FARMER 

COOPERATIVE

STATISTICS,

2006 Service Report 67

United States

Department of

Agriculture

ABSTRACT

A survey of 2,675 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives 

ending their business year during calendar year 2006 

showed a net business volume of $110.5 billion with a 

net income of $3.2 billion. These cooperatives had assets totaling $48 billion, about $28 billion of liabilities, 

and $20 billion in equity. Cooperatives were a major 

employer in rural areas, with 123,000 full-time workers 

and 57,000 part-time or seasonal employees. 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, 2006

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 67

November 2007

Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 i

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the 

basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a 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 to 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.”
ii Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Farmer cooperative statistics are collected annually 

to provide information on the progress and trends among 

the nation’s farmer-owned 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 2006. Cooperatives 

are classified by principal product marketed and major 

function. Fishery and ethanol cooperatives are included 

as “other product marketing” cooperatives. Both gross 

(includes inter-cooperative business) and net (excludes 

inter-cooperative business) dollar volumes are reported.

Statistics for 2006 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 Rural Development’s Cooperative Programs as farmer or aquacultural 

cooperatives. Information was requested for the cooperatives’ 2006 business year. 

USDA 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 85 percent of the total 

gross sales of farmer cooperatives in 2006. 

Rural Development 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.

PREFACE
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 iii

ABSTRACT i

PREFACE ii

HIGHLIGHTS v

FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2006 1

I–DEFINITION OF A FARMER COOPERATIVE 1

Classification of Cooperatives 1

Organizational Membership Structures 1

II–2006 STATISTICS 2

Number of Cooperatives 3

Memberships 3

Employees 4

Business Size 11

Business Volume 11

Balance Sheet 13

Income Statement 16

Selected Financial Ratios 20

APPENDIX TABLES 25

APPENDIX FIGURES 51

CONTENTS
iv Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 v

There are 2,675 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives, 

according to the 2006 survey of marketing, farm supply, 

and related-service cooperatives by USDA Rural Development’s Cooperative Programs.

o Total gross business volume (includes inter-cooperative business) handled by cooperatives was $126.5 

billion; net business (excludes inter-cooperative business) was $110.5 billion. 

o Total net income was $3.2 billion, which includes 

inter-cooperative dividends and refunds of $497.5 

million.

o Cooperative memberships were 2.6 million, virtually 

unchanged from 2005.

o Cooperatives employed 123,000 full-time and 57,000 

part-time and seasonal employees. Full-time employee numbers were down 2 percent while part-time and 

seasonal employee numbers were up 3 percent.

o Gross value of farm products marketed by cooperatives was $76 billion, with a net value (after eliminating duplication from inter-cooperative business) of 

$70 billion.

o Gross value of farm supplies handled by farmer 

cooperatives was $46 billion, with a net value of $36 

billion. Gross farm supply sales were up 17 percent, 

primarily due to increasing energy costs.

o Receipts for services related to marketing farm products and handling farm supplies, plus other income, 

totaled $4 billion.

o Farmer cooperatives had $47.9 billion in combined 

assets. Net assets, after eliminating inter-cooperative 

investments, was $44.4 billion. Inter-cooperative 

investments included those in CoBank. 

 

o Total liabilities were $28 billion.

o Net worth, or member and patron equity, was $20 

billion. Member and patron equity financed 42 percent of total assets.

 

2006 2005 Change

Number of cooperatives 2,675 2,896 -221

Memberships (millions) 2.6 2.6 0.00

 

Gross business volume (billion $) 126.5 121.7 4.81

Net business volume (billion $) 110.5 106.5 3.97

Net income before taxes (billion $) 3.2 2.5 0.61

 

Total assets (billion $) 47.9 46.6 1.31

Net worth (billion $) 19.9 19.5 0.40

 

Full-time employees (thousand) 123.4 125.4 -2.03

Part-time and seasonal employees (thousand) 57.3 54.4 2.87 

HIGHLIGHTS

Table A–Highlights, 2006 
vi Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 1

USDA Rural Development’s Cooperative Programs 

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 non-members 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

USDA 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. USDA 

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 

USDA further classifies marketing, farm supply and 

service cooperatives into three organizational structures 

according to membership. The membership structures 

used are centralized, federated and mixed.

Centralized

Of the 2,675 farmer cooperatives in 2006, 2,605 were 

centralized organizations, mostly locals with individual 

farmer-members. Centralized cooperatives usually serve 

a local area or community, county, or several counties. 

Most usually perform a limited number of initial marketing functions. Most farm supply sales are at the retail 

level. A few centralized cooperatives, principally regionFarmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. Penn, and E. Eldon Eversull, Rural Development

I. DEFINITION OF A FARMER COOPERATIVE
2 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

als, operate over multi-state 

areas and provide more vertically integrated services, such 

as processing farm products, 

manufacturing feed, or refining 

petroleum.

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 48 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 22 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. 

Cooperatives’ total net business volume was $110.5 billion 

in 2006, while net income was 

$3.2 billion. There were 2,675 

agricultural cooperatives in 

2006, and they had 2.6 million 

members. Together they had 

$48 billion in assets with $20 

billion in equity. Although employment levels had fallen due 

II. 2006 STATISTICS

Figure 1—Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, 1997-2006

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

Marketing

Farm Supply

Service

Number

6

Figure 2—Distribution of Memberships, by Type of Cooperative, 2006

Percentages are based on 2.6 million total memberships.

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

Nut

0.6%

Other Marketing1

2.3%

Service

5.2%

Fruit & Vegetable

1.1%

Dairy

2.8%

Livestock & Poultry

3.2%

Tobacco

6.2%

Grain & Oilseed

18.2%

Cotton

1.7%

Farm Supply

59.3%

28
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 3

Table 1–Number of cooperatives and memberships, by major business activity, 2006 

Major business 

 activity Cooperatives Memberships

Number Thousands

Bean and pea, dry edible 6 1.6

Cotton 13 42.7

Dairy 172 71.4

Fruit and vegetable 167 28.7

Grain and oilseed1 642 467.0

Livestock 48 82.3

Nuts 17 15.4

Poultry2 12 0.4

Rice 15 12.2

Sugar3 38 11.8

Tobacco 15 158.6

Wool and mohair 61 9.8

Other products 74 11.7

 Total marketing 1,280 913.7

 Farm supply 1,090 1,522.4

 

Service 305 133.5

Total 2,675 2,569.6

 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.

to fewer cooperatives, cooperatives remained a major 

employer in rural areas, using 123,000 full-time workers.

Number of Cooperatives

The 2006 survey counted 2,675 marketing, farm supply, and related-service cooperatives1

, compared with 

2,896 in 2005. Of the 2,675 cooperatives, 1,280 primarily marketed farm products, 1,090 primarily handled farm 

production supplies, and 305 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 2005. Marketing 

cooperatives comprise about 48 percent of all cooperatives, farm supply, 41 percent, and service, 11 percent of 

the total (Figure 1 and Appendix Table 1).

There was a net decrease of 221 associations (8 

percent) from 2005 to 2006, largely reflecting a continuing trend involving merger, acquisition, or dissolution. 

The largest decrease was in service cooperatives (51), 

followed by grain and oilseed cooperatives and, farm 

supply, and, losing 41 and 38, respectively. 

Cooperative numbers by marketing, farm supply, 

and service functions by State are shown in Table 2. 

Minnesota had the most marketing cooperatives (118), 

followed closely by North Dakota (107). Texas had the 

most farm supply and service cooperatives (154).

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 almost 4,400 branches—1,897 and 2,498, respectively. Grain and oilseed cooperatives averaged almost 

three branches, while farm supply cooperatives averaged 

just over two branches per cooperative. 

Memberships

Memberships in marketing, farm supply, and relatedservice cooperatives totaled an estimated 2.6 million 

in 2006, virtually unchanged from 2005 (Table 3). By 

major business activity, 59 percent and 18 percent were 

memberships of farm supply and grain cooperatives, 

respectively (Appendix Table 2, Figure 2). Dairy cooperative memberships were only 3 percent of the total, but 

accounted for 25 percent, or $27 billion, of cooperatives’ 

net business volume in 2006.

Memberships in farmer cooperatives dropped from 

3.4 million in 1997 to 2.6 million in 2006 (Figure 3). 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 

1

Services include trucking, cotton ginning, crop drying, arti- ficial 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 pur- chasing activities.
4 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Table 2–Number of cooperatives, by major 

function and State, 2006

 

Farm supply

Function Marketing & service Total

State Number

Alabama 7 50 57

Arizona 5 4 9

Arkansas 10 39 49

California 82 61 143

Colorado 17 16 33

Florida 26 7 33

Georgia 5 8 13

Hawaii 10 6 16

Idaho 21 12 33

Illinois 95 49 144

Indiana 11 28 39

Iowa 78 49 127

Kansas 78 31 109

Kentucky 12 27 39

Louisiana 13 29 42

Maryland 1 10 11

Massachusetts 5 5 10

Michigan 29 23 52

Minnesota 118 113 231

Mississippi 12 57 69

Missouri 17 44 61

Montana 25 29 54

Nebraska 42 31 73

New Jersey 11 2 13

New Mexico 3 6 9

New York 60 12 72

North Carolina 11 5 16

North Dakota 107 93 200

Ohio 39 18 57

Oklahoma 29 38 67

Oregon 18 13 31

Pennsylvania 33 12 45

South Dakota 52 48 100

Tennessee 7 66 73

Texas 50 154 204

Utah 6 6 12

Virginia 13 39 52

Washington 35 29 64

West Virginia 12 13 25

Wisconsin 32 98 130

Wyoming 5 5 10

Other States1 38 10 48

United States 1,280 1,395 2,675

1

 Includes states with fewer than three cooperatives for any 

function. States with at least three cooperatives were: Alaska, 

6; Connecticut, 4; Delaware, 3; Maine, 23; South Carolina, 5; 

and Vermont, 3.

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 

584,000 (39 percent) and service cooperatives had a decline of 50,000 (27 percent), while memberships in farm 

supply cooperatives decreased 221,000 (13 percent). 

Employees

Farmer cooperatives had an estimated 123,000 fulltime employees in 2006, a decrease of 2,000 from 2005 

(Table 4), and far less than the peak of 176,665 in 2000. 

Marketing cooperatives had a decrease of about 1,000 

employees, farm supply cooperatives decreased about 

2,000, while service cooperatives had an increase of 

1,000 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 commodity 

handled, and involvement in value-added activities. 

In 2006, farmer cooperatives employed an estimated 

181,000 full-time and part-time and seasonal employees 

(Table 5). Among marketing cooperatives, those primarily handling fruits and vegetables had the most employees (33,000), followed by dairy (26,000), then grains and 

oilseeds (23,000).

By type, marketing cooperatives had 111,000 fulltime and part-time and seasonal employees (61 percent 

of total); farm supply cooperatives had 59,000 (33 

percent); and related-service cooperatives had 11,000 (6 

percent). 

Figure 4 shows the number of full-time employees 

by type of cooperative for 2006. Farm supply, fruit 

and vegetable, and dairy cooperatives used the most 

employees; cotton cooperatives the fewest. Dairy, rice, 

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 57,000 part-time and seasonal 

employees in 2006, up about 3,000, or 3 percent, from 

2005. Most of the increase was in fruit and vegetable 

and dairy cooperatives. 

