolina 4 0.1 19.52 18.91 

North Dakota 3 0.2 18.62 18.62 

Ohio 4 0.3 4.26 4.26 

Oregon 10 0.9 414.23 414.23 

Pennsylvania 5 0.5 423.36 423.36 

Texas 3 0.3 56.36 56.36 

Washington 16 4.4 1,063.28 1,063.28 

Other States 16 2.3 454.78 440.38 

Foreign7

 0 0.1 0.85 0.85

United States 206 32.6 7,452.54 6,900.01 

 

GRAINS AND OILSEEDS 8 

Colorado 15 8.5 216.42 212.15 

Idaho 4 0.8 39.16 35.04 

Illinois 101 88.3 2,322.93 2,229.33 

Indiana 13 18.6 462.48 459.31 

Iowa 82 75.3 5,115.16 4,405.91 

Kansas 90 93.4 1,632.66 1,517.30 

Michigan 4 2.0 126.17 125.10 

11 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

GRAINS AND OILSEEDS 8 (continued) 

Minnesota 81 46.1 3,605.25 2,962.21 

Mississippi 3 2.0 190.12 185.03 

Missouri 11 18.0 689.57 519.86 

Montana 9 1.7 315.76 216.88 

Nebraska 41 53.8 2,112.73 1,942.79 

North Dakota 102 40.6 1,729.65 1,461.07 

Ohio 32 22.2 741.68 739.12 

Oklahoma 31 21.7 267.65 244.82 

South Dakota 58 33.1 1,299.33 1,123.50 

Texas 34 14.6 465.91 416.56 

Washington 18 9.0 553.90 487.14 

Other States 16 5.6 1,361.33 1,137.87 

Foreign7

 0 0.0 303.84 191.36

United States 745 555.3 23,551.70 20,612.37 

 

LIVESTOCK 

Alabama 4 3.2 20.82 20.82 

Idaho 3 3.4 87.28 87.28 

Indiana 3 1.6 162.19 162.19 

Kentucky 4 0.2 4.51 4.51 

Mississippi 3 2.6 38.98 38.98 

Missouri 4 1.8 723.08 723.08 

North Dakota 5 0.5 21.57 21.57 

Virginia 4 0.4 13.70 13.70 

West Virginia 3 0.2 2.51 2.51 

Wisconsin 4 50.1 589.04 589.04 

Other States 30 28.0 5,131.41 5,131.41 

Foreign7 0 0.0 0.33 0.33

United States 67 91.9 6,795.41 6,795.41 

12 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

NUT9 

California 7 5.9 762.50 762.50 

Other States 11 27.8 88.73 88.73 

Foreign7

 0 0.1 0.00 0.00

United States 18 33.8 851.23 851.23 

 

POULTRY10 

California 4 0.1 209.45 195.30 

Utah 3 0.2 131.64 131.64 

Other States 12 25.9 2,325.60 2,325.60 

Foreign7 0 0.1 0.00 0.00

United States 19 26.3 2,666.69 2,652.55 

 

RICE 

California 4 0.9 239.51 238.16 

Louisiana 3 0.4 21.53 21.53 

Texas 5 0.9 29.93 29.93 

Other States 3 10.3 677.98 677.98

United States 15 12.5 968.95 967.60 

 

SUGAR11 

Idaho 7 1.8 512.37 512.37 

Louisiana 8 0.5 249.51 249.51 

Michigan 7 1.8 190.82 190.82 

Minnesota 3 2.7 1,193.82 1,193.82 

Montana 3 0.4 55.61 55.61 

Wyoming 4 0.4 25.70 25.70 

Other States 16 6.0 1,282.50 1,282.50 

Foreign7

 0 0.0 2.19 2.19

United States 48 13.9 3,512.52 3,512.52 

 

13 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

TOBACCO7 

Kentucky 5 5.7 19.24 19.24 

North Carolina 3 0.9 1.01 1.01 

Tennessee 7 119.7 63.28 63.28 

Virginia 3 0.9 1.87 1.87 

Other States 3 0.2 0.06 0.06

United States 21 127.4 85.45 85.45 

 

WOOL AND MOHAIR 

Idaho 4 0.1 0.03 0.03 

Montana 19 0.6 0.49 0.49 

North Dakota 4 0.3 0.06 0.06 

Pennsylvania 12 1.1 0.17 0.17 

Virginia 7 0.4 0.03 0.03 

West Virginia 9 0.7 0.01 0.01 

Wyoming 3 0.1 0.69 0.69 

Other States 18 7.6 8.66 8.66 

Foreign7

 0 0.1 0.37 0.37

United States 76 10.9 10.50 10.50 

 

OTHER MARKETING12 

Alaska 7 4.4 10.42 10.42 

California 9 1.2 117.33 92.91 

Florida 6 0.3 32.31 10.83 

Georgia 3 0.1 8.03 8.03 

Hawaii 4 0.4 1.87 1.87 

Maine 15 0.7 51.15 51.15 

Minnesota 13 10.0 565.78 547.95 

North Dakota 3 2.3 47.32 47.32 

Washington 5 0.7 66.83 66.83 

Other States 25 3.4 1,712.77 1,658.58

United States 90 23.3 2,613.82 2,495.89 

 14 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

TOTAL MARKETING 

Alabama 8 11.8 769.82 767.26 

Alaska 7 4.4 10.75 10.75 

Arizona 5 1.4 613.88 590.13 

Arkansas 10 13.0 1,401.12 1,385.98 

California 97 27.3 6,561.37 6,455.02 

Colorado 23 10.4 530.88 512.35 

Florida 32 4.9 1,757.06 1,257.58 

Georgia 9 20.4 1,048.83 1,046.15 

Hawaii 13 0.6 10.64 10.64 

Idaho 24 7.9 1,223.86 1,217.91 

Illinois 109 95.5 4,054.32 3,596.58 

Indiana 16 21.7 1,068.60 949.38 

Iowa 94 83.7 8,084.58 7,123.90 

Kansas 94 96.8 3,088.52 2,898.07 

Kentucky 15 9.3 137.14 136.83 

Louisiana 16 5.0 574.21 514.54 

Maine 25 1.6 121.09 121.09 

Maryland 3 0.8 194.28 194.21 

Massachusetts 8 1.0 434.35 433.86 

Michigan 32 11.1 1,458.91 1,378.98 

Minnesota 137 73.3 9,174.82 8,312.09 

Mississippi 12 7.2 829.83 824.32 

Missouri 18 26.4 3,462.91 2,991.66 

Montana 34 3.3 427.28 328.40 

Nebraska 49 57.9 3,522.35 3,242.42 

New Jersey 11 1.7 225.42 222.90 

New Mexico 3 0.8 450.54 429.94 

New York 75 7.2 1,800.50 1,454.49 

North Carolina 14 3.7 381.03 379.53 

North Dakota 127 49.3 3,058.80 2,767.30 

Ohio 47 31.3 1,819.18 1,793.11 

Oklahoma 34 29.5 971.56 912.50 

Oregon 19 4.9 1,330.12 1,198.91 

15 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4

 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

TOTAL MARKETING (continued) 

Pennsylvania 38 5.2 996.89 942.02 

South Carolina 3 2.9 105.85 105.85 

South Dakota 59 35.9 1,909.30 1,702.82 

Tennessee 8 122.3 141.10 140.49 

Texas 57 45.8 2,758.37 2,568.74 

Utah 9 3.1 223.07 212.74 

Vermont 4 1.6 420.48 410.06 

Virginia 19 21.0 731.64 731.64 

Washington 44 15.2 2,196.03 2,126.59 

West Virginia 13 1.3 11.95 11.95 

Wisconsin 41 71.7 6,441.95 6,041.32 

Wyoming 7 0.7 49.90 49.83 

Other States 5 1.9 274.92 229.74 

Foreign7 0 0.4 382.04 269.57

United States 1,527 1,054.3 77,242.01 71,002.11 

 

FARM SUPPLIES PROVIDED: 

CROP PROTECTANTS 13 

Alabama 63.88 38.50 

Arkansas 103.79 92.54 

California 26.37 26.34 

Colorado 40.60 37.65 

Florida 14.60 11.05 

Georgia 115.25 108.88 

Idaho 25.80 25.77 

Illinois 399.39 265.85 

Indiana 144.06 143.59 

Iowa 369.52 326.24 

Kansas 106.40 105.73 

Kentucky 47.83 42.89 

Louisiana 28.11 27.76 

Maryland 15.35 14.34 

16 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

CROP PROTECTANTS 13 (continued) 

Massachusetts 2.03 2.03 

Michigan 31.42 31.36 

Minnesota 279.95 270.15 

Mississippi 24.23 23.53 

Missouri 123.05 85.55 

Montana 29.63 29.60 

Nebraska 184.32 181.59 

New York 50.99 50.93 

North Dakota 104.25 104.12 

Ohio 97.30 97.18 

Oklahoma 21.12 21.05 

Oregon 61.89 61.80 

Pennsylvania 24.88 24.86 

South Dakota 109.35 108.88 

Tennessee 120.48 69.83 

Texas 43.02 41.02 

Utah 6.99 6.98 

Virginia 31.32 23.35 

Washington 86.34 83.21 

West Virginia 3.32 3.09 

Wisconsin 118.88 108.76 

Wyoming 3.33 3.32 

Other States 84.88 75.20 

Foreign7

 21.56 1.89

United States 3,165.48 2,776.42 

 

FEED 13 

Alabama 114.71 40.57 

Arkansas 90.43 51.67 

California 187.06 133.88 

Colorado 78.01 39.45 

Florida 80.71 36.24 

Georgia 378.37 335.73 

Idaho 85.70 58.36 

17 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

FEED 13 (continued) 

Illinois 259.27 193.56 

Indiana 113.67 73.79 

Iowa 1,154.15 1,114.29 

Kansas 169.58 152.49 

Kentucky 99.42 54.47 

Louisiana 27.96 26.52 

Maryland 41.69 38.44 

Massachusetts 13.25 12.97 

Michigan 109.19 69.22 

Minnesota 771.63 720.48 

Mississippi 40.75 40.56 

Missouri 207.61 169.52 

Montana 58.66 13.39 

Nebraska 291.93 236.38 

New York 113.43 103.79 

North Dakota 54.63 43.26 

Ohio 124.23 123.85 

Oklahoma 61.62 58.77 

Oregon 324.11 219.35 

Pennsylvania 85.05 83.40 

South Dakota 164.69 126.58 

Tennessee 197.08 123.32 

Texas 167.38 121.16 

Utah 85.83 84.48 

Virginia 125.54 115.83 

Washington 257.33 169.90 

West Virginia 20.59 18.47 

Wisconsin 538.87 527.45 

Wyoming 43.87 5.37 

Other States 319.65 226.86 

Foreign7

 162.75 109.61

United States 7,220.41 5,873.41 

 

18 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

FERTILIZER 13 

Alabama 140.46 103.39 

Arkansas 103.50 91.54 

California 121.95 118.50 

Colorado 68.77 62.58 

Florida 127.79 32.57 

Georgia 79.31 69.72 

Idaho 33.30 32.26 

Illinois 846.29 632.76 

Indiana 314.75 221.78 

Iowa 700.89 463.25 

Kansas 253.62 233.90 

Kentucky 97.72 90.87 

Louisiana 22.99 21.60 

Maryland 27.42 25.38 

Massachusetts 3.47 3.47 

Michigan 43.11 41.78 

Minnesota 477.93 342.57 

Mississippi 48.55 44.56 

Missouri 379.05 244.12 

Montana 58.15 58.08 

Nebraska 322.61 265.64 

New York 44.80 42.63 

North Dakota 279.61 174.43 

Ohio 236.49 156.68 

Oklahoma 102.95 70.09 

Oregon 96.14 96.05 

Pennsylvania 36.31 36.26 

South Dakota 205.58 148.62 

Tennessee 212.03 129.37 

Texas 133.33 83.31 

Utah 16.40 16.28 

Virginia 77.11 72.18 

Washington 106.86 105.90 

19 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

FERTILIZER 13 (continued) 