In 2006, marketing cooperatives reported 36,000 parttime and seasonal employees, or 63 percent of that type 

of worker used. Marketing cooperatives averaged 28 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 5

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (continued)

North Carolina 3 0.1 16.877 16.877

Oregon 10 0.8 706.939 666.775

Pennsylvania 3 0.2 119.273 119.273

Texas 3 0.2 66.945 58.008

Washington 10 3.0 509.280 508.459

Other States 28 3.3 976.596 972.648

Foreign7 0 0.1 26.172 17.027

United States 167 28.7 7,188.483 5,790.762 

GRAINS AND OILSEEDS8 

California 3 0.4 7.999 7.999

Colorado 13 9.6 196.219 196.219

Idaho 3 0.5 26.109 26.109

Illinois 87 63.4 2,274.243 2,274.243

Indiana 8 4.8 404.808 404.808

Iowa 69 60.6 3,741.427 3,639.555

Kansas 76 88.8 1,716.302 1,712.133

Michigan 4 2.1 96.684 96.684

Minnesota 70 35.8 3,257.447 3,237.567

Mississippi 4 7.7 180.247 179.097

Missouri 11 12.6 623.660 412.553

Montana 7 1.4 332.492 332.492

Nebraska 35 45.8 2,052.060 2,048.084

North Dakota 89 26.0 1,731.672 1,731.672

Ohio 30 21.4 905.344 905.344

Oklahoma 26 26.8 224.155 224.155

South Dakota 50 30.8 1,377.566 1,377.566

Texas 28 12.7 430.862 430.862

Washington 17 7.8 406.204 406.204

Other States 15 4.6 1,417.545 1,416.810

Foreign7 0 0.0 298.266 298.266

United States 642 463.6 21,701.312 21,358.422

(continued next page)

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20063

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

BEANS AND PEAS, DRY EDIBLE 

United States 6 1.6 114.886 109.938

COTTON6 

Texas 5 27.9 927.541 214.796

Other States 8 14.8 2,100.634 216.525

Foreign7 0 0.0 7.097 7.097

United States 13 42.7 3,028.175 431.321

 

DAIRY 

California 5 0.7 2,717.836 2,711.209

Idaho 3 0.0 279.802 279.802

Illinois 4 1.5 1,332.370 1,328.725

Iowa 4 8.2 1,334.953 1,303.475

Massachusetts 3 1.4 50.020 50.020

Minnesota 28 12.9 3,684.952 3,642.991

New Mexico 3 0.1 599.289 188.706

New York 47 4.7 2,060.106 1,707.595

North Dakota 3 0.7 292.396 290.451

Ohio 4 0.3 166.017 159.483

Pennsylvania 16 0.8 424.592 352.865

Wisconsin 27 13.7 5,320.245 5,067.282

Other States 25 26.4 10,766.578 10,331.269

Foreign7 0 0.0 88.623 88.623

United States 172 71.4 29,029.155 27,413.872

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

Arizona 4 0.2 86.877 42.192

Arkansas 3 0.1 1.414 1.414

California 45 13.6 2,974.046 2,142.899

Colorado 3 0.3 4.827 4.827

Florida 18 1.1 1,033.320 590.691

Hawaii 4 0.1 6.848 6.848

Michigan 14 2.8 431.759 415.549

Minnesota 3 0.2 3.635 3.635

New Jersey 7 0.6 184.932 184.932

New York 9 1.9 38.742 38.709

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

1

 Includes centralized and federated cooperatives and those 

with mixed organizational structures. Headquartered in the 

State listed. State factors for sales and membership not collected in 2006; 2005 factors used on 2006 data to estimate 

State data.

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 2006. 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.
6 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

LIVESTOCK 

Alabama 4 2.9 25.427 25.427

Alabama 3 1.6 17.801 17.801

Kentucky 3 0.2 2.555 2.555

North Dakota 4 0.5 24.401 24.401

West Virginia 3 0.2 3.069 3.069

Wisconsin 3 46.8 423.026 423.026

Other States 32 33.0 2,916.870 2,799.029

United States 48 82.3 3,387.721 3,269.881

NUT9 

California 6 3.6 676.263 676.263

Other States 11 11.6 128.118 128.118

Foreign7 0 0.1 0.000 0.000

United States 17 15.4 804.381 804.381

 

POULTRY10 

California 3 0.1 146.393 146.393

Other States 9 0.3 1,232.062 1,232.062

United States 12 0.4 1,378.455 1,378.455

 

RICE 

California 4 0.9 160.922 160.922

Louisiana 3 0.0 23.389 23.389

Texas 5 0.5 41.351 41.351

Other States 3 10.8 840.156 840.156

United States 15 12.2 1,065.818 1,065.818

 

SUGAR11 

Idaho 7 1.8 595.864 7.215

Louisiana 5 1.4 490.583 401.881

Michigan 5 0.0 14.740 14.740

Minnesota 3 3.5 1,185.749 1,074.533

Wyoming 4 0.4 37.835 37.835

Other States 14 4.6 1,402.326 1,083.779

Foreign7 0 0.0 7.532 7.532

United States 38 11.8 3,734.629 2,627.516

TOBACCO7 

Kentucky 5 3.2 27.370 27.370

Tennessee 6 64.0 11.323 11.323

Other States 4 91.4 118.240 118.240

United States 15 158.6 156.933 156.933

 

WOOL AND MOHAIR 

Idaho 3 0.0 0.016 0.016

Montana 15 0.5 0.321 0.321

North Dakota 3 0.1 0.025 0.025

Pennsylvania 11 0.9 0.158 0.158

Virginia 6 0.3 0.020 0.020

West Virginia 9 0.7 0.120 0.120

Other States 14 7.3 2.601 2.601

Foreign7 0 0.1 0.090 0.090

United States 61 9.8 3.352 3.352

 

OTHER MARKETING12 

Alaska 6 3.2 6.477 6.477

California 8 1.3 121.687 121.687

Florida 4 0.1 32.031 32.031

Hawaii 4 0.4 1.600 1.600

Maine 14 0.7 78.925 78.925

Minnesota 12 4.6 1,264.924 1,221.059

Washington 5 0.7 174.376 174.376

Other States 32 6.5 2,922.423 2,880.682

United States 74 11.7 4,421.590 4,335.984

TOTAL MARKETING 

Alabama 7 2.2 353.627 274.887

Alaska 6 3.2 6.477 6.477

Arizona 5 0.2 713.530 641.467

Arkansas 10 11.6 1,590.509 1,300.947

California 82 22.0 7,260.234 6,388.734

Colorado 17 10.0 353.005 353.005

Florida 26 1.7 2,033.381 1,471.751

Georgia 5 6.1 423.015 257.149

Hawaii 10 0.6 12.436 12.436

Idaho 21 2.8 1,020.001 431.352

Illinois 95 70.3 3,710.222 3,706.578

Indiana 11 5.2 1,090.860 1,077.617

Iowa 78 69.2 6,612.506 6,463.406

Kansas 78 88.9 2,303.953 2,299.784

Kentucky 12 5.8 154.032 154.032

Louisiana 13 1.7 885.984 686.079

Maine 21 1.4 138.362 137.415

Massachusetts 5 2.1 521.250 521.250

Michigan 29 8.4 1,645.263 1,602.738

Minnesota 118 57.0 9,839.245 9,621.333

Mississippi 12 20.7 1,026.288 429.094

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20063

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5 

Number Thousands Millions

(Continued)

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.

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.
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 7

TOTAL MARKETING (continued)

Missouri 17 32.7 3,054.906 2,801.687

Montana 25 2.2 491.589 490.790

Nebraska 42 50.2 3,236.369 3,232.393

New Jersey 11 1.5 214.563 212.474

New Mexico 3 0.1 633.301 222.718

New York 60 6.9 2,302.914 1,846.636

North Carolina 11 93.4 337.936 309.958

North Dakota 107 30.9 2,682.565 2,626.138

Ohio 39 35.5 2,165.436 2,148.194

Oklahoma 29 29.6 630.666 630.666

Oregon 18 3.1 1,749.573 1,624.395

Pennsylvania 33 2.0 866.361 794.634

South Carolina 3 0.2 38.939 32.919

South Dakota 52 30.9 2,013.762 2,006.651

Tennessee 7 64.1 114.511 31.653

Texas 50 45.3 3,120.680 2,859.217

Utah 6 10.2 492.098 488.105

Vermont 3 0.8 420.279 418.859

Virginia 13 4.1 189.277 157.506

Washington 35 12.2 2,420.589 2,404.597

West Virginia 12 0.9 19.991 16.845

Wisconsin 32 60.7 6,565.364 6,298.542

Wyoming 5 0.4 58.274 58.274

Other States 6 1.4 536.597 469.924

Foreign7 0 0.3 429.218 420.074

United States 1,280 910.7 76,479.937 70,441.379

FARM SUPPLIES PROVIDED 

 

CROP PROTECTANTS13 

Alabama 71.190 69.451

Arkansas 131.806 125.112

California 33.967 33.103

Colorado 47.997 47.997

Florida 10.962 10.357

Georgia 61.735 56.701

Idaho 21.193 21.193

Illinois 398.677 286.321

Indiana 277.479 269.184

Iowa 337.069 305.217

Kansas 126.741 125.446

Kentucky 37.343 31.414

Louisiana 25.507 25.507

Maryland 13.453 10.431

Massachusetts 0.161 0.161

Michigan 24.123 22.396

CROP PROTECTANTS (continued) 

Minnesota 293.615 293.034

Mississippi 59.238 59.235

Missouri 112.933 80.501

Montana 47.889 47.457

Nebraska 212.729 212.297

New York 4.013 0.946

North Dakota 139.355 139.355

Ohio 93.162 91.785

Oklahoma 23.588 23.588

Oregon 85.699 85.268

Pennsylvania 9.130 2.000

South Dakota 121.334 121.334

Tennessee 113.007 68.908

Texas 43.935 42.207

Utah 8.838 8.407

Virginia 19.478 17.654

Washington 132.269 131.406

West Virginia 1.913 1.675

Wisconsin 128.372 119.417

Wyoming 1.844 1.844

Other States 48.268 34.630

Foreign7 24.968 2.497

United States 3,344.981 3,025.434

 

FEED13 

Alabama 46.711 26.513

Arkansas 66.391 65.361

California 215.107 194.021

Colorado 38.045 38.045

Florida 38.275 36.922

Georgia 18.858 15.708

Idaho 94.277 73.190

Illinois 223.037 223.033

Indiana 80.234 80.220

Iowa 1,587.305 1,409.511

Kansas 186.414 179.385

Kentucky 52.249 45.796

Louisiana 40.492 40.492

Maryland 33.606 29.941

Massachusetts 10.099 9.993

Michigan 76.684 76.684

Minnesota 880.503 765.290

Mississippi 55.242 55.233

Missouri 214.325 182.607

Montana 30.972 21.265

Nebraska 307.759 262.908

New York 51.426 43.571

North Dakota 57.618 50.590

(continued next page)

(Continued)

13 Headquartered in State and Membership values are not 

collected for individual farm supply products; rather they are 

collected for total farm supplies.

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20063

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions
8 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

FEED (continued)

Ohio 124.594 124.553

Oklahoma 62.569 62.569

Oregon 367.447 280.422

Pennsylvania 27.584 25.841

South Dakota 190.386 166.628

Tennessee 195.627 127.930

Texas 127.028 127.028

Utah 94.715 94.715

Virginia 118.007 108.146

Washington 287.612 214.651

West Virginia 16.833 14.650

Wisconsin 825.660 689.440

Wyoming 4.579 4.579

Other States 244.712 215.570

Foreign7 168.142 147.042

United States 7,261.125 6,330.044

 

FERTILIZER13 

Alabama 79.447 75.473

Arkansas 119.381 107.720

California 134.311 134.299

Colorado 67.031 66.439

Florida 50.878 37.810

Georgia 60.764 50.137

Idaho 37.701 37.701

Illinois 748.385 592.338

Indiana 420.419 418.827

Iowa 845.224 778.566

Kansas 291.896 291.859

Kentucky 118.936 103.812

Louisiana 21.170 20.873

Maryland 33.809 29.361

Massachusetts 11.467 4.925

Michigan 54.979 54.720

Minnesota 461.642 460.408

Mississippi 41.982 40.756

Missouri 446.382 305.278

Montana 99.066 99.066

Nebraska 420.067 410.559

New York 25.730 12.554

North Dakota 234.284 234.284

Ohio 263.847 230.630

Oklahoma 80.262 80.262

Oregon 129.938 129.938

Pennsylvania 43.990 20.873

South Dakota 212.886 212.775

Tennessee 207.210 132.198

Texas 91.418 91.393

Utah 21.242 21.242

FERTILIZER (continued)

Virginia 82.362 73.328

Washington 169.071 169.071

West Virginia 7.871 6.831

Wisconsin 281.197 265.696

Wyoming 7.068 7.031

Other States 132.050 101.266

Foreign7 49.946 19.893

United States 6,605.309 5,930.193

 

PETROLEUM13 

Alabama 12.585 12.463

Arkansas 112.068 110.389

California 4.594 4.472

Colorado 532.755 312.809

Florida 5.213 5.213

Georgia 326.406 106.217

Idaho 392.873 190.035

Illinois 1,782.861 1,200.305

Indiana 1,455.238 842.425

Iowa 1,941.210 1,531.804

Kansas 3,058.040 2,722.022

Kentucky 156.675 107.287

Louisiana 11.537 11.537

Maryland 136.817 109.391

Massachusetts 0.018 0.018

Michigan 423.111 178.144

Minnesota 1,191.797 973.663

Mississippi 22.292 20.559

Missouri 1,087.719 730.493

Montana 627.885 476.435

Nebraska 1,181.323 858.780

New York 7.221 5.749

North Dakota 837.671 626.979

Ohio 341.865 265.744

Oklahoma 645.901 315.585

Oregon 477.914 315.582

Pennsylvania 16.630 14.006

South Dakota 624.513 412.095

Tennessee 496.311 200.288

Texas 188.916 187.301

Utah 310.241 98.327

Virginia 645.900 365.693

Washington 545.436 401.073

West Virginia 37.001 31.054

Wisconsin 1,098.568 865.047

Wyoming 445.052 295.468

Other States 102.555 86.381

Foreign7 487.793 181.515

United States 21,772.501 15,172.346

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20063

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

(Continued)
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 9

SEED13 

Alabama 16.602 16.087

Arkansas 49.457 48.483

California 21.088 21.088

Colorado 6.892 6.867

Florida 3.139 2.835

Georgia 8.486 6.912

Idaho 73.147 13.270

Illinois 244.529 163.042

Indiana 87.877 54.155

Iowa 337.965 171.497

Kansas 35.495 35.495

Kentucky 31.624 27.935

Louisiana 11.597 11.597

Maryland 9.185 7.784

Massachusetts 0.799 0.663

Michigan 12.039 11.641

Minnesota 228.023 161.460

Mississippi 21.087 21.039

Missouri 314.973 80.633

Montana 42.312 29.007

Nebraska 100.042 79.947

New York 2.795 2.308

North Dakota 77.951 57.993

Ohio 53.819 53.204

Oklahoma 6.674 6.670

Oregon 38.789 38.789

Pennsylvania 5.893 3.789

South Dakota 101.452 81.494

Tennessee 94.571 59.288

Texas 24.119 24.119

Utah 3.077 3.077

Virginia 26.861 23.851

Washington 47.564 40.912

West Virginia 3.790 3.244

Wisconsin 171.237 100.731

Wyoming 0.856 0.856

Other States 31.160 25.573

Foreign7 4.070 1.661

United States 2,351.035 1,498.997

OTHER FARM SUPPLIES13, 14 

Alabama 98.063 57.287

Arkansas 95.796 87.544

California 226.076 222.778

OTHER FARM SUPPLIES (continued)

Colorado 80.434 76.924

Florida 52.698 52.435

Georgia 44.282 31.374

Idaho 39.468 35.958

Illinois 177.240 142.181

Indiana 112.449 78.807

Iowa 229.488 212.523

Kansas 105.571 97.115

Kentucky 82.934 64.875

Louisiana 17.095 17.076

Maryland 28.261 24.855

Massachusetts 13.396 11.943

Michigan 87.024 76.766

Minnesota 276.564 267.857

Mississippi 50.762 50.724

Missouri 201.977 153.591

Montana 70.395 67.603

Nebraska 143.078 138.282

New York 35.185 29.023

North Dakota 250.046 246.916

Ohio 105.025 70.422

Oklahoma 42.681 38.939

Oregon 183.493 181.763

Pennsylvania 30.537 22.442

South Dakota 99.790 98.158

Tennessee 303.803 177.434

Texas 101.905 91.882

Utah 61.833 56.756

Virginia 150.555 140.926

Washington 178.273 174.731

West Virginia 26.647 23.528

Wisconsin 360.472 356.628

Wyoming 30.895 29.834

Other States 199.397 156.747

Foreign7 143.483 100.682

United States 4,537.071 3,965.310

 

FARM SUPPLY 

Alabama 44 20.0 324.600 257.274

Arkansas 34 32.9 574.900 544.609

California 18 13.9 635.142 609.760

Colorado 15 18.9 773.154 549.081

Florida 6 6.9 161.164 145.570

Georgia 5 0.9 520.531 267.049

Idaho 10 6.9 658.658 371.347

Illinois 48 68.1 3,574.729 2,607.219

Indiana 26 40.1 2,433.695 1,743.618

Iowa 48 47.9 5,278.261 4,409.118

(continued next page)

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.

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20063

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions
10 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

FARM SUPPLY (continued) 

Kansas 30 28.9 3,804.157 3,451.322

Kentucky 26 98.5 479.761 381.119

Louisiana 19 5.6 127.399 127.083

Maryland 10 21.9 255.130 211.763

Massachusetts 4 2.5 35.940 27.702

Michigan 20 6.7 677.960 420.352

Minnesota 108 124.4 3,332.145 2,921.711

Mississippi 36 77.4 250.603 247.547

Missouri 43 96.6 2,378.308 1,533.102

Montana 29 12.5 918.519 740.834

Nebraska 29 25.8 2,364.998 1,962.774

New York 7 1.4 126.370 94.152

North Dakota 90 34.9 1,596.926 1,356.117

Ohio 15 13.3 982.311 836.337

Oklahoma 26 18.3 861.674 527.614

Oregon 12 24.8 1,283.281 1,031.762

Pennsylvania 7 2.2 133.763 88.950

South Dakota 48 34.2 1,350.361 1,092.483

Tennessee 65 62.8 1,410.529 766.046

Texas 41 28.2 577.321 563.931

Utah 5 5.1 499.946 282.523

Virginia 36 391.2 1,043.162 729.598

Washington 25 9.1 1,360.224 1,131.843

West Virginia 13 46.2 94.054 80.982

Wisconsin 76 80.1 2,865.506 2,396.959

Wyoming 5 3.4 490.294 339.612

Other States 11 10.0 758.143 620.166

Foreign7 0 1.2 878.402 453.290

United States 1,090 1,523.6 45,872.022 35,922.324

SERVICE15 

Alabama 6 0.2 13.061 13.061

Arizona 4 0.2 14.478 14.478

Arkansas 5 1.9 61.771 61.771

California 43 3.3 413.613 413.613

Georgia 3 0.3 8.396 8.396

Hawaii 5 0.2 2.180 2.180

Louisiana 10 0.5 142.304 142.304

Michigan 3 1.3 52.037 52.037

Minnesota 5 10.8 427.624 427.624

Mississippi 21 14.0 115.728 115.728

New Mexico 5 1.2 2.163 2.163

New York 5 0.3 22.701 22.701

SERVICE (continued) 

North Carolina 3 0.1 15.690 15.690

North Dakota 3 1.8 58.115 58.115

Ohio 3 4.2 111.380 111.380

Oklahoma 12 4.6 38.537 38.537

Pennsylvania 5 0.1 5.674 5.674

Texas 113 18.5 293.580 293.580

Virginia 3 10.3 20.722 20.722

Washington 4 0.1 59.238 59.238

Wisconsin 22 41.8 87.720 87.720

Other States 22 17.8 1,369.177 1,369.177

United States 305 133.5 3,335.889 3,335.889

 

TOTAL 

Alabama 57 22.3 691.288 545.221

Alaska 6 3.2 68.741 65.231

Arizona 9 0.4 753.113 680.885

Arkansas 49 46.5 2,227.180 1,907.327

California 143 39.3 8,308.989 7,412.107

Colorado 33 28.8 1,162.342 938.269

Connecticut 4 0.5 238.901 236.515

Delaware 3 5.8 101.818 74.177

Florida 33 19.1 2,309.817 1,732.594

Georgia 13 7.3 951.941 532.593

Hawaii 16 0.8 70.993 56.928

Idaho 33 9.9 1,715.357 839.397

Illinois 144 138.4 7,499.823 6,528.669

Indiana 39 45.4 3,615.042 2,911.722

Iowa 127 118.0 12,205.868 11,187.625

Kansas 109 117.8 6,247.656 5,890.651

Kentucky 39 105.9 637.943 539.302

Louisiana 42 7.9 1,155.686 955.465

Maine 23 5.4 204.465 202.852

Maryland 11 21.9 509.217 401.207

Massachusetts 10 5.0 558.782 550.545

Michigan 52 16.4 2,375.259 2,075.127

Minnesota 231 192.1 13,599.013 12,970.668

Mississippi 69 112.1 1,392.619 792.369

Missouri 61 130.1 5,493.921 4,395.496

Montana 54 14.7 1,416.006 1,237.521

Nebraska 73 76.0 5,762.084 5,355.884

New Jersey 13 1.5 256.252 244.501

New Mexico 9 1.5 652.581 239.856

New York 72 8.6 2,451.985 1,963.489

North Carolina 16 94.0 607.608 520.758

North Dakota 200 67.6 4,337.605 4,040.370

Ohio 57 53.0 3,259.127 3,095.911

Oklahoma 67 52.6 1,530.878 1,196.818

Oregon 31 28.0 3,084.273 2,707.577

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.