West Virginia 9.02 7.90 

Wisconsin 209.79 157.46 

Wyoming 10.64 9.39 

Other States 134.04 121.17 

Foreign7 298.82 12.02

United States 6,481.53 4,640.05 

 

PETROLEUM 13 

Alabama 5.62 5.07 

Arkansas 89.22 84.53 

California 7.11 6.42 

Colorado 347.39 211.56 

Florida 3.65 3.48 

Georgia 184.02 55.30 

Idaho 253.10 129.02 

Illinois 1,213.75 695.98 

Indiana 697.29 396.01 

Iowa 1,168.78 665.18 

Kansas 1,590.12 343.45 

Kentucky 52.31 36.11 

Louisiana 10.32 9.84 

Maryland 7.52 7.50 

Massachusetts 1.72 1.72 

Michigan 233.47 107.21 

Minnesota 855.64 642.63 

Mississippi 22.29 20.53 

Missouri 709.65 552.28 

Montana 324.17 231.08 

Nebraska 534.45 385.43 

New York 30.91 28.47 

North Dakota 507.74 362.77 

Ohio 185.74 158.79 

Oklahoma 278.65 135.51 

Oregon 295.86 194.71 

20 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

PETROLEUM 13 (continued) 

Pennsylvania 27.09 26.11 

South Dakota 381.57 257.58 

Tennessee 302.76 132.74 

Texas 137.52 112.67 

Utah 184.54 59.29 

Virginia 551.86 369.60 

Washington 305.95 210.71 

West Virginia 7.64 7.62 

Wisconsin 780.74 599.94 

Wyoming 232.22 144.47 

Other States 36.47 35.43 

Foreign7

 267.84 85.03

United States 12,826.67 7,511.78 

 

SEED 13 

Alabama 28.46 17.13 

Arkansas 38.03 37.46 

California 22.98 22.98 

Colorado 6.38 6.38 

Florida 4.21 3.48 

Georgia 8.71 7.78 

Idaho 47.17 6.17 

Illinois 168.56 118.55 

Indiana 54.94 32.15 

Iowa 216.35 105.09 

Kansas 24.96 24.96 

Kentucky 30.37 28.04 

Louisiana 13.35 13.21 

Maryland 11.92 11.09 

Massachusetts 5.05 4.93 

Michigan 11.86 11.86 

Minnesota 157.45 111.90 

Mississippi 19.76 19.43 

21 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4

 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

SEED 13 (continued) 

Missouri 215.15 51.54 

Montana 27.43 18.32 

Nebraska 64.38 50.72 

New York 58.14 57.81 

North Dakota 51.34 37.67 

Ohio 39.72 39.70 

Oklahoma 6.03 6.03 

Oregon 22.05 22.05 

Pennsylvania 53.45 53.14 

South Dakota 66.88 52.82 

Tennessee 82.78 54.15 

Texas 16.48 16.48 

Utah 2.83 2.83 

Virginia 26.23 24.47 

Washington 37.98 33.42 

West Virginia 5.21 4.80 

Wisconsin 111.71 66.87 

Wyoming 0.65 0.65 

Other States 55.41 52.15 

Foreign7

 13.59 5.89

United States 1,827.97 1,234.10 

 

OTHER FARM SUPPLIES 13, 14 

Alabama 78.99 51.15 

Arkansas 67.57 66.01 

California 137.70 97.77 

Colorado 83.36 71.57 

Florida 156.95 152.53 

Georgia 110.55 103.31 

Idaho 36.74 34.19 

Illinois 111.08 90.23 

Indiana 68.75 57.61 

Iowa 125.09 106.94 

Kansas 90.73 75.35 

22 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

OTHER FARM SUPPLIES 13, 14 (continued)

Kentucky 66.37 57.08 

Louisiana 17.41 16.78 

Maryland 29.27 26.72 

Massachusetts 16.23 14.91 

Michigan 124.50 119.27 

Minnesota 294.69 272.76 

Mississippi 43.02 41.95 

Missouri 207.00 156.36 

Montana 47.14 46.11 

Nebraska 162.70 129.45 

New York 78.18 73.67 

North Dakota 149.81 145.46 

Ohio 81.64 72.41 

Oklahoma 37.70 31.05 

Oregon 128.49 127.53 

Pennsylvania 49.57 46.53 

South Dakota 79.45 74.36 

Tennessee 248.60 151.36 

Texas 78.63 66.17 

Utah 50.87 47.99 

Virginia 224.79 206.09 

Washington 108.34 85.93 

West Virginia 14.43 14.35 

Wisconsin 335.46 329.84 

Wyoming 36.97 33.96 

Other States 188.35 163.68 

Foreign7

 8.91 4.99

United States 3,976.06 3,463.41 

 

FARM SUPPLY 

Alabama 47 19.8 432.13 255.81 

Arkansas 36 35.7 492.54 423.76 

California 18 13.4 503.17 405.89 

23 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

FARM SUPPLY (continued) 

Colorado 19 20.4 624.50 429.19 

Florida 6 8.0 387.92 239.35 

Georgia 5 1.1 876.20 680.72 

Idaho 12 8.6 481.82 285.77 

Illinois 48 52.8 2,998.34 1,996.93 

Indiana 25 35.2 1,393.46 924.94 

Iowa 53 68.6 3,734.78 2,780.98 

Kansas 33 26.6 2,235.41 935.87 

Kentucky 26 168.3 394.02 309.47 

Louisiana 19 5.9 120.14 115.72 

Maryland 12 74.2 133.17 123.49 

Massachusetts 4 3.6 41.75 40.02 

Michigan 23 10.1 553.55 380.70 

Minnesota 121 81.0 2,837.29 2,360.48 

Mississippi 38 73.1 198.60 190.56 

Missouri 43 66.0 1,841.51 1,259.37 

Montana 29 22.4 545.18 396.57 

Nebraska 35 23.0 1,560.40 1,249.20 

New York 8 28.2 376.45 357.29 

North Dakota 98 44.4 1,147.38 867.71 

Ohio 19 15.7 765.12 648.61 

Oklahoma 29 22.1 508.07 322.50 

Oregon 13 21.7 928.54 721.49 

Pennsylvania 7 27.4 276.35 270.30 

South Dakota 59 41.6 1,007.52 768.83 

Tennessee 69 63.0 1,163.73 660.78 

Texas 46 35.0 576.36 440.80 

Utah 5 1.3 347.46 217.85 

Virginia 36 159.8 1,036.85 811.51 

Washington 29 11.7 902.80 689.07 

West Virginia 13 83.6 60.21 56.23 

Wisconsin 83 83.9 2,095.46 1,790.32 

Wyoming 5 3.5 327.68 197.17 

Other States 11 127.5 818.80 674.49 

24 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

FARM SUPPLY (continued) 

Foreign7

 0 2.1 773.46 219.43

United States 1,182 1,590.4 35,498.12 25,499.18 

SERVICE15 

Alabama 6 0.2 12.83 12.83 

Arizona 4 0.5 16.39 16.39 

Arkansas 5 0.5 81.78 81.78 

California 47 3.5 467.33 467.33 

Georgia 3 0.3 8.26 8.26 

Hawaii 6 0.2 2.79 2.79 

Illinois 3 0.3 194.66 194.66 

Louisiana 11 0.6 21.41 21.41 

Michigan 5 1.1 61.91 61.91 

Minnesota 25 6.4 432.51 432.51 

Mississippi 20 10.9 508.15 508.15 

New Mexico 5 1.3 7.08 7.08 

New York 4 0.3 242.33 242.33 

North Carolina 3 0.1 14.59 14.59 

North Dakota 3 3.6 54.38 54.38 

Ohio 3 2.6 103.01 103.01 

Oklahoma 15 5.3 43.27 43.27 

Pennsylvania 6 0.2 5.23 5.23 

Texas 128 21.8 247.88 247.88 

Virginia 3 9.8 50.77 50.77 

Washington 4 2.5 164.16 164.16 

Wisconsin 47 17.6 90.65 90.65 

Other States 21 24.0 1,286.86 1,286.86

United States 377 113.3 4,118.19 4,118.19 

 

 

25 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

TOTAL 

Alabama 61 31.7 1,214.78 1,035.90 

Alaska 7 4.4 71.56 52.89 

Arizona 9 2.3 692.39 624.80 

Arkansas 51 49.2 1,975.43 1,891.51 

California 162 44.2 7,531.86 7,328.24 

Colorado 43 30.8 1,187.29 973.46 

Connecticut 4 1.8 243.74 197.42 

Delaware 3 43.5 62.91 59.99 

Florida 39 23.4 2,223.07 1,575.02 

Georgia 17 21.8 1,933.30 1,735.13 

Hawaii 20 0.9 64.54 47.21 

Idaho 37 16.6 1,723.56 1,521.57 

Illinois 160 148.6 7,247.32 5,788.17 

Indiana 43 57.0 2,538.46 1,950.71 

Iowa 148 155.8 12,151.32 10,236.84 

Kansas 129 123.5 5,456.50 3,966.51 

Kentucky 42 179.4 535.35 450.49 

Louisiana 46 11.5 715.76 651.67 

Maine 27 7.1 210.19 208.80 

Maryland 16 75.0 328.50 318.74 

Massachusetts 12 4.6 479.44 477.23 

Michigan 60 22.2 2,074.37 1,821.58 

Minnesota 283 160.7 12,444.61 11,105.07 

Mississippi 70 91.3 1,536.58 1,523.03 

Missouri 62 93.2 5,564.05 4,510.65 

Montana 63 25.7 978.53 731.04 

Nebraska 86 80.9 5,231.12 4,640.00 

New Jersey 13 6.0 283.29 277.14 

New Mexico 9 2.2 471.93 449.15 

New York 87 35.7 2,419.28 2,054.11 

North Carolina 19 72.3 643.60 604.17 

North Dakota 228 97.3 4,260.56 3,689.38 

Ohio 69 49.6 2,687.31 2,544.73 

Oklahoma 78 56.9 1,522.89 1,278.27 

26 
Table 4–Number1

 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20033

(continued) 

 

 Headquartered Business volume 

State in State Memberships Gross4 Net5

 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

TOTAL (continued) 

Oregon 32 26.6 2,295.09 1,956.83 

Pennsylvania 51 32.8 1,278.47 1,217.55 

South Carolina 5 3.1 176.09 168.93 

South Dakota 118 81.0 2,974.24 2,529.08 

Tennessee 79 187.6 1,345.04 841.48 

Texas 231 102.6 3,582.61 3,257.42 

Utah 15 5.7 615.17 475.23 

Vermont 4 4.5 463.39 452.15 

Virginia 58 190.7 1,819.26 1,593.93 

Washington 77 29.4 3,262.99 2,979.81 

West Virginia 26 84.9 72.62 68.64 

Wisconsin 171 173.1 8,628.06 7,922.29 

Wyoming 12 4.3 383.85 253.27 

Other States 4 2.1 100.56 93.23 

Foreign7

 0 2.5 1,155.50 489.00

United States 3,086 2,758.0 116,858.32 100,619.48 

1

 Includes centralized and federated cooperatives and those with mixed organizational structures. 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.) Memberships include members of cooperatives not 

headquartered in the State listed. Totals may not add due to rounding. 