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, memberships2, and gross and net sales by State, 20063

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions

(Continued)
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 11

Table 3–Number1 of cooperatives, 

memberships2, and gross and net sales 

by State, 20063

TOTAL (continued)

Pennsylvania 45 4.4 1,005.798 889.258

South Carolina 5 0.4 102.909 81.773

South Dakota 100 65.1 3,435.096 3,170.107

Tennessee 73 128.5 1,557.253 829.913

Texas 204 91.9 3,991.581 3,716.728

Utah 12 16.7 1,011.383 789.967

Vermont 3 0.8 445.007 442.798

Virginia 52 405.6 1,253.161 907.826

Washington 64 21.5 3,840.051 3,595.678

West Virginia 25 47.1 114.371 98.153

Wisconsin 130 182.6 9,518.591 8,783.222

Wyoming 10 3.8 551.693 401.010

Other States 4 3.8 99.161 94.166

Foreign7 0 1.5 1,307.620 873.364

United States 2,675 2,569.6 125,687.848 109,699.592

part-time and seasonal employees per cooperative. Fruit 

and vegetable cooperatives, with 19,000, accounted for 

about 34 percent of all part-time and seasonal employees used by cooperatives. Farm supply cooperatives had 

about 14,000 part-time and seasonal employees, an average of 13 per cooperative.

Most types of marketing cooperatives operated with 

more employees than did farm supply cooperatives. For 

example, sugar cooperatives averaged 265 employees; 

fruit and vegetable, 196; rice, 180; while farm supply 

cooperatives averaged 54 (Figure 5).

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 2006, 66 percent of all farmer cooperatives reported a business volume of less than $15 million. However, 

they accounted for only 6 percent of the total gross 

dollar volume (Table 6 and Figure 6). Only 3 percent 

of farmer cooperatives reported a business volume of at 

least $200 million, but they accounted for 65 percent of 

the total sales. 

Business Volume

Total gross business volume of the 2,675 marketing, 

farm supply, and related-service cooperatives for 2006 

was $126.5 billion (table 7), up 5 percent from $121.7 

billion in 2005. Gross business volume fell from the 

record $128 billion in 1996 to $112 billion in 2002; however, this has not been a steady decline, some years saw 

increases to over $120 billion while other years fell to 

$115 billion or less (Appendix Table 3, Appendix Figure 

4). Much of the volume increase between 2005 and 2006 

can be attributable to higher energy costs. 

Gross dollar volume of farm products marketed by 

cooperatives decreased about $1.5 billion, from $78 billion in 2005 to $76.5 billion in 2006 (2 percent). Dairy 

cooperatives had an almost $2 billion decline in sales 

due to lowered prices. Gross volume of all farm supplies 

handled by cooperatives was $45.9 billion, up 17 percent 

from $39 billion in 2005 (almost the entire increase was 

due to higher petroleum prices). 

Total net business volume of farmer cooperatives in 

2006 was $110.5 billion$70.4 billion from farm products marketed, $36 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 3 percent from $107 billion 

in 2005. The $110.5 billion was a record net business 

volumesurpassing $106.7 billion in 1997 by almost $4 

billion (Appendix Table 4, Appendix Figure 5). There 

have been a number of fluctuations in net business 

volume, it dropped to around $100 billion in 1999 and 

stayed there except for the current upward trend started 

in 2003. Adjusted for inflation where 1991 = 1002, net 

business volume totaled $97 billion in 1997 and dropped 

to $88 billion in 2006 (Figure 7). Consequently, the difference between actual and real net business volume in 

2006 was $23 billion. The real net business volume was 

lower than the actual value in 2006 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 1997 to 2006 rose 9 points, 

while the index for prices paid for farm production items 

increased 28 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 decreased 

from 2005, from $74 billion to $70 billion—a decline 

of 5 percent. Net marketing business volume accounted 

for 64 percent of total cooperative sales in 2006, down 6 

(Continued)

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 inter- est, taxes, and wages (1991 = 100).

Headquartered Member- Business volume

State in State ships Gross4 Net5

Number Thousands Millions
12 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Figure 3—Cooperative Memberships by Function, 1997-2006

0

1

2

3

Million

Service

Farm Supply

Marketing

percent from 2005.

Figure 8 illustrates the leading 

products marketed by cooperatives 

based on net marketing business 

volume. Dairy (milk and milk products) led with 39 percent, followed 

by grains and oilseeds (excluding 

cottonseed) with 30 percent, and 

fruit and vegetable with 8 percent. 

Net farm supply volume of $36 

billion, up 26 percent from $28 

billion, accounted for 33 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, 42 percent; 

feed, 18 percent; and fertilizer, 17 

percent (Figure 9). Petroleum sales 

increased by more than $5 billion 

over 2005 sales. 

Receipts for services provided 

by marketing, farm supply, and 

related-service cooperatives, plus 

other income, decreased 5 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 

83 percent of marketing sales in 

1997 to 82 percent in 2006 (Figure 10). Grains and oilseeds were 

down from sales of $25 billion in 

1997 to $21 billion in 2006 but will 

no doubt rebound with increased 

prices in 2006 and 2007. Net volume among commodity groups was 

highest in 2006 for dairy, with $27 

billion ($23 billion in 1997), followed by grains and oilseeds.

Milk and milk product sales 

showed the strongest dollar sales 

during 1997-2006 and with increased prices in 2007, will probably continue this trend. Dairy 

sales in 2004 at $29 billion were 

the highest ever and with increased 

prices in 2007 may challenge that 

record. 

Figure 4—Full-Time and Part-Time and Seasonal Employees,

by Cooperative Type, 2006

Farm Supply

Fruits and Vegetables

Dairy

Grain and Oilseeds

Sugar

Service

Cotton Ginning

Livestock and Poultry

Rice

Cotton

1,000 Employees

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

Full-Time

Part-Time and Seasonal

Other products1

 

Figure 5—Average Full-Time and Part-Time and 

 Seasonal Employees, 2006

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Sugar

Fruits and Vegetables

Rice

Cotton

Dairy

Farm Supplies

Service

Livestock and Poultry

Cotton Ginning

Number 1

Includes dry bean and pea, nut, tobacco, wool and mohair, fishery, and other product marketing cooperatives

.

Full-Time Part-Time and Seasonal

Other products1
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 13

In the farm supply group, feed and 

fertilizer were important farm inputs 

(Figure 11) but petroleum was especially 

important with sales 20 percent larger 

than the combined feed and fertilizer 

amounts. With the large price increase 

of petroleum, its share of farm supply 

sales increased from 27 percent in 1997 

to 42 percent in 2006. The combination 

of petroleum, feed, and fertilizer sales 

accounted for 76 percent of cooperatives’ 

total farm supply sales in 2006 and 72 

percent in 1997. In 2006, the sales of all 

farm supplies increased except crop protectants which stayed the same as 2005 at 

$3.0 billion. 

Net marketing of farm products totaled 

$78 billion in 1997—$8 billion higher 

than the sales of $70 billion in 2006. 

Higher dairy sales and lower grain and 

oilseed sales about cancel each other 

but livestock and fruits and vegetable 

sales account for a drop in sales of 

$7.5 billion over the last decade. Farm 

supply sales have been about $23 to 

$25 billion each year until 2004 when 

petroleum prices started to increase. 

Service receipts (includes other income 

and revenue) increased from $3.6 billion 

in 1997 to $4.1 billion in 2006, equaling 

the record of $4.1 billion in 2003.

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 $13.6 billion and $13 billion, respectively, followed by Iowa with 

$12.2 billion in gross business and $11.2 

billion in net business volume.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet of a cooperative 

states its financial position at the end 

of a 12-month fiscal year. The balance 

sheet represents the cooperative’s assets, 

liabilities, member equity, and their mutual relationship. Combined assets for all 

farmer cooperatives totaled $47.8 billion 

in 2006, $1.3 billion higher than 2005 

(Table 8). Total assets of cooperatives, 

Figure 8—Relative Importance of Farm Products

 Marketed by Cooperatives, 2006

Poultry

2.0%

Milk & Milk

Products

38.9%

Rice

1.5%

Grain & Oilseed

30.3%

Tobacco

0.2%

Cotton

3.0%

Other Marketing

6.3%

Sugar

3.7%

Nut

1.1%

Fruit & Vegetable

8.2%

Livestock

4.6%

Percentages are based on a total net marketing business volume of $70.4 billion. 1 Includes wool and mohair, dry beans and peas, fish, and other product marketing.

1

Figure 7—Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume,

 Actual and Adjusted, 1997-2006 

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

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

Billion dollars

Actual

Real

1

Figure 6—Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives

 and Volume, by Size, 2006

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Gross Business Volume (Million dollars)

Percent

Cooperatives Dollar Volume

Less than 5.0 5 - 9.9 10 - 14.9 15 - 99.9 100 - 499.9 500 and more
14 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

excluding inter-cooperative investments, increased by 

$2 billion to $44 billion. Cooperatives’ total assets grew 

from $44 billion in 1997 to $48 billion in 2006 (Appendix Fable 5 and Figure 12), mainly through growth 

in their own operations as investments in other cooperatives has been trending downwards. In 1997, $4.1 billion 

(9 percent of total assets) was invested in other cooperatives, including CoBank and this investment peaked at 

$5.5 billion in 2002. In 2006, these investments were 

$3.5 billion, down $0.6 billion from 1997, and at 7 percent of total assets, two points lower than a decade ago. 

Of the $48 billion in total assets, marketing cooperatives accounted for $30 billion, up $1 billion from 2005. 

Dairy cooperatives had about $9.5 billion in assets and 

grain and oilseed cooperatives had about $8.7 billion in 

assets, more than double the 

assets of any other type of 

marketing cooperative but 

only about half of the more 

than $16.7 billion assets of 

farm supply cooperatives. 

Table 9 compares common-size balance sheets for 

five sizes of cooperatives 

(for all types and sizes, see 

Appendix Table 6). Common-size balance sheets 

present all accounts as a percent of total assets, which 

allows comparison between 

cooperatives. 

Current assets

Current assets are generally comprised of cash and cash 

equivalents, accounts and notes 

(with short-term maturities) 

receivable, inventories, prepaid 

expenses. Current assets for all 

cooperative sizes was about 50 

percent or more for all sizes of 

cooperatives, down from at least 

53 percent in 2005.

Investments and other assets

Investments were most often in 

other cooperatives and CoBank, 

while other assets is a catchall account in this study and, 

as imagined, contained a wide 

variety of items. Investments and 

other assets ranged from 11 percent for small cooperatives down to 5 percent for large cooperatives. Investments were larger for farm supply cooperatives than 

most marketing cooperatives. All but the largest farm 

supply cooperatives generally purchase their farm inputs 

from regional farm supply cooperatives, hence the large 

investments in other cooperatives. Small dairy cooperatives, large fresh fruit and vegetable cooperatives and 

large livestock marketing cooperatives all had investments less than 4 percent. 

Property, plant, and equipment

Net property, plant, and equipment (net PP&E) are 

tangible assets used in the cooperative’s operations. 

By size, PP&E had little range, usually it was between 

Figure 9—Relative Importance of Farm Supplies Handled by Cooperatives, 2006

Percentages are based on a total net farm supply business volume of $35.9 billion. 1 Includes building materials, tires, batteries and accessories, equipment, animal health products, pet food, semen, hardware, food, clothing, and

other.

1

Figure 10—Cooperatives’ Net Sales of Selected Commodities, 1997-2006

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Grains & Oilseeds

Livestock 

Billion dollars

Milk & Milk Products

Fruits & Vegetables
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 15

26 and 28 percent of total 

assets. Large fish marketing cooperatives only had 

PP&E of 7 percent. Ethanol 

cooperatives, large sugar 

cooperatives, small cotton 

ginning cooperatives, and 

service cooperatives all had 

PP&E of at least 40 percent 

of their assets. 

Current liabilities

Current liabilities are 

all obligations that will be 

paid with the use of current 

assets and will probably be 

paid within one year. Current liabilities are comprised 

of notes payable to banks 

and/or other trade creditors, accounts payable, current 

maturities of long-term debt, income taxes, other accrued 

liabilities (payroll, property taxes, interest and other), 

patronage dividends payable, and miscellaneous or other 

current liabilities. Current liabilities by cooperative size 

were at least 33 percent of total assets and grew to 43 

percent for larger cooperatives. Product marketing cooperatives tended to have higher levels of current liabilities 

than farm supply cooperatives. 

Total liabilities

Total liabilities includes current liabilities plus longterm debt. In the aggregate, all types and sizes of cooperatives had some long-term debt. The first four sizes of 

cooperatives in Table 9 all had about 10 percent of their 

assets financed through long-term debt. The very largest 

cooperatives used the most debt, financing 13 percent of 

their assets. Total liabilities were $28 billion, up $1 billion from 2005 (Table 10). Cooperatives’ total liabilities 

grew from $25 billion in 1997 to $28 billion in 2006 but 

continued to remain just below 60 percent of total assets.

Allocated (or member) equities

Comparing allocated equities to total assets determines the percent of the cooperative’s assets owned by 

members. Allocated equity comprised about a third of 

ownership of all sizes of cooperatives. The very largest 

had both the smallest percentage of retained earnings 

and overall equity. 

Net worth, or member and patron equity, was $20 

billion, up about $0.5 billion 

from 2005. The proportion of 

total assets financed by member 

and patron equity was 42 percent, virtually unchanged from 

2005. Net worth for all marketing 

cooperatives totaled $11.5 billion, 

up $0.5 billion from 2005. Marketing cooperatives accounted for 

58 percent of farmer cooperatives’ 

combined net worth, the same as 

2005. Net worth for farm supply 

cooperatives totaled almost $8 

billion and was 38 percent of the 

total. For marketing cooperatives, 

the highest percentage of total 

assets represented by net worth 

shown in Figure 13 (57 percent) 

Figure 11—Cooperatives’ Net Sales of Selected Farm Supplies, 1997-2006

0

5

10

15

20

Fertilizer

Seed 

Billion dollars

Petroleum

Crop

Protectants

Feed

Figure 12—Cooperatives’ Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, 1997-2006

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Billion dollars

Liabilities

Net Worth

Assets
16 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

was for other marketing cooperatives. The lowest, 26 

percent, was for cooperatives marketing livestock and 

poultry. 

Income Statement

The income statement shows the net results of a cooperative’s operations. Because most managers’ performance is judged by net income, members attach great 

importance to the income statement. Table 9 presents a 

common-size income statement for all cooperatives by 

five different sizes. Each item in a common-size income statement is represented as a percent of total sales. 

Common-size income statements by cooperative type 

and size are presented in Appendix Table 6.

Total (net) sales

Total (net) sales are all sales less discounts and 

returns and allowances from gross sales. Service cooperatives do not have a total sales value: the first income 

statement item for these cooperatives is service. 

Cost of goods sold (COGS)

COGS includes the beginning inventory plus purchases and freight costs, minus purchase returns and allowances, purchase discounts, and ending inventory. COGS, 

therefore, was the purchase price of the farm supplies 

sold or products marketed. For all sizes of cooperatives, 

COGS was at least 85 percent of net sales. COGS can 

be much lower for cooperatives that process products 

or provide technical services. Artificial insemination 

cooperatives, processed fruit and vegetable cooperatives, 

and larger sugar cooperatives have a lower COGS. Grain 

and oilseed cooperatives have a COGS in excess of 90 

percent while large livestock marketing cooperatives that 

operate mainly as auctions have a COGS of 99 percent.

Gross Margins 

The excess of net sales over the cost of goods sold 

is the gross margin or gross margin percentage, and it 

is an important operating ratio. A small change in the 

gross margin can tremendously impact income from own 

operations. A cooperative manager must maintain a gross 

margin near industry averages. Thus, least cost sources 

of supplies need to be developed and marketing cooperatives need to pay market rates on the products they 

purchase.

Cooperatives are often characterized as businesses 

that provide goods and services “at cost.” However, a cooperative cannot operate at cost on a daily basis. Cooperatives need adequate gross margins to be profitable and 

afford to finance essential future-directed discretionary 

expenditures, such as expansion and advertising. 

Table 4–Cooperatives’ number of full-time 

employees, 2006-2001 

 

Commodity 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

 

Thousands

Cotton 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.9 2.0 1.8

Dairy 22.9 24.4 24.0 23.4 23.7 20.7

Fruits and 

 vegetables 13.4 13.5 14.3 18.4 18.7 19.9

Grains and 

 oilseeds 17.4 17.6 17.5 20.4 18.9 19.6

Livestock and 

 poultry 2.4 1.9 20.6 34.4 34.4 35.8

Rice 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.5 2.4

Sugar 6.6 6.8 7.1 4.9 4.5 4.4

Other marketing 7.2 7.2 7.8 5.8 6.8 6.3

Total marketing 74.3 75.5 95.3 111.9 111.3 111.0

 

Total farm supply 44.4 46.0 49.7 48.2 50.7 50.6

 

Service 4.7 3.9 4.4 5.0 4.0 4.0

 

Total 123.4 125.4 149.5 165.1 166.1 165.7

Gross margin equals net sales less cost of goods sold, 

so cooperatives with higher COGS had lower gross margins. COGS were about four points higher for the very 

largest cooperatives than the other sizes. As discussed 

earlier in COGS, those cooperatives with low COGS 

would have high gross margins. 

Service and other operating income

This consists of any service these cooperatives provided. Some cooperatives only provide services such as 

rice driers, cotton gins, storage and transportation, grinding (feed), locker plants, pest management and scouting, and other miscellaneous services. Service income 

is important to marketing and farm supply cooperatives: 

they provide hauling, storage, grading, delivery, custom 

application, record keeping and drying, to name some 

of the most common. Other operating income is income 

generated from sales activities and includes income from 

providing financing for sales. 

For service cooperatives, service is 100 percent on 

their income statement. By cooperative size, service 

income is the most important for smaller cooperatives 

(14 percent of sales) and diminishes as size increases to 

cooperatives with over $500 million in sales (1 percent 

of sales). Many of the cotton ginning cooperatives have 

mainly service income and limited sales, hence service 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 17

income ranges from 20 percent to 83 percent of sales for 

these cooperatives. 

Operating expenses

There are only four accounts for expenses in Table 9, 

wages, depreciation, interest, and all other. The wage account includes all employee expenses, some of which are 

salaries and wages, payroll taxes, employee insurance, 

unemployment compensation, and pension expense. The 

all other account would include administrative expenses 

(which are overhead costs associated with a cooperative 

and indirectly related to revenue production) such as professional services, office supplies, telephone, meetings 

and travel, donations, dues and subscriptions, directors’ 

fees and expense, and annual meetings. The all other 

account would also include general expenses (which are 

directly related to revenue production) such as advertising and promotion, delivery (auto and truck), insurance, 

property, business and other taxes and licenses, rent and 

lease expenses, plant supplies and repairs, repairs and 

maintenance, utilities, miscellaneous, bad debts and 

other. 

Wage expenses were the highest for smaller cooperatives and fell as cooperative size increased from 12 percent for the smallest cooperatives to 4 percent for the largest. 

Wage expenses were higher for 

service cooperatives as they are 

generally small and lack other 

sales to spread out wage costs. 

Artificial insemination cooperatives had wage expenses that 

were 36 percent of sales and 

other service cooperatives averaged 22 percent of sales. Larger 

livestock marketing (auctions) 

had wage expenses averaging 

1 percent of sales and ethanol 

cooperatives averaged 2 percent.

 Depreciation expenses did 

not change much with cooperative size; their range was just 

over one, ranging from 2 percent 

for the smallest cooperatives to 

1 percent for the largest. Ethanol 

cooperatives have newer PP&E 

and a lot of undepreciated costs, 

so have some of the highest depreciation expenses (4 percent) 

relative to sales. Larger livestock 

cooperatives had little PP&E so 

depreciation expenses were low 

(less than 0.15 percent).

Interest expenses were relatively minor for all sizes 

of cooperatives, comprising less than 1 percent of total 

sales. Other expenses fell as cooperatives grew larger. 

However, there are many different accounts that could 

be included in this other expense category. Also included 

in other expenses were wages, depreciation, and interest 

for the few cooperatives that did not break out individual 

expenses on the survey or in their annual report. As a 

result, other expenses could be larger than expected. 

Income from own operations

This is gross margins minus total expenses but before 

taxes and patronage refunds from other cooperatives, so 

it is income generated by the cooperatives own operations. Income from own operations for all cooperatives 

in 2006 was $2.7 billion, excluding inter-cooperative 

dividends and refunds (Table 11). 

Income from own operations as a percent of net sales 

was about 2 percent for all cooperatives by size (Table 

9). Most service cooperatives, rice drier, hulling, artificial insemination, cotton ginning and ethanol cooperatives had high income from own operations. Dairy cooperatives, rice marketing and larger livestock marketing 

had low income from own operations.

Table 5–Full-time and part-time and seasonal employees of 

farmer cooperatives, by cooperative type, 2006-20051

 

Principal product(s) Total Part-time & 

marketed employees Full-time seasonal

or major function 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005

 

Products marketed Thousands 

Cotton 2.0 2.2 1.7 1.8 0.3 0.4

Dairy 25.9 25.8 22.9 24.4 2.9 1.4

Fruit and vegetable 32.8 31.2 13.4 13.5 19.3 17.7

Grain and oilseed2 23.2 23.3 17.4 17.6 5.8 5.7

Livestock and poultry 3.5 3.1 2.4 1.9 1.2 1.2

Rice 2.7 3.0 2.6 2.4 0.1 0.5

Sugar 10.1 10.2 6.6 6.8 3.5 3.4

Other marketing3 10.4 10.5 7.2 7.2 3.1 3.4

Marketing 110.6 109.2 74.3 75.5 36.3 33.7

 

Farm supply 58.8 60.7 44.4 46.0 14.4 14.7

Service 11.3 10.0 4.7 3.9 6.6 6.1

 

Total 180.7 179.9 123.4 125.4 57.3 54.4

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 product marketing cooperatives.
18 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Patronage income

Refunds received or income from other cooperatives 

resulted from business cooperatives generated with other 

cooperatives, generally regionals or CoBank, a cooperative bank. The patronage refund from regionals was 

based on business volume and consisted of cash refunds 

and equity stock. Stock was usually revolved back to 

the local cooperative on a set schedule. Many cooperatives that borrowed funds from CoBank received both 

cash and noncash patronage 

income. The noncash patronage from CoBank was 

from investing in the bank, 

which was usually required 

in proportion to the funds 

borrowed.