3

 Data covering operations of cooperatives for fiscal years ended in 2003. States listed are those with more than two 

cooperatives or where disclosure was not a problem. 

4

 Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. Gross sales include sales of cooperatives not 

headquartered in the State listed. Totals may not add due to rounding. 

5

 Net business volume excludes sales between cooperatives. Net sales include sales of cooperatives not 

headquartered in the State listed. Totals may not add due to rounding. 

6

 Cotton ginning cooperatives are included as service cooperatives. 

7

 Includes memberships, marketing and sales in other countries. 

8

 Excludes oilseed meal and oil. Oilseed meal is included in feed sales while oil sales are included in other marketing 

sales. 

9

 Membership fluctuates annually and is affected by the extent to which producers participate in price stabilization 

programs. 

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

11 Includes sugar, sugarcane, sugar beets, honey, maple syrup, molasses, and sorghum.

27 
12 Includes forest products, fish, hay, hops, seed marketed for growers, nursery stock, ethanol, coffee, and other farm 

products not classified separately. Also includes manufactured food products and resale items marketed by 

cooperatives. 

13 Headquartered in State and membership values are not collected for individual farm supply products, rather they are 

collected for total farm supplies.

14 Includes building materials, containers and packaging supplies, farm machinery and equipment, meats and 

groceries, automotive supplies, hardware, chicks, and other supplies not separately classified. 

15 Includes cooperatives providing services such as cotton ginning, livestock shipping, storing, grinding, drying, and 

artificial insemination. Sales include charges for services related to marketing or purchasing, but not included in the 

volume reported for those activities, plus other income. 

28 

Figure 6—Distribution of Memberships, by Type of Cooperative, 2003

Percentages are based on 2.8 million total memberships.

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

Nut

1.2%

Other Marketing 1

2.3%

Service

4.1%

Fruit & Vegetable

1.2%

Dairy

2.9%

Livestock & Poultry

4.3%

Tobacco

4.6%

Grain & Oilseed

20.1%

Cotton

1.6%

Farm Supply

57.7%
Figure 7—Cooperative Memberships by Function, 1994-2003

0

1

2

3

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Million

Service

Farm Supply

Marketing

Figure 8—Cooperative Memberships Grouped by Function and Volume, 2003

0

250

500

750

1,000

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

Gross Business Volume (Million dollars )

1,000 Memberships

Service

Farm Supply

Marketing

29 
Table 5–Cooperatives’ number of full-time employees, 2003-1998 

 

 

Commodity 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 

 

 Thousands

Cotton 1.9 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 

Dairy 23.4 23.7 20.7 23.4 24.6 27.1 

Fruits and vegetables 18.4 18.7 19.9 25.1 23.3 23.7 

Grains and oilseeds 20.4 18.9 19.6 20.3 21.0 23.9 

Livestock and poultry 34.4 34.4 35.8 34.6 32.7 28.0 

Rice 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.7 

Sugar 4.9 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.4 

Other products 5.8 6.8 6.3 8.8 8.5 8.5

Total marketing 111.9 111.3 111.0 121.1 119.0 120.1 

 

Total farm supply 48.2 50.7 50.6 51.3 49.5 48.2 

Service 5.0 4.0 4.0 4.2 4.5 5.6

Total 165.1 166.1 165.7 176.7 173.0 173.8 

 

 

commodity handled, and involvement in 

value-added activities. 

 In 2003, farmer cooperatives employed 

an estimated 227,000 full-time and part-time 

and seasonal employees, about 7,000 more 

than in 2002 (table 6). Among marketing 

cooperatives, those primarily handling fruits 

and vegetables had the most employees 

(42,000), followed by livestock and poultry 

(37,000), then grains and oilseeds (26,000), 

and dairy (25,000). 

 By type, marketing cooperatives had 

151,000 full-time and part-time and seasonal 

employees (67 percent of total); farm supply 

cooperatives had 66,000 (29 percent); and 

related-service cooperatives had 10,000 (4 

percent, appendix figure 4). Marketing 

associations employed about 5,000 more 

employees in 2003 than in 2002. 

Figure 9 shows the number of full-time 

and part-time and seasonal employees by 

type of cooperative for 2003. Farm supply, 

fruit and vegetable, and livestock and poultry 

cooperatives used the most employees; 

cotton cooperatives the fewest. Dairy, 

livestock and poultry, and cotton cooperatives 

had the smallest proportion of part-time and 

seasonal employees to total employees. Fruit 

and vegetable and cotton ginning 

cooperatives both had more than half of their 

employees as part-time and seasonal 

employees. 

Cooperatives used almost 62,000 parttime and seasonal employees in 2003, up 

about 7,000, or 14 percent, from 2002. The 

30 
Table 6–Full-time and part-time and seasonal employees of farmer cooperatives, by type of 

cooperative, 2003-20021

 

Principal product(s) Part-time 

marketed or Total Full-time employees and seasonal 

major function 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 

 

 Thousands 

Products marketed 

Cotton 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.0 0.2 0.2 

Dairy 24.7 24.9 23.4 23.7 1.3 1.3 

Fruit and vegetable 42.3 37.2 18.4 18.7 23.9 18.6 

Grain and oilseed2

 25.8 24.5 20.4 18.9 5.4 5.6 

Livestock and poultry 37.3 35.6 34.4 34.4 3.0 1.2 

Rice 3.3 3.0 2.6 2.5 0.7 0.5 

Sugar 6.4 7.6 4.9 4.5 1.5 3.1 

Other products3 8.8 10.7 5.8 6.8 3.0 3.9

Marketing 150.8 145.6 111.9 111.3 38.9 34.3 

 

Farm supply 65.7 65.3 48.2 50.7 17.4 14.6 

Service 10.3 9.4 5.0 4.0 5.3 5.4

Total 226.7 220.4 165.1 166.1 61.6 54.3 

 

1

 Totals may not add due to rounding. 

2

 Excludes oilseed meal and oil. Oilseed meal is included in feed sales while oil sales are included 

in other marketing sales. 

3

 Includes dry edible bean and pea, nut, tobacco, wool, fishery, and other products marketing 

cooperatives. 

31 
largest increase was in fruit and vegetable 

cooperatives, up about 5,000. Livestock and 

poultry cooperatives increased their use of 

part-time and seasonal employees by about 

2,000, while farm supply cooperatives 

increased theirs close to 3,000. 

In 2003, marketing cooperatives 

reported 39,000 part-time and seasonal 

employees, or 63 percent of those type of 

workers used. Marketing cooperatives 

averaged 25 part-time and seasonal 

employees per cooperative. Fruit and 

vegetable cooperatives, with 24,000, 

accounted for about 39 percent of all parttime and seasonal employees used by 

cooperatives. Farm supply cooperatives had 

over 17,000 part-time and seasonal 

employees, an average of 15 per cooperative. 

Most types of marketing cooperatives 

operated with more employees than did farm 

supply cooperatives. For example, livestock 

and poultry cooperatives averaged 434 

employees; rice, 220; fruit and vegetable, 

204; while farm supply cooperatives averaged 

57 (figure 10). 

Labor Expenses 

As with any other business, one of the 

largest expense items of cooperatives is 

wages and benefits. Hiring employees fulltime or part-time and seasonally involves 

decisions on the number of employees and 

levels of salaries and wages. Other 

employee-related expenses include 

Figure 9—Full-Time and Part-Time and Seasonal Employees, 

by Cooperative Type, 2003

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Farm supply

Fruits and vegetables

 Livestock and poultry

 Grain and oilseeds

 Dairy

 Other products 1/

 Sugar

Service

Cotton ginning

 Rice

 Cotton

1,000 Employees

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

Full-Time

Part-Time and Seasonal

32 
Table 7–Sales per dollar of labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type and size, 2003-

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense1 Average total labor and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 cha

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

All respondents 13.14 12.57 4.5 2.58 2.43 6Cotton - all sizes 19.61 18.09 8.4 3.09 2.99 3 Assets less than $25.0 18.75 17.82 5.2 27.85 1.78 1.80 -1 25.0 - 499.99 20.10 18.25 10.1 115.26 5.28 4.96 6Cotton gin - all sizes 6.59 6.25 5.4 0.79 0.74 5Assets of 0.5 - $0.99 6.03 6.26 -3.7 9.98 0.26 0.26 1 1.0 - 2.49 5.46 5.73 -4.6 10.88 0.39 0.38 2 2.5 - 24.99 6.88 6.36 8.1 15.45 1.34 1.25 6Dairy - all sizes 18.66 19.34 -3.5 7.76 7.57 2Assets of 0.5 - 0.99 20.81 25.43 -18.2 93.32 0.09 0.08 7

 1.0 - 2.49 36.63 35.87 2.1 78.41 0.16 0.17 -4 2.5 - 24.99 32.60 34.23 -4.8 106.10 1.77 1.74 1 25.0 - 499.99 17.49 18.08 -3.3 60.34 20.83 20.30 2Fruit & vegetable - all sizes 6.20 6.39 -3.0 9.63 9.15 5Assets less than $0.5 19.45 19.33 0.6 48.27 0.09 0.10 -8 0.5 - 2.49 9.37 6.93 35.2 30.81 0.55 0.70 -21 2.5 - 24.99 14.93 15.51 -3.7 79.09 1.97 1.62 21 25.0 - 499.99 5.46 5.74 -5.0 9.82 38.53 36.79 4

33 
Table 7–Sales per dollar of labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type and size, 2003-

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense1 Average total labor and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 cha

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Fruit & vegetable - all sizes 6.20 6.39 -3.0 9.63 9.15 5 Fresh - all sizes 9.07 9.91 -8.5 79.09 2.31 2.07 12 Processed - all sizes 5.36 5.48 -2.2 18.39 45.81 44.10 3Grain & oilseed - all sizes 22.79 20.37 11.9 1.75 1.64 6 Assets of 0.5 - $2.49 26.53 23.73 11.8 53.67 0.22 0.22 -1 2.5 - 24.99 20.97 19.07 9.9 77.26 1.16 1.13 2 25.0 - 99.99 24.29 21.49 13.0 53.00 6.11 5.51 10Livestock - all sizes 104.76 103.67 1.1 0.91 0.76 20 Assets of 0.5 - $2.49 71.47 58.54 22.1 1,542.89 0.18 0.17 10

 2.5 - 24.99 108.08 108.63 -0.5 651.27 1.52 1.25 21Nuts - all sizes 8.42 8.20 2.7 57.09 25.61 24.07 6Poultry - all sizes 9.46 8.39 12.9 18.82 12.87 12.20 5Tobacco - all sizes 6.60 14.80 -55.4 89.99 0.07 0.07 0Rice - all sizes 10.14 8.90 13.9 77.05 8.10 7.94 2

34 
Table 7–Sales per dollar of labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type and size, 2003-

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense1 Average total labor and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 cha

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Sugar - all sizes 7.46 7.51 -0.7 33.07 30.27 9 Assets of 0.5 - $99.9 11.73 11.02 6.5 549.94 5.00 4.81 3

 100 - 500 + 7.11 7.21 -1.4 11.05 61.15 55.73 9Fishery - all sizes 12.43 13.90 -10.6 0.53 0.49 6Assets less than $0.5 19.66 19.36 1.6 48.87 0.13 0.13 4 0.5 - 24.9 11.38 13.10 -13.1 39.78 0.92 0.86 7