Patronage refunds received from other cooperatives, including CoBank, 

totaled $498 million, up (24 

percent) from $401 million 

in 2005 (Appendix Figure 

6). In 1997, refunds from 

other cooperatives totaled 

$757 million, or 33 percent 

of total net income. In 

2006, refunds had fallen 

to 16 percent of total net 

income.

Patronage refunds 

were a little more than 1 

percent of sales for the 

smallest cooperatives 

and fell to 0.2 percent 

for the largest (Table 9). 

Smaller cotton ginning 

cooperatives had patronage refunds equal to 5 

percent of sales. Livestock marketing, poultry 

marketing, tobacco marketing, wool marketing 

and service cooperatives 

had virtually no patronage refunds. 

Non-operating income

This is income not 

generated by sales. It 

could be interest from 

investments. It also 

could come from the 

sale of property, plant, 

and equipment, rentals, and extraordinary items. Sometimes property, plant, and equipment were sold to generate income, but usually they are fully depreciated. When 

sold, if the market value was greater than the book value, 

income is generated. In some cases, disposal of a fully 

depreciated asset may mean a loss. Rental income from 

unused facilities or equipment provided income flows. 

Extraordinary items might be either a gain or a loss. A 

gain could result from a fire loss where the insurance 

 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 1,048 39.2 1,722 1.4 340 13.2

 5 - 9.9 440 16.4 2,917 2.4 269 10.5

 10 - 14.9 264 9.9 2,871 2.3 143 5.6

 15 - 24.9 268 10.0 4,951 4.0 232 9.0

 25 - 49.9 280 10.5 9,060 7.4 309 12.0

 50 - 99.9 160 6.0 10,628 8.7 211 8.2

 100 - 199.9 133 5.0 11,193 9.1 415 16.2

 200 - 499.9 47 1.8 13,964 11.4 87 3.4

 500 - 999.9 16 0.6 10,750 8.8 119 4.6

1,000 and more 19 0.7 54,297 44.4 444 17.3

Total4 2,675 100.0 122,352 100.0 2,570 100.0

 

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 13—Percentage of Assets Financed by Net Worth, by Cooperative Type, 2006

Service

Rice

Farm Supply

Cotton

Sugar

Grain & Oilseed

Dairy

Fruit & Vegetable

Livestock & Poultry

1

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

Percent

Other marketing 1

Table 6–Farmer cooperatives and memberships, by gross business 

volume, 20061
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 19

Table 7–Cooperatives’ gross and net business volumes by commodity, 2006 & 20051

 

Commodity Gross volume Net volume

2006 2005 2006 2005 

Products marketed: Billion $ 

Beans and peas 

 (dry edible) .115 .065 .110 .061

Cotton 3.493 3.522 2.126 3.411

Dairy 29.029 31.001 27.414 28.163

Fruits and 

 vegetables 7.188 7.598 5.791 7.258

Grains and 

 oilseeds2 21.701 22.981 21.358 22.977

Livestock 3.388 2.322 3.270 2.297

Nuts .804 .781 .804 .771

Poultry3 1.378 1.154 1.378 1.140

Rice 1.066 1.036 1.066 .856

Sugar 3.735 3.516 2.628 3.357

Tobacco .157 .153 .157 .153

Wool and 

 mohair .003 .005 .003 .005

Other 

 marketing4 4.422 3.890 4.336 3.703

Total farm 

 products 76.480 78.024 70.441 74.152

 

Supplies purchased: 

Crop protectants 3.345 3.317 3.025 2.952

Feed 7.261 7.022 6.330 5.381

Fertilizer 6.605 6.417 5.930 5.370

Petroleum 21.773 16.308 15.172 9.799

Seed 2.351 2.069 1.499 1.252

Other supplies5 4.537 4.169 3.965 3.672

Total farm 

 supplies 45.872 39.302 35.922 28.426

 

Services and 

 other income6 4.118 4.330 4.118 4.330

Total business 126.470 121.657 110.482 106.909

 

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. Services include 

charges related to marketing or purchasing, but not included in 

the volume reported for those activities, plus other income and 

extraordinary items.

settlement was greater than the book value. A loss might 

occur from flood damage for which the cooperative had 

no coverage. 

For all sizes of cooperatives, non-operating income 

averaged less than 0.3 percent of sales.

Net income before taxes

Net income before taxes was a record $3.2 billion, an 

increase of 24 percent from the $2.5 billion in 2003. Net 

income was $2.3 billion in 1997, $0.9 billion less than 

the record in 2006 (Appendix Table 7 and Figure 14). 

Marketing cooperatives’ total net income of $1.5 billion was up 8 percent from the $1.4 billion generated in 

2005. Fruit and vegetable cooperatives increased their 

net incomes $100 million, the most of any marketing 

cooperative. 

Total net income of farm supply cooperatives was 

$1.5 billion in 2006, up 46 percent from $1.0 billion 

in 2005 (Figure 15). They accounted for 47 percent of 

cooperatives’ total net income in 2006, compared with 

40 percent in 2005 (Appendix Figure 7). 

Losses totaled $82 million in 2006, a 50-percent 

increase over the $54 million in losses in 2005. Dairy 

cooperatives had over a third of the losses ($28 million, Appendix Figure 8). The number of cooperatives 

with losses was up from 242 to 263, or an increase of 8 

percent. 

Income Taxes

Cooperatives paid income taxes on earnings not 

allocated to members (retained earnings) and on dividend payments. The individual cooperative’s board 

determined what amounts of income were allocated to 

retained earnings and to members. Nonmember business 

has an impact on retained earnings because cooperatives can allocate the earnings to nonmembers or retain 

the income. By size, all cooperatives paid less than 0.28 

percent of sales as income taxes. 

Net Income

Net income after taxes (income from own operations plus patronage refunds and non-operating income 

minus taxes) was the highest for smaller cooperatives (4 

percent) but fell to less than 2 percent for cooperatives 

with sales of $100 million to $500 million. The largest 

cooperatives averaged net incomes after taxes of 2.4 
20 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

percent of sales. Hulling, rice drier, ethanol marketing, 

cotton ginning and artificial insemination cooperatives 

all had higher than average net incomes while dairy and 

rice cooperatives had lower levels of net income relative 

to sales. 

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.

Nine financial ratios were 

used to measure cooperative performance or financial 

conditionthe current ratio, debt 

to asset, debt to equity, times 

interest earned, total asset turnover, fixed asset turnover, gross 

profit margin, return on assets 

and return on member equity. 

Liquidity Ratio

The current ratio is a liquidity ratioa measure of the cooperative’s ability to meet shortterm obligations. It focuses 

on the cooperative’s ability to 

remain solvent. The current 

ratio is current assets divided 

by current liabilities. However, 

this ratio does not consider the 

degree of liquidity of each of the 

current asset components. If the 

current assets of a cooperative 

were mainly cash, they would 

be much more liquid than if 

comprised of mainly inventory.

If the ratio is less than one, 

current liabilities exceed current 

assets and the cooperative’s 

liquidity is threatened. Improvements can be achieved by 

selling additional capital stock, 

borrowing additional long-term 

debt, or disposing of unproductive fixed assets and retaining 

proceeds. Current liabilities may 

also be reduced by retaining a 

greater portion of allocated savings (reducing the cash portion). 

 A high current ratio is a favorable condition 

financially because it indicates the ability to pay current liabilities from the conversion of current assets 

into cash. Operationally, this same high ratio tends 

to increase operating freedom and reduce the probability of bill-paying difficulty from write-downs of 

accounts receivable or inventory. The current ratios of 

five sizes of cooperatives are shown in Table 9 (for all 

types and sizes, see Appendix Table 6). By size, the 

ratio is always less than 1.5 meaning current assets 

exceed current liabilities by 1.5 times. If needed, these 

current assets could be sold to cover all short-term 

Table 8–Combined assets for farmer cooperatives, 20061

Principal product(s) Assets Investments Investments in

marketed and of own in other Total other co-ops as 

 major function Co-ops2 operations co-ops3 assets percent of total

Products No. Billion $ Percent

 marketed

Cotton 13 .949 .028 .977 2.9

Dairy 172 9.343 .219 9.562 2.3

Fruits and 

 vegetables 167 3.839 .106 3.944 2.7

Grains and 

 oilseeds4 642 7.833 .881 8.714 10.1

Livestock and 

 poultry 60 .560 .016 .576 2.8

Rice 15 .532 .003 .535 0.5

Sugar 38 2.448 .096 2.544 3.8

Other 

 marketing5 173 2.779 .052 2.831 1.8

Total 

 marketing 1,280 28.283 1.400 29.682 4.7

 

Total farm 

 supply 1,090 14.763 2.015 16.778 12.0

 

Service 305 1.314 .108 1.422 7.6

Total 2,675 44.359 3.522 47.882 7.4

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 product 

marketing.
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 21

Table 9–Common size analysis by cooperative size, 2006

Cooperative sales size < $5 From $5 to From $15 to From $100 to > $500 

 million $15 million $100 million $500 million million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 49.80 55.90 57.53 58.68 51.63

Other assets 13.43 5.50 3.81 5.76 17.56

Investments 10.37 10.94 11.18 7.28 4.79

PP&E (net) 26.32 27.65 27.47 28.28 26.02

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 33.24 38.88 43.99 42.50 38.39

Total liabilities 43.44 48.11 54.15 61.08 61.45

Allocated equity 40.26 33.91 28.69 26.35 31.04

Retained earnings 16.16 17.98 17.08 12.57 7.51

Total equity 56.48 51.89 45.85 38.92 38.55

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of Goods sold 84.97 87.87 87.45 86.28 90.39

Gross margin 15.03 12.13 12.56 13.72 9.61

 

Service and other income 14.47 7.69 4.53 3.39 1.04

Gross revenue 29.50 19.78 17.08 17.10 10.65

Expenses

Wages 11.80 8.26 6.61 6.54 3.94

Depreciation 2.14 1.71 1.57 1.43 0.96

Interest 0.80 0.71 0.81 0.96 0.55

Other 12.00 7.30 5.88 6.81 3.15

Total expenses 26.68 17.98 14.87 15.74 8.59

 

Income from own operations 2.62 1.79 2.21 1.36 2.06

Patronage income 1.04 0.78 0.74 0.43 0.22

Non-operating income 0.23 0.26 0.26 0.29 0.20

Net income before taxes 4.30 2.85 3.21 2.07 2.48

Taxes 0.12 0.11 0.24 0.27 0.08

Net income 3.97 2.73 2.97 1.81 2.39

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.50 1.44 1.31 1.38 1.34

 

Debt to asset 0.44 0.48 0.54 0.61 0.61

Debt to equity 0.77 0.93 1.18 1.57 1.59

Times interest earned 6.39 4.98 4.98 3.15 5.53

Total asset turnover 1.41 1.98 2.19 2.40 2.96

Fixed asset turnover 5.36 7.16 7.98 8.47 11.37

 

Gross profit margin 15.03 12.13 12.56 13.72 9.61

Return on assets 7.20 7.05 8.80 7.26 8.94

Return on member equity 13.92 15.97 22.65 16.48 22.78
22 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

liabilities and the cooperative would still have some 

liquid assets left. By type, the current ratio exceeds two 

for tobacco marketing cooperatives, small transportation 

cooperatives and storage cooperatives. 