Other products - all sizes 12.86 11.75 9.5 30.29 1.51 1.50 0Service - all sizes 2.65 2.49 6.8 1.18 1.14 3Assets less than $0.99 3.08 2.30 34.1 4.93 0.27 0.34 -22 1.0 - 2.49 4.78 4.52 5.8 7.92 0.49 0.39 25 2.5 - 24.99 2.27 2.24 1.6 6.27 2.45 2.37 3Artificial insemination - all 2.10 2.56 -18.0 4.01 5.29 4.30 23Other service - all sizes 2.83 2.85 -0.8 1.15 1.06 8Assets less than $0.5 2.30 2.18 5.4 2.67 0.21 0.23 -7 0.5 - 24.99 2.88 2.93 -1.7 6.11 2.08 1.89 10

35 
Table 7–Sales per dollar of labor expense for cooperatives reporting, by selected type and size, 2003-

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense1 Average total labor and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 cha

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Farm supply - all sizes 10.76 10.42 3.3 1.61 1.51 6Assets less than $0.5 9.32 8.68 7.3 33.85 0.09 0.09 -0 0.5 - 0.99 9.49 9.43 0.7 22.66 0.17 0.17 1 1.0 - 2.49 9.45 9.89 -4.4 26.08 0.38 0.37 4 2.5 - 24.99 10.45 10.07 3.8 95.14 1.53 1.46 4 25.0 - 499.99 11.50 11.15 3.2 18.19 9.27 8.41 101 Includes wages and salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for cooperatives reporting both years. The average tota

 derived by dividing total wages and benefits by the number of cooperatives where the information was provided. Sales inclu marketings, farm supplies, and services, plus other income. Values considered not to be representative of each group were 

36 
associated payroll taxes, health and life 

insurance, and other employee benefits. 

One measure of labor productivity is the 

relationship between total sales and total 

labor expense. Table 7 shows total sales per 

dollar of total labor expense by type of 

cooperative, region, and in some cases, size 

of cooperative. 

 Total sales per dollar of total labor 

expense is relatively high for cooperatives 

involved in bargaining (dairy) or operating 

auctions (livestock). In these situations, total 

labor requirements are low and sales are 

high. Livestock cooperatives accounted for 

the highest sales per dollar of labor expense, 

$104.76 in 2003. Service cooperatives had 

the lowest sales per dollar of labor expense, 

$2.65. Also shown in this table is the best 

observed total sales per dollar of total labor 

expense. These values are, of course, for 

only one cooperative, and some of the values 

are more than 10 times those shown for the 

group as a whole. 

For grain and oilseed and farm supply 

cooperatives, total sales per dollar of total 

labor expense by region is shown in table 8. 

Again, the best observed values are also 

presented in this table, and each value is 

based on the best value from one 

cooperative. Grain and oilseed cooperatives 

have higher sales per dollar of labor expense 

than farm supply cooperatives. Among the 

regions, grain and oilseed cooperatives in the 

Pacific region had the highest sales per dollar 

of total labor expense both in 2003 and 2002. 

Farm supply cooperatives generally had sales 

between $8 and $11 per dollar of labor 

expense. 

The average total labor expense per 

cooperative for those reporting in both 2003 

and 2002 is shown in table 7 and 8 by type of 

cooperative, region, and, in some cases, by 

asset group. This information can be used for 

comparing the average total labor expense of 

individual cooperatives of similar type, region, 

and size. Best observed values are included. 

Figure 10—Average Full-Time and Part-Time and Seasonal Employees, 2003

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

 Livestock and poultry

 Rice

 Fruits and vegetables 

 Cotton

 Sugar

 Dairy

Farm supply

 Other products 1/

Service

 Grain and oilseeds

Cotton gins

Number

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

Full-Time

Part-Time and Seasonal

37 
Table 8–Sales per dollar of labor expense for grain and oilseed cooperatives, by region1 and size, 200

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense2 Average total labo

and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 chan

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Grain and Oilseed Cooperatives: Corn Belt - all sizes 24.01 20.95 14.6 2.27 2.07 9Assets of 1.0 - $2.49 26.88 26.36 2.0 44.11 0.11 0.10 7

 2.5 - 24.99 23.90 20.50 16.6 77.26 1.24 1.20 3 25.0 - 499.99 24.08 21.27 13.2 38.51 8.04 7.00 15Lake States - all sizes 25.63 21.93 16.9 1.99 1.86 6Assets of 0.5 - $2.49 25.41 21.59 17.7 35.96 0.21 0.21 -2 2.5 - 24.99 23.72 20.59 15.2 44.04 0.91 0.87 4 25.0 - 99.99 26.38 22.48 17.4 38.41 5.17 4.79 8Northern Plains - all sizes 19.27 18.85 2.2 1.00 1.00 -0Assets of 1.0 - $2.49 20.72 19.41 6.7 35.95 0.22 0.24 -9 2.5 - 24.99 19.22 18.83 2.1 54.02 1.15 1.15 0 25.0 - 99.99 19.52 17.78 9.8 30.35 5.26 5.29 -0Mountain - all sizes 16.83 15.78 6.7 1.11 0.89 24Southern Plains - all sizes 19.23 17.38 10.6 0.88 0.85 2Assets of 1.0 - $2.49 19.27 17.13 12.5 35.09 0.23 0.23 0

 2.5 - 99.99 19.23 17.41 10.5 33.79 1.20 1.16 3

38 
Table 8–Sales per dollar of labor expense for grain and oilseed cooperatives, by region1 and size, 200

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense2 Average total labo

and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 chan

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Grain and Oilseed Cooperatives: Pacific - all sizes 28.55 30.93 -7.7 0.84 0.79 5Assets of 1.0 - $2.49 24.01 18.52 29.7 32.38 0.19 0.18 4

 2.5 - 24.99 29.14 32.57 -10.5 34.46 1.48 1.40 5Farm Supply Cooperatives: Northeast - all sizes 8.62 9.02 -4.4 0.63 0.57 10Assets less than $0.5 8.45 8.42 0.4 12.63 0.46 0.44 4 2.5 - 24.99 8.79 9.71 -9.5 15.30 1.04 0.88 17Appalachian - all sizes 7.47 7.62 -1.9 1.18 1.12 5Assets of 0.5 - $2.49 7.91 7.85 0.7 10.04 0.37 0.36 4 2.5 - 24.99 7.43 7.60 -2.2 10.12 1.53 1.45 5Southeast - all sizes 10.58 10.25 3.2 0.50 0.47 5Assets of 0.5 - $2.49 12.49 12.34 1.2 22.31 0.29 0.31 -6 2.5 - 24.99 9.77 9.19 6.3 13.63 0.70 0.62 12Delta States - all sizes 10.99 11.41 -3.7 0.64 0.57 11Assets less than $0.99 7.79 7.32 6.3 11.23 0.16 0.16 -0 1.0 - 2.49 9.01 9.35 -3.7 13.00 0.48 0.44 8 2.5 - 24.99 12.33 12.96 -4.8 20.72 1.08 0.95 14

39 
Table 8–Sales per dollar of labor expense for grain and oilseed cooperatives, by region1 and size, 200

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense2 Average total labo

and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 chan

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Farm Supply Cooperatives: Corn Belt - all sizes 11.52 10.94 5.3 3.35 3.13 7Assets less than $0.99 8.67 8.60 0.8 15.12 0.17 0.16 4 1.0 - 2.49 9.86 9.70 1.6 12.70 0.41 0.39 5 2.5 - 24.99 11.98 11.35 5.6 95.14 2.20 2.01 9 25.0 - 99.99 11.26 10.72 5.1 18.19 10.72 10.16 5Lake States - all sizes 9.99 9.19 8.8 1.63 1.54 5Assets less than $0.5 10.74 10.89 -1.3 n.a. 0.06 0.05 11 0.5 - 0.99 8.02 8.50 -5.8 9.13 0.15 0.14 5 1.0 - 2.49 10.06 10.12 -0.6 26.08 0.32 0.30 7 2.5 - 24.99 9.52 9.05 5.2 18.08 1.52 1.46 3 25.0 - 99.99 11.38 9.54 19.3 14.14 5.75 5.14 11Northern Plains - all sizes 10.47 10.74 -2.5 0.83 0.79 4Assets less than $0.5 13.22 11.67 13.3 29.34 0.10 0.10 -1 0.5 - .99 10.47 10.03 4.5 14.88 0.17 0.17 -0 1.0 - 2.49 9.77 9.70 0.7 16.50 0.31 0.29 4 2.5 - 24.99 10.84 10.92 -0.7 24.77 1.01 0.99 1 25.0 - 99.99 8.99 10.44 -13.8 16.04 4.55 3.86 18

40 
Table 8–Sales per dollar of labor expense for grain and oilseed cooperatives, by region1 and size, 200

Type of cooperative Sales per dollar of labor expense2 Average total labo

and by size of assets Best observed in million $ 2003 2002 change 2003 2003 2002 chan

Dollars Percent Dollars Million $ Perc

Farm Supply Cooperatives: Southern Plains - all sizes 10.29 9.61 7.0 0.68 0.67 1Assets less than $0.99 9.19 8.19 12.2 11.95 0.15 0.17 -11 1.0 - 2.49 9.87 9.79 0.8 20.90 0.41 0.41 -0 2.5 - 24.99 10.48 9.64 8.8 19.64 1.13 1.11 2Mountain - all sizes 9.91 9.72 2.0 1.23 1.24 -1Assets less than $0.5 8.88 8.08 9.9 33.85 0.07 0.07 0 0.5 - .99 12.18 12.85 -5.2 22.66 0.12 0.12 3 1.0 - 2.49 8.86 8.90 -0.4 19.14 0.40 0.39 2 2.5 - 24.99 9.93 9.72 2.2 19.41 1.68 1.70 -1Pacific - all sizes 10.23 9.43 8.6 1.69 1.63 4Assets of 0.5 - $2.49 6.93 6.74 2.9 8.83 0.42 0.42 2 2.5 - 24.99 10.60 9.73 8.9 23.69 2.54 2.43 41 The States included in each region are as follows: 

 Region States

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

41 
 Region States (continued) 

 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 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. 

n.a. means not available. 

The average total labor expense 

corresponds directly to cooperative size; 

therefore, bigger cooperatives generally have 

higher labor expenses. Most cooperatives 

had higher total labor expenses in 2003. 

Cooperatives that further process raw 

products, such as fruit and vegetable, poultry, 

and sugar cooperatives, all had higher labor 

expenses. Labor expenses by region for grain 

and oilseed and farm supply cooperatives 

were higher in the Corn Belt than other 

regions. 

Business Size 

Most farmer cooperatives, as measured 

by annual gross business volume, are 

relatively small and serve local areas. Some 

actively seek regional, national, and even 

international markets to increase business 

volume. Although few in number, larger 

cooperatives account for much of 

cooperatives’ business volume. They have 

grown in size partly from mergers, 

consolidations, and acquisitions. 

In 2003, 71 percent of all farmer 

cooperatives reported a business volume of 

less than $15 million. However, they 

accounted for only 7.5 percent of the total 

gross dollar volume (down from 9.1 percent in 

2002, table 9 and figure 11). Only 2 percent 

of farmer cooperatives reported a business 

volume of at least $200 million, but they 

accounted for 64 percent of the total sales. 

Business Volume 

Total gross business volume of the 

3,086 marketing, farm supply, and relatedservice cooperatives for 2003 was $117 

billion (table 10), up 5 percent from $112 

billion in 2002. Gross business volume grew 

from $106 billion in 1994 to $117 billion in 

2003; however, that was down from a record 

$128 billion in 1996 (appendix table 3, 

appendix figure 5). The volume increase of 

$16 billion in 1996 was due mainly to higher 

prices for grains and oilseeds. 

Gross dollar volume of farm products 

marketed by cooperatives increased less than 

$1 billion, from $76.6 billion in 2002 to $77.2 

billion in 2003 (less than 1 percent). Gross 

volume of all farm supplies handled by 

cooperatives was $35.5 billion, up 13 percent 

from $31.5 billion in 2002. 

Total net business volume of farmer 

cooperatives in 2003 was $100.6 billion$71 

billion from farm products marketed, $25.5 

billion from farm supply sales, and $4.1 billion 

from services performed and other income 

sources. The total net figure, which excludes 

inter-cooperative business, was up 4 percent 

from $96.8 billion in 2002. Cooperatives’ net 

business volume reached a high of $106.7 

billion in 1997 (appendix table 4, appendix 

figure 6). Net cooperative business, 

unadjusted for price changes, increased from 

$89.3 billion in 1994 to $100.6 billion in 2003. 

When adjusted,2

 net business totaled $82.5 

 2

 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). 

42 
Table 9–Farmer cooperatives and memberships, by gross business volume, 20031

 

 Cooperatives Dollar volume Memberships2

 

Sales volume Percent Gross3

 Percent Number Percent 

group(million $) Number of total (million $) of total (1,000) of total 

 

 

Less than 5.0 1,484 48.1 2,405 2.1 416 15.1 

 5 - 9.9 487 15.8 3,547 3.0 270 9.8 

 10 - 14.9 226 7.3 2,781 2.4 158 5.7 

 15 - 24.9 259 8.4 4,953 4.2 200 7.3 

 25 - 49.9 297 9.6 9,566 8.2 361 13.1 

 50 - 99.9 151 4.9 10,566 9.0 330 12.0 

 100 - 199.9 107 3.5 8,386 7.2 269 9.7 

 200 - 499.9 39 1.3 12,173 10.4 139 5.0 

 500 - 999.9 19 0.6 14,449 12.4 176 6.4 

1,000 and more 17 0.6 48,124 41.1 438 15.9

Total4

 3,086 100.0 116,950 100.0 2,758 100.0 

 

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

 Excludes inter-cooperative business volume. 

4

 Total may not add due to rounding. 

Figure 11—Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives and Volume, by Size, 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

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

Gross Business Volume (Million dollars )

Percent

Cooperatives Dollar Volume

43 
Table 10–Cooperatives' gross and net business volumes by commodity, 2003 and 20021

 

Commodity Gross volume Net volume 

 2003 2002 2003 2002 

 

 Billion $ 

Products marketed:

Beans and peas (dry edible) .13 .10 .13 .10 

Cotton 2.62 2.53 2.54 2.46 

Dairy 25.98 25.89 23.45 23.04 

Fruits and vegetables 7.45 8.44 6.90 7.34 

Grains and oilseeds 2 23.55 20.15 20.61 17.47 

Livestock 6.80 9.90 6.80 9.90 

Nuts .85 .95 .85 .94 

Poultry 3

 2.67 2.47 2.65 2.40 

Rice .97 .75 .97 .75 

Sugar 3.51 2.44 3.51 2.44 

Tobacco .09 .23 .09 .23 

Wool and mohair .01 .01 .01 .01 

Other products 4 2.61 2.77 2.50 2.58

 Total farm products 77.24 76.62 71.00 69.66 

 

Supplies purchased: 

Crop protectants 3.17 3.12 2.78 2.71 

Feed 7.22 6.69 5.87 5.37 

Fertilizer 6.48 5.15 4.64 4.31 

Petroleum 12.83 11.38 7.51 7.16 

Seed 1.83 1.59 1.23 1.09 

Other supplies 5

 3.98 3.59 3.46 3.04

 Total farm supplies 35.50 31.52 25.50 23.68 

 

Services and other income 6 4.12 3.42 4.12 3.42

Total business 116.86 111.55 100.62 96.75 

 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

 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. 

5

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

automotive supplies, hardware, chicks, and other supplies not separately classified. 

6

 Includes trucking, cotton ginning, storage, grinding, application, locker plants, and other related items. Service 

includes charges related to marketing or purchasing, but not included in the volume reported for those activities, plus 

other income and extraordinary items. 

44 
Figure 12—Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume, 1994-2003

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

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

Billion dollars

Actual

Real1

Figure 13—Relative Importance of Farm Products Marketed by Cooperatives, 2003

Poultry

3.7%

Milk & Milk 

Products

33.0%

Rice

1.4%

Grain & Oilseed

29.0%

Tobacco

0.1%

Cotton

3.6%

Other Marketing 1/

3.7%

Sugar

5.0%

Nut

1.2%

Fruit & Vegetable

9.7%

Livestock

9.6%

Percentages are based on a total net marketing business volume of $71.0 billion.

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

45 
billion in 2003 (figure 12). Consequently, the 

difference between actual and real net 

business volume in 2003 was $18 billion. The 

real net business volume was lower than the 

actual value in 2003 due to lower prices 

received for farm products and higher prices 

paid for farm production inputs. The index for 

prices received for all farm commodities from 

1994 to 2003 rose 5 points, while the index 

for prices paid for farm production items 

increased 22 points, hence the large gap 

between actual and real cooperative net 

business volume when adjusted by prices 

paid and prices received for farm production. 

Net volume of farm products marketed 

also increased from 2002, from $70 billion to 

$71 billion—a growth of 2 percent. Net 

marketing business volume accounted for 71 

percent of total cooperative sales in 2003, 

virtually unchanged from 2002. 

Figure 13 illustrates the leading 

products marketed by cooperatives based on 

net marketing business volume. Dairy (milk 

and milk products) led with 33 percent, 

followed by grains and oilseeds (excluding 

cottonseed) with 29 percent, and livestock 

with 10 percent. The proportions of dairy and 

grains and oilseeds were about the same as 

those in 2002, while livestock had dropped. 

 Net farm supply volume of $25.5 billion, 

up 8 percent from $23.7 billion, accounted for 

25 percent of the total net business volume. 

The leading farm production goods handled 

by cooperatives in terms of farm supply net 

business volume were petroleum, 30 percent; 

feed, 23; and fertilizer, 18 percent (figure 14). 

Every farm supply good had increased in 

sales from 2002. 

Receipts for services provided by 

marketing, farm supply, and related-service 

cooperatives, plus other income, increased 21 

percent to $4 billion. Service receipts and 

other income represented 4 percent of total 

net business volume. 

Marketing sales of four major 

commodity groups—dairy; grains and 

oilseeds; fruits and vegetables; and 

livestock—were down from 84 percent of 

marketing sales in 1994 to 81 percent in 2003 

(figure 15). In 1994 and a decade later, net 

volume among commodity groups was 

highest for dairy, with $23.5 billion ($21.5 

billion in 1994), followed by grains and 

oilseeds with $20.6 billion in 2003 and $17.6 

billion in 1994. 

Milk and milk product sales showed the 

strongest dollar growth during 1994-2003. 

There was steady growth in cooperative sales 

of milk and milk products, with a slight decline 

in 2000 and 2002 due to lower prices. 

In the farm supply group, petroleum, 

feed, and fertilizer sales were especially 

important (figure 16). They accounted for 

about 71 percent of cooperatives' total farm 

supply sales in both 1994 and 2003. 

Cooperatives’ sales of petroleum, feed, 

fertilizer, and crop protectants grew steadily 

until 1997. In 2003, the sales of all farm 

supplies increased. Feed sales rebounded 

strongly after sliding downward from 1997 

through 2001. 

Net marketing of farm products totaled 

$65.5 billion in 1994, and increased annually 

through 1996. Since 1997, the net marketing 

dollar volume declined, as prices paid for 

many farm commodities dropped. Farm 

supply sales increased every year, from $20.8 

billion in 1994 to $25.2 billion in 1997, then 

dropped to $23 or $24 billion from 1998 

through 2002 until increasing to $25.5 billion 

in 2003. Service receipts (includes other 

income and revenue) increased from $3 

billion in 1994 to $4.1 billion in 2003, the 

highest on record. 

Gross and net business volume by 

State are presented in table 3. Sales are 

allocated to the State in which the product 

marketed was originated and the farm 

supplies were sold. Minnesota led all States 

in total gross and net business volume with 

$12.5 billion and $11.2 billion, respectively, 

followed by Iowa with $12.2 billion in gross 

business and $10.3 billion in net business 

volume. 

Net Income 

Total net income (adjusted for losses 

and before taxes) for all cooperatives in 2003 

63

46 
Figure 14—Relative Importance of Farm Supplies Handled by Cooperatives, 2003

Fertilizer

18.2%

Other Supplies 1/

13.6%

Seed

4.8%

Petroleum

29.5%

Crop Protectants

10.9%

Feed 

23.0%

Percentages are based on a total net farm supply business volume of $25.5 billion.

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

other.

Figure 15—Cooperatives’ Net Sales of Selected Commodities, 1994-2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Grains & Oilseeds

Livestock 

Billion dollars

Milk & Milk Products

Fruits & Vegetables

47 
Table 11–Farmer cooperatives' net income, 20031

 

Principal product(s) Income Income 

marketed and Total net from own from other 

major function Cooperatives2 income operations cooperatives3 

 Number Million dollars

Products marketed:

Cotton 14 93.2 91.4 1.8 

Dairy 197 359.3 273.9 85.5 

Fruits and vegetables 207 413.6 400.4 13.2 

Grains and oilseeds4 772 105.1 147.8 -42.7 

Livestock and poultry 86 -520.0 -509.0 -11.0 

Rice 15 46.7 45.7 1.0 

Sugar 48 -4.4 10.5 -14.8 

Other products5

 212 81.5 76.5 5.1

Total marketing 1,551 575.0 537.1 38.0 

 

Total farm supply 1,156 345.5 298.9 46.5 

Service 379 184.9 177.3 7.6

Total 3,086 1,105.4 1,013.3 92.1 

 

 

1

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

2

 Includes a number of cooperatives operating on a strictly pooling basis, but not their 

 pool proceeds. 

3

 Includes patronage refunds from CoBank. 

4

 Excludes cottonseed and other oilseed oils and meals. Oilseed oil is included in other 

marketings while meal is included in farm supplies (feed). 

5

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

48 
Figure 16—Cooperatives’ Net Sales of Selected Farm Supplies, 1994-2003

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Fertilizer

Seed 

Billion dollars

Petroleum

Crop Protectants

Feed

Figure 17—Cooperatives’ Net Income, 1994-2003

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Billion dollars

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

From Own Operations

From Other Cooperatives 1

Total Net Income

49 
was $1.1 billion, including inter-cooperative 

dividends and refunds (table 11). 

Cooperatives operating strictly on a pooling 

basis were excluded. Net income was down 9 

percent from the $1.2 billion in 2002. 

Patronage refunds received from other 

cooperatives, including CoBank, totaled $92 

million, down precipitously (75 percent) from 

$362 million in 2002 (appendix figure 7). Two 

large cooperatives filed for bankruptcy and 

sold off their assets, resulting in vastly 

lowered patronage refunds due to large 

operational losses. 