Leverage ratios 

Leverage or debt-to-asset ratios look at the long-term 

solvency of the cooperative and help analyze the use of 

debt and the ability to meet obligations in times of crisis. 

Debt to asset ratio is defined as total debt divided by 

total assets. Elements include long-term debt plus shortterm debt and total assets. Generally, larger cooperatives 

relied on the use of more debt financing. Reducing debt, 

increasing savings, or financing a greater portion of assets with working capital may improve this ratio. 

Debt financing was used for about half of assets 

owned by cooperatives up to $100 million in sales and 

rose to 61 percent for the largest cooperatives. Service 

cooperatives (except hulling) and tobacco marketing 

cooperatives had the lowest use of debt financing. 

Debt to equity ratio is calculated by dividing debt by 

total member equity. This ratio shows the financial flexibility and the long-term capital structure of the cooperative. High ratios indicate inadequate borrowing power. 

A low ratio is more favorable and financially makes 

the cooperative more independent of outside sources of 

funds, because there is owners’ equity available. A low 

ratio may indicate low return on equity. Operationally, a 

low ratio tends to reduce interest cost. Improvement may 

be gained by disposing of unproductive assets and using 

proceeds to liquidate debt, or accelerating payments on 

Table 10–Combined balance sheet data for 

farmer cooperatives, 20061

Principal product(s) 

marketed and Total Total Net 

major function Co-ops assets liabilities worth 

 

Products 

marketed: No. Billion dollars

Cotton 13 .98 .56 .41

Dairy 172 9.56 6.19 3.37

Fruits and 

 vegetables 167 3.94 2.58 1.37

Grains and 

 oilseeds2 642 8.71 5.35 3.36

Livestock and 

 poultry 60 .58 .42 .15

Rice 15 .53 .26 .28

Sugar 38 2.54 1.53 1.01

Other 

 marketing3 173 2.83 1.22 1.61

Total marketing 1,280 29.68 18.12 11.56

 

Total farm supply 1,090 16.78 9.18 7.60

 

Service 305 1.42 .65 .77

Total 2,675 47.88 27.95 19.93

 

 

1

 Totals may not add due to rounding.

2

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

farm supplies (feed).

3

 Includes dry edible beans and peas, fish, nuts, tobacco, wool, 

cottonseed, and other product marketing.

Table 11–Farmer cooperatives’ net income 

before taxes, 20061

 

Principal product(s) Income Patronmarketed and from own age

major before opera- infunction Co-ops2 taxes tions come3

Products No. Million dollars

marketed:

Cotton 13 101.5 100.2 1.4

Dairy 172 295.5 225.0 70.4

Fruits and 

 vegetables 167 295.1 289.0 6.2

Grains and 

 oilseeds4 642 374.3 253.8 120.5

Livestock and 

 poultry 60 18.2 17.4 .9

Rice 15 2.3 2.0 .3

Sugar 38 110.3 108.0 2.3

Other 

 marketing5 173 297.6 293.8 3.7

Total 

 marketing 1,280 1,494.8 1,289.2 205.6

 

Total farm 

 supply 1,090 1,483.7 1,210.1 273.6

 

Service 305 184.1 165.8 18.3

Total 2,675 3,162.7 2,665.1 497.5

 

1

 Adjusted for losses and before taxes. Before tax income used 

in this table because historically, after tax net income was not 

collected. 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 othemarketings while meal is included in 

farm supplies (feed).

5

 Includes dry edible beans and peas, fish, nuts, tobacco, wool, 

and other product marketing.
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 23

long-term loans. Other ways include increasing local 

equity by generating higher levels of Income from own 

operations, slowing down equity retirement programs, 

selling additional capital stock, or retaining more allocated savings.

As cooperatives’ size grew, so did their use of debt. 

The ratio was 0.8 for the smallest cooperatives and it 

grew to 1.6 for the largest. Service cooperatives had the 

lowest ratio. 

Times interest earned ratio is the number of times 

interest expense is covered by earnings. It is calculated 

by dividing earnings before interest and taxes by interest 

expense. A ratio of 1.0 or more 

indicates the ability of current 

earnings to pay current interest 

expenses. Lending institutions 

are more apt to loan to cooperatives whose times interest earned 

ratio is more than 1.0 because it 

shows their ability to pay interest payments. Subsequently, a 

lending institution may lend funds 

at lower rates more readily for 

capital improvements. 

Collecting old receivables, 

improving inventory turnover, 

disposing of assets and reducing 

debt with proceeds, or reducing 

debt with working capital, may 

improve this ratio. Financially, 

a high ratio affects the return on 

equity and tends to increase it. 

Operationally, a high ratio reduces 

interest cost.

 Interest coverage was between three 

and six for all sizes of cooperatives. Some 

especially high values were calculated by 

cooperative type but these values could 

be influenced by a number of the cooperatives in any particular type not breaking 

out interest expenses in their surveys or on 

their annual reports. Cotton ginning and 

service cooperatives had the highest ratios.

Activity ratios

These ratios measure how well cooperatives use assets. A low ratio could mean 

that the cooperative was overcapitalized or 

carrying too much inventory.

Total asset turnover ratio was found 

by dividing sales by total assets. A high 

ratio favorably influences finances through 

the reduction of financial leverage and/

or increased return on equity. A high ratio operationally 

tends to reduce interest costs. The ratio grew from 1.4 to 

3 as cooperatives were larger. Dairy cooperatives (except 

the largest and smallest) have a high total asset turnover 

ratio.

Fixed asset turnover ratio represents sales divided by 

net PP&E. This ratio is similar to the total-asset turnover 

ratio and shows how well the cooperative used its fixed 

assets. This ratio by itself might not give a complete picture of the cooperative’s financial health. A cooperative 

with fully depreciated assets would have an artificially 

high ratio. A cooperative that invested heavily in PP&E 

Figure 14—Cooperatives’ Net Income Before Taxes, 1997-2006

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Billion dollars

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

From Own Operations

From Other Cooperatives1

Net Income Before Taxes

Figure 15—Net Income or Loss, by Type of Cooperative, 2006

Rice

Livestock and Poultry

Cotton

Sugar

Service

Fruits and Vegetables 

Dairy

Grains and Oilseeds

Farm Supply

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 product marketing cooperatives.

From Own Operations

From Other Cooperatives1

Other products 2

0 300 600 900 1200 1500
24 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

for future expansion will have a temporarily low ratio.

 The measure for this ratio may or may not show 

favorable or unfavorable conditions, but merely cooperative conditions. An abnormally high ratio usually indicates very old, nearly depreciated fixed assets or the leasing of property and equipment. Financially, a high ratio 

is influenced favorably by increasing asset use, reducing 

financial leverage, and/or increasing return on equity. 

Operationally, it tends to reduce depreciation and interest costs. It may also increase costs related to operating 

leases, personnel and travel, or delivery expenses. This 

ratio may be improved by restricting further investments 

in fixed assets; redesigning production or office facilities to increase the sales- generating potential of existing 

space and equipment; and/or selling idle machinery and 

parts, unused vehicles, and unnecessary equipment.

The fixed asset turnover ratio was between 5.4 and 

11.4 for all sizes of cooperatives. As with the total asset 

turnover ratio, dairy cooperatives all have a high fixed 

asset turnover ratio. 

Profitability ratios

Profitability ratios indicate the efficiency of the cooperative’s operations. Because a cooperative is owned by 

its user-members, many common industry profitability 

ratios have little meaning. For instance, profitability 

ratios measuring the return on common or preferred 

stock of similar investor-oriented firms are not appropriate because there is seldom an open market for cooperative stock. Gross profit margin, a profitability ratio, was 

discussed in the income statement so will not be reexamined in this section. 

Return on assets measures the rate of return on total 

investment. It is determined by dividing net income by 

total assets and usually calculated before interest and 

taxes. This ratio is a measure of performance. It is not 

sensitive to the leverage position of the cooperative. Although some assets were financed through debt, the ratio 

measures return to both members and lenders. 

Operationally, a high ratio tends to reduce interest 

cost and financially indicates a comparatively high rate 

of return on assets employed. This ratio rose from seven 

for the smallest cooperatives to almost nine for cooperatives with sales of $15 million to $100 million and then 

fell to 7.3 for cooperatives with $100 million to $500 

million in sales before rising to 8.9 for the largest cooperatives. It is high for cotton ginning cooperatives and 

especially high for those cooperatives identified earlier 

with high net incomes as a percentage of sales (hulling 

cooperatives and ethanol cooperatives).

Return on member equity is net income divided by 

allocated equity. It represents members’ investment in 

their cooperative and is an important measure of profitability. This ratio is sensitive to the amount of debt 

capital in the cooperative and is best used in conjunction 

with other measures such as the return on assets. Financially, a high ratio is favorable and tends to decrease 

financial leverage. However, a high ratio may also be 

a symptom of insufficient investment. Operationally, a 

high ratio tends to reduce interest cost over time but may 

occur when both total debt and interest costs are high. 

By size, the highest return on member equity was almost 

23 percent for cooperatives with $15 million to $100 

million in sales and those with sales greater than $500 

million. Cotton ginning cooperatives, hulling cooperatives and ethanol cooperatives have very high returns on 

member equity. 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 25

APPENDIX TABLES

Appendix Table 1–Number of cooperatives by major business activity, 2006-1997 

 

Major business activity 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 

Products marketed: Number

Bean and pea (dry edible) 6 6 6 8 8 9 8 8 8 8

Cotton 13 14 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 16

Dairy 172 193 195 197 198 204 208 221 228 236

Fruits and vegetables 167 188 196 207 212 220 232 231 249 259

Grain and oilseed1 642 683 711 772 769 789 826 896 964 1,014

Livestock 48 59 63 67 66 70 74 81 80 88

Nuts 17 17 18 17 18 18 18 18 18 18

Poultry2 12 14 17 19 19 19 19 15 18 20

Rice 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 17 17 18

Sugar3 38 47 44 48 48 48 48 48 52 51

Tobacco 15 19 19 21 22 24 25 25 26 26

Wool and mohair 61 71 74 76 78 80 83 84 91 88

Other marketing 74 86 89 90 92 96 101 90 97 99

Total farm products 1,280 1,412 1,460 1,551 1,559 1,606 1,672 1,749 1,863 1,941

 

Total farm supplies 1,090 1,128 1,161 1,156 1,201 1,234 1,277 1,313 1,347 1,386

 

Total related services 305 356 362 379 380 389 397 404 441 464

Total business 2,675 2,896 2,983 3,086 3,140 3,229 3,346 3,466 3,651 3,791

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.
26 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix Table 2–Cooperative memberships, by major business activity, 2006-1997 

 

Major business activity 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 

Products marketed: Thousands

Bean and pea (dry edible) 1.6 1.7 1.7 2.1 2.2 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9