Net income was $2 billion in 1994, then 

set a record at $2.36 billion in 1995, and has 

generally fallen to the level of $1.1 billion in 

2003 (appendix table 5 and figure 17). Net 

income received from operations and from 

other cooperatives has varied over time. Both 

reflected better economic times in agriculture 

in the mid-1990s compared with conditions in 

the early 90s and more recent years. In 1994, 

refunds from other cooperatives totaled $392 

million, or 20 percent of total net income. In 

2003, refunds had fallen to 8 percent of total 

net income. 

 Marketing cooperatives' total net income 

of $575 million was down 25 percent from the 

$763 million generated in 2002. The drop in 

net income was mainly due to one 

unprofitable livestock cooperative. Three 

types of cooperatives—grains and oilseeds, 

livestock and poultry, and sugar 

cooperatives—all received allocated losses in 

income from other cooperatives. Fruit and 

vegetable, dairy, and farm supply 

cooperatives accounted for over 100 percent 

of all cooperative net income—enormous 

losses by livestock and poultry cooperatives 

make this anomaly possible (figure 18). 

 Total net income of farm supply 

cooperatives was $346 million in 2003, up 2 

percent from $338 million in 2002. They 

accounted for 31 percent of cooperatives' 

total net income in 2003, compared with 28 

percent in 2002 (appendix figure 8). Income 

from their own operations, excluding 

patronage refunds from other cooperatives 

and CoBank, was $299 million, up 57 percent 

from $191 million in 2002. 

Farmer cooperatives' net income from 

their operations in 2003 totaled $1,013 

million, up 20 percent from $847 million. Only 

8 percent, or $92 million, of total net income 

was generated by other cooperatives and 

CoBank, compared with an average 28 

percent or $488 million from 2002 to 1994. 

Again, as stated earlier, losses by a livestock 

marketing cooperative led to lower income 

distributions from other cooperatives. 

Income before adjusting for losses was 

$2,048 million, compared with $1,512 million 

in 2002. Losses totaled $1,034 million in 

2003, up 56 percent from $664 million in 

2002. The number of cooperatives with losses 

was up from 706 to 778, or an increase of 10 

percent. In addition to losses by a livestock 

cooperative, over 250 grain and oilseed 

cooperatives had a combined loss in excess 

of $110 million (appendix figure 9). About the 

same number of farm supply cooperatives 

(260) had combined losses of $235 million, 

double that of grain and oilseed cooperatives. 

About 30 fewer farm supply cooperatives had 

losses in 2003 than 2002, but the losses 

totaled $15 million more. Related-service 

cooperative losses dropped from $14.4 million 

in 2002, to $7 million. 

Balance Sheet 

Combined assets for all farmer 

cooperatives totaled $47 billion in 2003, down 

2 percent from $48 billion in 2002 (table 12). 

Total assets of cooperatives, excluding intercooperative investments, remained virtually 

unchanged at $43 billion. Cooperatives’ total 

assets grew from $36 billion in 1994 to $47 

billion in 2003 (appendix table 6 and figure 

19), reflecting growth in their own operations 

and investments in other cooperatives. In 

1994, $3 billion (9 percent of total assets) was 

invested in other cooperatives, including 

CoBank. In 2003, these investments were $4 

billion, up $1 billion from 1994, but still 

remained about 9 percent of total assets. 

Total liabilities was $27 billion, down 6 

percent from $28 billion in 2002 (table 13). 

Cooperatives’ total liabilities grew from $20 

50 
Figure 18—Net Income or Loss, by Type of Cooperative, 2003

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

Livestock and Poultry

Sugar

Rice

Other products 2/

Cotton

Grains and Oilseeds

Service

Farm supply

Dairy

Fruits and Vegetables 

Million Dollars

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 products marketing cooperatives.

From Own Operations

From Other Cooperatives 1/

Figure 19—Cooperatives’ Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, 1994-2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

Billion dollars

Liabilities

Net Worth

Assets

51 
Table 12–Combined assets for farmer cooperatives, 20031

Principal product(s) Assets Investments in Investments in 

marketed and of own other Total other co-ops as 

major function Cooperatives2

 operations cooperatives3 assets percent of total 

 Number Billion dollars Percent

Products marketed:

Cotton 14 .807 .020 .827 2.4 

Dairy 197 8.322 .625 8.947 7.0 

Fruits and vegetables 207 3.546 .109 3.656 3.0 

Grains and oilseeds4 772 7.751 .821 8.572 9.6 

Livestock and poultry 86 2.721 .231 2.952 7.8 

Rice 15 .472 .004 .475 0.8 

Sugar 48 2.332 .106 2.438 4.3 

Other products5

 212 2.447 .056 2.503 2.2

Total marketing 1,551 28.399 1.971 30.370 6.5 

 

Total farm supply 1,156 13.433 2.029 15.461 13.1 

Service 379 1.033 .058 1.091 5.3

Total 3,086 42.864 4.058 46.922 8.6 

1

 Totals may not add due to rounding. 

2

 Many cooperatives have multi-product and multi-functional operations. Most are classified according to 

 predominant commodity or function as indicated by business volume. 

3

 Also includes investments in CoBank. 

4

 Excludes cottonseed and other oilseed oils and meals. Oilseed oil is included in other marketings while meal 

 is included in farm supplies (feed). 

5

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

52 
Table 13–Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 20031

 

Principal product(s) marketed Total Total Net 

and major function Cooperatives assets liabilities worth 

 

 Number Billion dollars

Products marketed:

Cotton 14 .83 .47 .35 

Dairy 197 8.95 5.45 3.50 

Fruits and vegetables 207 3.66 2.30 1.36 

Grains and oilseeds2 772 8.57 4.91 3.66 

Livestock and poultry 86 2.95 2.00 .96 

Rice 15 .48 .20 .28 

Sugar 48 2.44 1.39 1.05 

Other products3

 212 2.50 1.15 1.35

Total marketing 1,551 30.37 17.88 12.49 

 

Total farm supply 1,156 15.46 8.22 7.24 

Service 379 1.09 .39 .70

Total 3,086 46.92 26.49 20.43 

 1

 Totals may not add due to rounding. 

2

 Excludes cottonseed and other oilseed oils and meals. Oilseed oil is included in other marketings while meal is 

included in farm supplies (feed). 

3

 Includes dry edible beans and peas, fish, nuts, tobacco, wool, cottonseed, and other products. 

Figure 20—Percentage of Assets Financed by Net Worth, by Cooperative Type, 2003

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Service

Rice

Other Marketing 1/

Farm Supply

Sugar

Grain & Oilseed

Cotton

Dairy

Fruit & Vegetable

Livestock & Poultry

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

Percent

53 
billion in 1994 to $27 billion but remained 

about 57 percent of total assets in 2003. 

A measure of balance sheet strength is 

the proportion of assets financed by net worth 

or equity capital. Net worth, or member and 

patron equity, was $20 billion, up about $0.8 

billion from 2002. The proportion of total 

assets financed by member and patron equity 

was 44 percent, 3 points higher than in 2002. 

As assets and liabilities increased over the 

10-year period on cooperative balance 

sheets, net worth fell from 43 percent to a low 

of 41 percent in 2000, but rose to 44 percent 

in 2003. In dollar terms, net worth rose from 

$16 billion in 1994 to $20 billion in 2003. 

Net worth, or member and patron equity, 

for all marketing cooperatives totaled $12.5 

billion, up $0.4 billion from 2002. Marketing 

cooperatives accounted for 61 percent of 

farmer cooperatives' combined net worth, 

about the same as 2002. Net worth for farm 

supply cooperatives totaled $7 billion, again, 

about the same as in 2002. Their net worth 

accounted for 35 percent of the total 

(appendix figure 10). For marketing 

cooperatives, the highest percentage of total 

assets represented by net worth shown in 

figure 20 (58 percent) was for those 

marketing rice. Service cooperatives, at 64 

percent, had the most assets financed with 

net worth. The lowest, 32 percent, was for 

cooperatives marketing livestock and poultry. 

Marketing and farm supply cooperatives had 

41 percent and 47 percent, respectively, of 

their assets financed by net worth. 

Of the $47 billion in total assets, 

marketing cooperatives accounted for $30 

billion, down 2 percent from 2002. Both dairy 

and grain and oilseed cooperatives had about 

$9 billion in assets, about $6 billion more than 

any of the other marketing cooperatives and 

second only to farm supply cooperatives. 

Both dairy and grain and oilseed cooperatives 

had over $600 million of their assets invested 

in other cooperatives. Grain and oilseed, 

livestock and poultry, and dairy cooperatives 

maintained at least 7 percent of total assets 

as investments in other cooperatives in 2003. 

Marketing cooperatives as a group 

maintained almost $2 billion of their assets as 

investments in other cooperatives. 

Farm supply cooperatives had total 

assets of $15.5 billion, unchanged from 2002. 

Farm supply cooperatives had investments in 

other cooperatives exceeding $2 billion. 

Excluding investments in other cooperatives, 

total assets increased 6 percent, from $12.7 

billion in 2002 to $13.4 billion. 

Selected Financial Ratios 

Financial ratios express relationships 

between items in the balance sheet 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 were used to 

measure cooperative performance or financial 

conditionreturn on total assets, net worth-tototal assets, return on total sales, total salesto-total assets, the current ratio, and times 

interest earned. 

The return on total assets and return on 

total sales ratios indicate profitability. The net 

worth-to-total assets ratio shows a 

cooperative's ability to meet long-term 

financial obligations. The total sales-to-total 

assets ratio (asset turnover ratio) indicates 

how efficiently a cooperative is using its 

assets. The current ratio measures a 

cooperative's ability to meet short-run 

obligations. Times interest earned shows the 

number of times interest charges were 

covered by net income. 

Table 14 presents the values of these 

ratios. Extreme high and low values were 

excluded in the average values section of this 

table 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. The right 

hand side of the table shows the best 

observed values, which are based on the 

operations of a single cooperative and thus 54 
Table 14–Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, average and best observed values, 20031 

 Average values Best obse Net Total Net Type of cooperative Return worth to Return sales to Times Return worth to Return and by size of assets on total total on total total Current interest on total total on totin million $ assets2 assets3 sales4 assets5 ratio6 earned7 N8 assets2 assets3 sales

 -------- Percent ---------- ----------------- Number -------------- -------- Percent ---------- 

Cotton - all sizes 8.81 47.63 2.29 3.84 1.44 6.07 8  Assets of $15 to $99.9 10.01 42.51 4.05 2.47 1.48 5.43 5 27.34 72.64 13.6 $100.0 - 499.99 8.52 48.84 2.05 4.17 1.43 6.33 3 15.10 56.29 11.6Cotton gin - all sizes 17.58 63.20 13.48 1.30 1.67 17.70 86  Assets less than $0.5 3.21 21.80 2.28 1.41 1.04 -1.19 5 34.67 78.96 46.1 0.5 - 0.99 8.06 66.06 3.99 2.02 1.64 3.33 18 41.15 99.71 17.9 1.0 - 2.49 11.30 60.48 7.66 1.47 1.65 9.71 25 60.03 92.31 33.3 2.49 - 99.99 19.37 63.85 15.71 1.23 1.68 24.09 38 49.91 86.22 36.4Dairy - all sizes 4.70 34.02 1.53 3.07 1.33 3.19 78  Assets less than $0.5 1.30 64.99 0.09 14.45 2.26 n.a. 11 90.69 99.50 7.4 0.5 - 0.99 2.92 54.71 0.47 6.28 1.35 3.52 7 13.50 99.11 1.8 1.0 - 2.49 5.74 53.78 1.03 5.57 1.33 2.66 18 33.81 82.21 3.6 2.49 - 99.99 4.48 40.38 0.70 6.37 1.19 6.43 34 19.49 75.53 41.8 100.0 and more 4.73 32.91 1.85 2.55 1.36 3.03 8 14.15 73.12 4.7Dry beans and peas - all sizes 1.35 29.75 0.96 1.40 1.18 2.06 3 12.68 67.04 4.4

55 
Table 14–Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, average and best observed values, 20031 (continued) 

 Average values Best obse Net Total Net Type of cooperative Return worth to Return sales to Times Return worth to Return and by size of assets on total total on total total Current interest on total total on totin million $ assets2 assets3 sales4 assets5 ratio6 earned7 N8 assets2 assets3 sales

 -------- Percent ---------- ----------------- Number -------------- -------- Percent ---------- 

Fruit and vegetable - all sizes 6.73 40.43 2.77 2.43 1.25 1.81 45  Assets less than $0.5 -4.33 60.37 -0.71 6.07 1.82 -4.58 11 23.11 97.15 19.3 0.5 - 0.99 5.79 74.34 1.48 3.91 2.93 5.87 6 40.54 87.53 13.4 1.0 - 2.49 1.32 52.43 0.37 3.52 2.00 3.18 11 27.24 85.42 8.9 2.49 - 99.99 6.96 39.67 2.94 2.37 1.22 1.79 35 52.45 98.49 10.1 100.0 and more 12.82 37.15 7.28 1.76 1.70 7.32 10 39.57 55.12 34.8 Fresh only - all sizes 6.20 38.53 2.46 2.52 1.25 4.27 53  Assets less than $0.5 -4.48 59.24 -0.76 5.91 1.73 -4.58 9 23.11 97.15 19.3 0.5 - 0.99 2.45 71.96 0.50 4.94 2.77 8.76 3 4.70 85.23 2.2 1.0 - 2.49 -2.39 54.51 -0.62 3.85 2.31 0.70 8 27.24 85.42 4.2 2.49 - 99.99 6.54 37.72 2.67 2.45 1.23 4.47 33 52.45 98.49 10.1 Processed only - all sizes 15.98 32.85 9.60 1.66 1.56 7.41 11  Assets less than $0.99 21.70 71.42 5.83 3.73 2.65 8.25 3 40.54 97.10 13.4 15.0 - 499.99 15.97 32.81 9.61 1.66 1.56 7.41 8 39.57 55.12 34.8 Fresh and processed - all sizes10.36 39.79 5.03 2.06 1.82 3.41 11  Assets less than $2.49 -1.42 72.06 -0.04 39.31 3.00 6.93 5 18.58 91.63 8.9 15.0 and more 10.42 39.62 5.58 1.87 1.82 3.40 6 23.47 66.88 8.4

56 
Table 14–Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, average and best observed values, 20031 (continued) 

 Average values Best obse Net Total Net Type of cooperative Return worth to Return sales to Times Return worth to Return and by size of assets on total total on total total Current interest on total total on totin million $ assets2 assets3 sales4 assets5 ratio6 earned7 N8 assets2 assets3 sales

 -------- Percent ---------- ----------------- Number -------------- -------- Percent ---------- 

Grain and oilseed - all sizes 1.36 40.12 0.54 2.53 1.17 1.80 462  Assets less than $0.99 -2.70 63.52 -0.71 3.81 2.23 -1.94 11 4.36 83.89 0.6 1.0 - 2.49 0.25 64.01 0.08 3.09 2.02 1.31 73 20.38 99.66 55.3 2.49 - 99.99 1.29 43.04 0.50 2.58 1.24 1.67 373 31.38 97.38 92.5 100.0 and more 1.95 21.82 0.89 2.19 0.88 2.73 5 4.73 46.44 4.7Livestock - all sizes -26.06 28.52 -5.86 4.45 2.12 2.04 17  Assets less than $0.5 -38.26 4.20 -1.32 28.97 1.04 -30.15 4 17.75 97.65 0.7 0.5 - 2.49 1.74 89.69 0.18 9.73 6.77 8.09 5 10.04 98.91 22.5 2.49 - 99.99 2.22 17.88 0.29 7.76 1.20 2.79 6 7.59 48.41 0.8Nut - all sizes 3.08 37.93 1.50 2.05 1.63 2.09 8  Assets less than $2.49 -5.71 62.66 -0.68 8.44 2.49 4.64 3 25.33 95.60 4.3 2.5 - 499.99 3.11 37.84 1.53 2.03 1.63 2.08 5 4.50 44.17 2.2Poultry - all sizes 4.57 29.63 1.59 2.87 1.24 2.35 5 7.19 60.56 1.5Tobacco - all sizes 2.65 99.43 47.25 0.06 n.a. 8.09 6  Assets less than $0.5 8.70 94.34 18.40 0.47 8.65 8.09 4 10.44 99.85 18.4

57 
Table 14–Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, average and best observed values, 20031 (continued) 

 Average values Best obse Net Total Net Type of cooperative Return worth to Return sales to Times Return worth to Return and by size of assets on total total on total total Current interest on total total on totin million $ assets2 assets3 sales4 assets5 ratio6 earned7 N8 assets2 assets3 sales

 -------- Percent ---------- ----------------- Number -------------- -------- Percent ---------- 

Rice - all sizes 12.01 53.99 5.07 2.37 1.63 15.80 7  Assets less than $2.49 -3.98 67.19 -1.29 3.09 1.66 -10.96 4 10.50 99.04 0.1 2.5 - 499.99 12.40 53.66 5.28 2.35 1.63 16.02 3 72.13 64.25 49.9Sugar - all sizes 1.76 42.92 1.83 0.96 1.19 1.73 10  Assets less than $100.0 1.87 53.75 1.43 1.31 1.27 2.00 5 7.01 73.18 4.7 100.0 and more 1.75 42.01 1.88 0.93 1.18 1.72 5 5.10 48.61 5.5Fish - all sizes -6.97 25.35 -3.28 2.12 0.99 -2.23 9  Assets less than $0.99 -3.85 6.72 -0.39 9.84 0.84 -0.44 4 16.22 33.25 2.3 0.99 - 99.99 -7.05 25.80 -3.64 1.94 1.00 -2.28 5 3.07 54.24 0.8Other products - all sizes 2.27 56.14 0.81 2.82 1.61 3.21 9 16.42 95.83 8.4Ethanol - all sizes 7.35 62.16 8.56 0.86 1.38 5.87 6 20.54 99.79 95.1Artificial Insemination - all sizes 4.09 59.30 3.28 1.25 1.86 2.84 12 19.61 91.45 17.1

58 
Table 14–Selected financial ratios for cooperatives, average and best observed values, 20031 (continued) 

 Average values Best obse Net Total Net Type of cooperative Return worth to Return sales to Times Return worth to Return and by size of assets on total total on total total Current interest on total total on totin million $ assets2 assets3 sales4 assets5 ratio6 earned7 N8 assets2 assets3 sales

 -------- Percent ---------- ----------------- Number -------------- -------- Percent ---------- 

Other services - all sizes 14.95 68.10 15.06 0.99 1.27 2.76 38  Assets less than $0.5 11.21 66.45 5.19 2.16 2.17 -4.19 15 70.33 99.44 26.2 0.5 - 0.99 7.74 74.45 4.56 1.70 2.62 9.49 5 21.19 90.44 10.6 1.0 - 2.49 38.43 57.63 33.26 1.16 1.72 n.a. 5 79.09 93.27 54.2 2.49 - 99.99 12.90 68.99 14.28 0.90 1.16 1.49 13 52.57 99.07 61.8Farm supply - all sizes 1.96 44.35 0.92 2.12 1.40 2.28 692  Assets less than $0.5 -4.21 76.92 -1.00 4.20 3.75 -0.78 36 19.97 99.99 12.6 0.5 - 0.99 -1.47 65.37 -0.69 2.12 2.06 0.04 56 13.94 97.68 27.5 1.0 - 2.49 0.23 69.72 0.11 2.14 2.38 0.90 150 42.38 98.60 40.9 2.49 - 99.99 2.99 52.90 1.51 1.98 1.40 3.25 439 33.17 94.15 16.6 100.0 - 499.99 -0.23 29.06 -0.08 2.72 1.26 0.94 6 9.16 45.03 6.3500 and more 1.83 40.94 0.87 2.10 1.40 2.53 5 11.45 60.25 6.3

1 Based on cooperatives reporting. Excludes strictly pooling cooperatives. Ratios were calculated by adding the individual items and div

included in each group to calculate all ratios. Extreme values not representative of the group were excluded in the average values, but m

values. 

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 b

59 
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

 The ratio was calculated by summing net income before taxes and interest expense and dividing by interest expense for each 

grouping. 

8

 N is the number of cooperatives comprising the average values. For best observed values, N is always 1. 9

 Excludes cottonseed and other oilseed oils and meals. Oilseed oil is included in other marketings while meal is included in farm 

supplies (feed). 

10 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. 

11 Includes trucking, cotton ginning, storage, grinding, application, locker plants, rice drying, and other related items. 

n.a. means not available. 

often show values quite different than the 

average values. They are included to show 

values that can be obtained. 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 total assets (net 

income/total assets) varied considerably. It 

was negative for these smaller cooperatives: 

grain and oilseed, livestock, nut, rice, fish, 

fresh fruit and vegetable, and farm supply 

cooperatives. Not shown (an outlier) is the 

large loss in a large livestock cooperative. 

Best observed values show profitable 

cooperatives for both small and large 

cooperatives of all marketing, farm supply, 

and service types. Returns are generally the 

lowest for the smallest and largest 

cooperatives. 

The net worth-to-total assets ratio (net 

worth/total assets) is generally higher for 

small cooperatives and falls as size 

increases. By type, dry beans and peas, 

poultry, and fish cooperatives have the 

smallest net worth (or equity) ratios. 

Generally, as cooperatives become larger 

and/or do more processing, fewer of their 

assets are financed by members, which 

lowers the net worth-to-assets ratio. By best 

observed values, almost every type of 

cooperative has at least one cooperative that 

has little or no debt. The return on total sales 

(net income before taxes/total sales) was 

generally lower for small cooperatives and 

increased with larger ones. As a group, fish 

cooperatives averaged negative returns on 

total sales. Few cooperative groups 

generated a return on sales above 3 percent 

(only 11 of the 55 groupings shown in table 

14). Best observed returns on total sales 

show only 10 observations with returns less 

than 3 percent. 

The total sales-to-total assets ratio (total 

sales/total assets) clustered around the 2 to 3 

range for almost all cooperativesthe pointed 

exception is the largest dairy cooperatives 

that averaged around 6. Among most 

cooperatives, the ratio tended to decrease as 

cooperative size increased. Generally, this 

reflects the large investment in processing or 

manufacturing equipment typical of the larger 

cooperatives that engage in these types of 

activities. The high total sales-to-total assets 

ratios for smaller fresh and processed fruit 

and vegetable 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) was generally under 2 for all but the 

smallest cooperatives and decreased with 

size. As a best observed value, the current 

ratio was almost always greater than 2 

(current ratios less than 2 are often 

60 
considered low). 

Times interest earned ((net income 

before taxes + interest expense)/interest 

expense) varied most by type of cooperative, 

but often fell as cooperative size increased. A 

number of the different sizes of farm supply 

cooperatives had a times interest earned ratio 

of less than 1this means that their net 

incomes before taxes were less than their 

interest expenses. Best observed times 

interest earned values were always greater 

than 1 except for larger fish cooperatives. 

61 
APPENDIX TABLES 

62 
Appendix Table 1–Number of cooperatives by major business activity, 2003-1994 

Major business activity 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 19Products marketed: NumberBean and pea (dry edible) 8 8 9 8 8 8 8 Cotton 14 14 14 14 15 15 16 Dairy 197 198 204 208 221 228 236 2Fruit and vegetable 207 212 220 232 231 249 259 2Grain and oilseed 1 772 769 789 826 896 964 1,014 1,0

Livestock 67 66 70 74 81 80 88 Nuts 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 Poultry 2 19 19 19 19 15 18 20 

Rice 15 15 15 16 17 17 18 Sugar 3 48 48 48 48 48 52 51 Tobacco 21 22 24 25 25 26 26 Wool and mohair 76 78 80 83 84 91 88 Other products 90 92 96 101 90 97 99 1

Total farm products 1,551 1,559 1,606 1,672 1,749 1,863 1,941 2,0Total farm supplies 1,156 1,201 1,234 1,277 1,313 1,347 1,386 1,4Total related services 379 380 389 397 404 441 464 4

 Total business 3,086 3,140 3,229 3,346 3,466 3,651 3,791 3,81 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. 

63 
Appendix Table 2–Cooperative memberships, by major business activity, 2003-1994 

Major business activity 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1Products marketed: ThousandsBean and pea (dry edible) 2.1 2.2 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9 Cotton 43.4 43.5 45.9 45.4 43.8 41.3 42.7 Dairy 80.8 81.7 91.0 96.9 90.7 92.9 104.9 1Fruit and vegetable 32.7 32.5 37.8 41.1 40.9 44.0 44.0 Grain and oilseed1 555.3 542.5 581.5 615.3 657.9 728.7 745.0 7

Livestock 91.9 94.0 105.3 132.1 137.1 161.5 236.0 2Nuts 33.8 35.8 40.1 41.7 43.7 46.0 41.7 Poultry2 26.3 26.1 19.1 29.2 29.2 36.3 34.3 

Rice 12.5 12.4 13.9 12.2 11.8 12.9 14.0 Sugar3 13.9 13.9 16.3 15.6 15.7 15.9 13.8 

Tobacco 127.4 127.8 165.7 165.9 170.0 172.8 172.9 2Wool and mohair 10.9 11.1 12.6 13.0 15.4 17.9 16.7 Other products 23.3 25.5 28.0 31.9 23.9 25.3 29.0 

 Total farm products 1,054.2 1,049.1 1,160.0 1,243.0 1,282.8 1,398.4 1,497.8 1,6

Total farm supplies 1,590.4 1,637.1 1,745.8 1,717.8 1,731.4 1,773.7 1,743.2 1,7Total related services 113.3 107.4 128.1 124.3 159.1 180.6 183.1 1

 Total business 2,758.0 2,793.6 3,033.9 3,085.1 3,173.3 3,352.6 3,424.2 3,61 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. 

64 
Appendix Table 3–Cooperatives’ gross business volume, by type of cooperative, 2003-1994 

Major business activity 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1Products marketed: Billion $Beans and peas (dry edible) 0.1 0.1 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2 Cotton 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.2 3.0 3.1 Dairy 26.0 25.9 29.4 25.8 28.5 27.8 26.3 Fruits and vegetables 7.5 8.4 9.7 10.1 10.1 9.9 9.8 Grains and oilseeds 23.6 20.1 22.6 22.9 21.7 25.3 28.8 Livestock 6.8 9.9 9.6 8.0 7.4 7.6 7.5 Nuts 0.9 .9 .9 .7 .9 .9 .9 Poultry 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 Rice 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .9 .9 .9 Sugar 3.5 2.4 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.4 Tobacco 0.1 .2 .4 .6 .3 .3 .6 Wool and mohair 0.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 Other products 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.3 

Total farm products 77.2 76.6 84.0 80.4 80.5 84.5 85.9 

Supplies purchased: Crop protectants 3.2 3.1 3.6 4.0 3.8 4.1 4.4 Feed 7.2 6.7 5.5 6.6 6.4 7.2 8.1 Fertilizer 6.5 5.2 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.8 8.9 Petroleum 12.8 11.4 14.1 13.3 8.1 8.8 10.6 Seed 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.0 .9 Other supplies 4.0 3.6 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.2 

Total farm supplies 35.5 31.5 36.1 36.8 30.9 33.0 37.1 

Services and other income 4.1 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.5 3.6 

Total business 116.9 111.6 123.6 120.7 115.3 121.0 126.7 1

65 
Appendix Table 4–Cooperatives’ net business volume, by type of cooperative, 2003-1994 

Major business activity 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1

Products marketed: Billion $

Beans and peas (dry edible) 0.1 .1 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2 Cotton 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.1 3.0 3.0 Dairy 23.5 23.0 26.2 22.7 26.0 25.3 23.4 Fruits and vegetables 6.9 7.3 8.8 9.6 9.3 9.4 9.3 Grains and oilseeds 20.6 17.5 18.1 18.4 17.1 21.3 24.6 Livestock 6.8 9.9 9.6 8.0 7.3 7.4 7.5 Nuts 0.9 .9 .9 .7 .9 .9 .9 Poultry 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1 Rice 1.0 .7 .8 .8 .9 .9 .9 Sugar 3.5 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.4 2.3 Tobacco 0.1 .2 .4 .6 .3 .3 .6 Wool and mohair 0.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 Other products 2.5 2.6 2.9 3.6 3.1 3.3 3.1 

Total farm products 71.0 69.7 75.0 72.1 72.0 76.6 77.8 

Supplies sold: Crop protectants 2.8 2.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.1 Feed 5.9 5.4 4.0 4.7 4.7 5.4 6.0 Fertilizer 4.6 4.3 5.0 4.6 4.8 5.2 5.4 Petroleum 7.5 7.2 8.4 7.5 6.3 6.6 6.8 Seed 1.2 1.1 1.1 .9 .8 .7 .7 Other supplies 3.5 3.0 3.3 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.2 

Total farm supplies 25.5 23.7 24.8 24.1 23.2 24.6 25.2 

Services and other income 4.1 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.5 3.6 

Total business 100.6 96.8 103.3 99.7 99.1 104.7 106.7 1

66 
Appendix Table 5–Net income of farmer cooperatives, 1994-20031

 

 

 From own From other 

Year operations cooperatives2

 Total 

 

 Million dollars

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 1,039 318 1,357 

2002 847 362 1,210 

2003 1,013 92 1,105 

 

 

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. 

67 
Appendix Table 6–Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 1994-2003 

 

 Assets Investments 

 from own in other Total Total Net 

 Year operations cooperatives1

 assets liabilities worth 

 Billion dollars

1994 32.78 3.18 35.96 20.34 15.62 

1995 37.05 3.23 40.27 23.64 16.63 

1996 39.01 3.58 42.59 25.20 17.39 

1997 39.92 4.07 44.00 25.46 18.54 

1998 41.88 4.68 46.56 26.61 19.95 

1999 42.33 5.35 47.68 27.42 20.26 

2000 44.64 5.09 49.72 29.45 20.28 

2001 43.29 5.18 48.47 28.32 20.15 

2002 41.95 5.54 47.49 27.88 19.60 

2003 42.86 4.06 46.92 26.49 20.43 

 

 Percent of total assets 

1994 91.2 8.8 100.0 56.6 43.4 

1995 92.0 8.0 100.0 58.7 41.3 

1996 91.6 8.4 100.0 59.2 40.8 

1997 90.7 9.3 100.0 57.9 42.1 

1998 90.0 10.0 100.0 57.1 42.9 

1999 88.8 11.2 100.0 57.5 42.5 

2000 89.8 10.2 100.0 59.2 40.8 

2001 89.3 10.7 100.0 58.4 41.6 

2002 88.3 11.7 100.0 58.7 41.3 

2003 91.4 8.6 100.0 56.5 43.5 

 

1

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

68 
APPENDIX FIGURES

69 
Appendix Figure 1—Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives by Type, 2003

Farm Supply

37.5%

 Dairy

6.4%

 Fruit & Vegetable 

6.7%

 Other Marketing 1/

8.9%

 Livestock & 

Poultry

2.8%

 Cotton

0.5%

 Grain & Oilseed

25.0%

Service

12.3%

Percentages are based on a total of 3,086 cooperatives.

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

Appendix Figure 2—U.S. Farms and Farmer Cooperative Memberships, 1979-2003

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1979 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 2001 2003

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

Million

Memberships1

Farms

70 
Appendix Figure 3—Assets per Full-Time Employee, by Type of Cooperative, 2003

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

 Sugar

Other Marketing 1/

 Cotton

 Grain & Oilseed

 Dairy

Farm Supply

Service

 Fruit & Vegetable

 Rice

 Livestock & Poultry

$1,000

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

Appendix Figure 4—Distribution of Full-Time Employees by Cooperative Type, 2003

Other Marketing 1/

3.5%

Farm Supplies

29.2%

Service

3.0%

Cotton

1.2%

Fruit & Vegetable

11.1%

Livestock & 

Poultry

20.8%

Sugar

3.0%

Grain & Oilseed

12.4%

Dairy

14.2%

Rice

1.6%

Percentages are based on a total of 165,000 full-time employees.

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

71 
Appendix Figure 5—Cooperatives’ Gross and Net Business Volumes, 1979-2003

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1979 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 2001 2003

Billion dollars

Gross1

Net2

2 Excludes inter-cooperative business.

1 Includes inter-cooperative business.

Appendix Figure 6—Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume, 1979-2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

1979 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 2001 2003

1

 Total includes value of related services and other income.

Billion dollars

Total1

Marketing

Farm Supply

72 
Appendix Figure 7—Cooperatives’ Investments in Other Cooperatives and 

Patronage Refunds Received From Other Cooperatives,1 1994-2003

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1994 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003

1

 Includes other farmer cooperatives and CoBank.

Billion dollars

Investments

Refunds

Appendix Figure 8—Distribution of Net Income, by Type of Cooperative, 2003

-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Fruits and Vegetables 

Dairy

Farm Supply

Service

Grains and Oilseeds

Cotton

Rice

Other products 1/

Percent of total 

Percentage based on total net income of $1.1 billion. 

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

73 
Appendix Figure 9—Distribution of Losses, by Type of Cooperative, 2003

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

 Fruit & Vegetable

Service

 Dairy

Other Marketing 1/

 Grain & Oilseed

Farm Supply

 Livestock & Poultry

Percent of total 

Percentage based on total losses of $1 billion. 

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

Appendix Figure 10—Distribution of Net Worth, by Type of Cooperative, 2003

 Rice

1.4%

 Cotton

1.7%

 Grain & Oilseed

17.9%

 Sugar

5.1%

 Livestock & 

Poultry

4.7%

 Fruit & Vegetables 

6.7%

Service

3.4%

Farm Supply

35.4%

 Other Marketing 1/

6.6%

 Dairy

17.1%

Percentages are based on total net worth of $20 billion.

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

74 
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Rural Development

STOP 3250

Washington, D.C. 20250-3250

Web: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov 

Committed to the future of rural communities. 

USDA Rural Development provides research, management, and educational assistance 

to cooperatives to strengthen the economic position of farmers, fishermen, 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. 

Rural Development’s cooperative program (1) helps farmers, fishermen, and other rural 

residents develop cooperatives to obtain supplies and services at lower cost and 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. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs 

and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, and 

where applicable, sex, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political 

beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public 

assistance program. (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, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.