Cotton 42.7 43.2 43.4 43.4 43.5 45.9 45.4 43.8 41.3 42.7

Dairy 71.4 60.8 71.6 80.8 81.7 91.0 96.9 90.7 92.9 104.9

Fruit and vegetable 28.7 29.8 30.6 32.7 32.5 37.8 41.1 40.9 44.0 44.0

Grain and oilseed1 467.0 479.3 496.1 555.3 542.5 581.5 615.3 657.9 728.7 745.0

Livestock 82.3 82.9 96.0 91.9 94.0 105.3 132.1 137.1 161.5 236.0

Nuts 15.4 15.4 14.6 33.8 35.8 40.1 41.7 43.7 46.0 41.7

Poultry2 0.4 0.4 3.6 26.3 26.1 19.1 29.2 29.2 36.3 34.3

Rice 12.2 12.1 12.1 12.5 12.4 13.9 12.2 11.8 12.9 14.0

Sugar3 11.8 14.8 13.5 13.9 13.9 16.3 15.6 15.7 15.9 13.8

Tobacco 158.6 160.1 161.1 127.4 127.8 165.7 165.9 170.0 172.8 172.9

Wool and mohair 9.8 10.5 11.2 10.9 11.1 12.6 13.0 15.4 17.9 16.7

Other marketing 11.7 21.2 22.6 23.3 25.5 28.0 31.9 23.9 25.3 29.0

Total farm products 913.7 932.2 978.0 1,054.2 1,049.1 1,160.0 1,243.0 1,282.8 1,398.4 1,497.8

 

Total farm supplies 1,522.4 1,538.3 1,599.7 1,590.4 1,637.1 1,745.8 1,717.8 1,731.4 1,773.7 1,743.2

 

Total related services 133.5 101.2 99.6 113.3 107.4 128.1 124.3 159.1 180.6 183.1

Total business 2,569.6 2,571.7 2,677.3 2,758.0 2,793.6 3,033.9 3,085.1 3,173.3 3,352.6 3,424.2

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.
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 27

Appendix Table 3–Cooperatives’ gross business volume, by type of cooperative, 2006-

1997 

Major business activity 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 

Products marketed: Billion $

Beans and peas (dry edible) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2

Cotton 3.5 3.5 3.3 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.2 3.0 3.1

Dairy 29.0 31.0 30.7 26.0 25.9 29.4 25.8 28.5 27.8 26.3

Fruits and vegetables 7.2 7.6 7.7 7.5 8.4 9.7 10.1 10.1 9.9 9.8

Grains and oilseeds 21.7 23.0 24.9 23.6 20.1 22.6 22.9 21.7 25.3 28.8

Livestock 3.4 2.3 3.0 6.8 9.9 9.6 8.0 7.4 7.6 7.5

Nuts 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.9 .9 .9 .7 .9 .9 .9

Poultry 1.4 1.2 3.5 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1

Rice 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .9 .9 .9

Sugar 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.5 2.4 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.4

Tobacco 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 .2 .4 .6 .3 .3 .6

Wool and mohair 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Other marketing 4.4 3.9 3.6 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.3

Total farm marketing 76.5 78.0 82.7 77.2 76.6 84.0 80.4 80.5 84.5 85.9

 

Supplies purchased: 

Crop protectants 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.6 4.0 3.8 4.1 4.4

Feed 7.3 7.0 7.2 7.2 6.7 5.5 6.6 6.4 7.2 8.1

Fertilizer 6.6 6.4 6.1 6.5 5.2 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.8 8.9

Petroleum 21.8 16.3 14.6 12.8 11.4 14.1 13.3 8.1 8.8 10.6

Seed 2.4 2.1 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.0 .9

Other supplies 4.5 4.2 3.9 4.0 3.6 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.2

Total farm supplies 45.9 39.3 37.0 35.5 31.5 36.1 36.8 30.9 33.0 37.1

 

Services and other income 4.1 4.3 3.7 4.1 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.5 3.6

Total business 126.5 121.7 123.4 116.9 111.6 123.6 120.7 115.3 121.0 126.7 
28 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix Table 4–Cooperatives’ net business volume, by type of cooperative, 2006-1997 

 

Major business activity 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 

Products marketed: Billion $

Beans and peas (dry edible) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2

Cotton 2.1 3.4 3.2 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.1 3.0 3.0

Dairy 27.4 28.2 29.1 23.5 23.0 26.2 22.7 26.0 25.3 23.4

Fruits and vegetables 5.8 7.3 6.2 6.9 7.3 8.8 9.6 9.3 9.4 9.3

Grains and oilseeds 21.4 23.0 24.0 20.6 17.5 18.1 18.4 17.1 21.3 24.6

Livestock 3.3 2.3 2.3 6.8 9.9 9.6 8.0 7.3 7.4 7.5

Nuts 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.9

Poultry 1.4 1.1 3.4 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1

Rice 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9

Sugar 2.6 3.4 3.5 3.5 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.4 2.3

Tobacco 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.6

Wool and mohair 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other marketing 4.3 3.7 3.4 2.5 2.6 2.9 3.6 3.1 3.3 3.1

Total farm products 70.4 74.2 77.2 71.0 69.7 75.0 72.1 72.0 76.6 77.8

Supplies sold: 

Crop protectants 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.1

Feed 6.3 5.4 5.1 5.9 5.4 4.0 4.7 4.7 5.4 6.0

Fertilizer 5.9 5.4 5.1 4.6 4.3 5.0 4.6 4.8 5.2 5.4

Petroleum 15.2 9.8 8.9 7.5 7.2 8.4 7.5 6.3 6.6 6.8

Seed 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7

Other supplies 4.0 3.7 3.4 3.5 3.0 3.3 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.2

Total farm supplies 35.9 28.4 27.0 25.5 23.7 24.8 24.1 23.2 24.6 25.2

 

Services and other income 4.1 3.9 3.7 4.1 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.5 3.6

Total business 110.5 106.5 107.9 100.6 96.8 103.3 99.7 99.1 104.7 106.7 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 29

 Assets Investments 

 from own in other Total Total Net 

Year operations cooperatives1 assets liabilities worth 

 Billion dollars

1997 39.922 4.074 43.996 25.459 18.537

1998 41.884 4.676 46.560 26.606 19.954

1999 42.330 5.352 47.682 27.418 20.263

2000 44.635 5.087 49.722 29.447 20.275

2001 43.285 5.180 48.465 28.317 20.148

2002 41.947 5.539 47.486 27.883 19.602

2003 42.864 4.058 46.922 26.493 20.429

2004 42.356 4.797 47.153 26.766 20.386

2005 42.241 4.337 46.578 27.048 19.530

2006 44.369 3.522 47.892 27.960 19.931

 

 Percent of total assets 

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

2004 89.8 10.2 100.0 56.8 43.2

2005 90.7 9.3 100.0 58.1 41.9

2006 92.6 7.4 100.0 58.4 41.6

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

Appendix Table 5–Combined balance sheet data for farmer cooperatives, 1997-2006
30 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Type of cooperative Artificial Cotton Cotton

 insemination marketing services

Cooperative sales size > $15 < $15 > $50 < $50 

million million million million all sizes

Balance sheet Percent of total assets 

Current assets 54.45 61.82 70.11 65.02 79.39

Other assets 15.81 14.59 3.86 3.34 3.42

Investments 3.49 9.69 2.98 1.45 2.23

PP&E (net) 26.25 13.90 23.05 30.19 14.96

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 27.57 23.15 48.54 45.89 52.17

Total liabilities 33.48 25.08 57.56 57.21 61.26

Allocated equity 49.57 32.71 36.70 24.82 34.72

Retained earnings 16.95 42.21 5.73 17.97 4.02

Total equity 66.52 74.92 42.44 42.79 38.74

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 20.31 31.02 91.85 81.32

Gross margin 79.69 68.98 8.15 19.01

 

Service and other income 6.37 13.37 1.54 1.01 100.00

Gross revenue 86.07 82.35 9.69 20.02 100.00

Expenses

Wages 36.00 44.20 2.20 4.25 21.29

Depreciation 4.47 2.36 0.63 1.24 2.76

Interest 1.14 0.03 0.73 1.17 1.85

Other 37.28 24.63 3.50 6.44 40.75

Total expenses 78.89 71.21 7.07 13.09 66.66

 

Income from own operations 7.17 11.13 2.62 6.93 33.34

Patronage income 0.13 0.72 0.04 0.05 0.09

Non-operating income 0.79 2.41 0.11 0.31 0.43

Net income before taxes 8.10 14.26 2.78 6.96 33.86

Taxes 1.61 1.12 0.01 0.04 0.00

Net income 6.49 13.15 2.76 6.92 33.86 

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.97 2.67 1.44 1.42 1.52

 

Debt to asset 0.33 0.25 0.58 0.57 0.61

Debt to equity 0.50 0.33 1.36 1.34 1.58

Times interest earned 8.10 522.87 4.79 6.95 19.26

Total asset turnover 1.33 1.13 3.57 2.57 0.00

Fixed asset turnover 5.07 8.16 15.47 8.52 0.00

 

Gross profit margin 79.69 68.98 8.15 19.01 0.00

Return on assets 12.31 16.20 12.51 20.89 11.06

Return on member equity 17.45 45.57 26.84 71.67 30.19 

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 31

Type of cooperative Cotton ginning

Cooperative sales size > $15 From $10 to From $5 to From $1 to < $1

million $15 million $10 million $5 million million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 48.06 51.22 36.08 37.87 41.23

Other assets 1.31 1.90 4.07 10.58 15.20

Investments 15.11 14.09 12.98 8.42 0.71

PP&E (net) 35.52 32.79 46.88 43.13 42.86

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 35.14 34.13 29.75 28.88 30.54

Total liabilities 50.03 47.76 46.13 46.24 44.30

Allocated equity 45.47 32.17 42.59 42.99 42.32

Retained earnings 4.50 20.07 11.27 10.77 13.38

Total equity 49.97 52.24 53.87 53.76 55.70

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 90.01 82.26 80.11 82.16 81.07

Gross margin 9.99 17.74 19.89 17.84 18.93

 

Service and other income 20.96 31.96 82.15 53.08 59.81

Gross revenue 30.95 49.70 102.05 70.92 78.74

Expenses

Wages 8.42 12.11 23.33 19.19 28.44

Depreciation 1.66 2.76 7.20 5.72 5.09

Interest 0.63 0.97 1.58 1.69 1.28

Other 11.90 24.35 47.66 37.33 32.07

Total expenses 22.61 40.19 79.77 63.93 66.89

 

Income from own operations 8.33 9.51 22.28 6.99 11.84

Patronage income 1.18 1.88 4.68 6.16 5.34

Non-operating income 0.41 0.96 1.62 0.59 -0.09

Net income before taxes 9.93 12.34 28.57 13.74 17.10

Taxes 0.04 0.22 0.17 0.24 -0.02

Net income 9.89 12.12 28.40 13.50 17.11

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.37 1.50 1.21 1.31 1.35

 

Debt to asset 0.50 0.48 0.46 0.46 0.44

Debt to equity 1.00 0.91 0.86 0.86 0.80

Times interest earned 16.64 13.76 19.05 9.14 14.34

 

Total asset turnover 2.55 1.45 0.79 0.83 0.60

Fixed asset turnover 7.18 4.44 1.68 1.92 1.40

 

Gross profit margin 9.99 17.74 19.89 17.84 18.93

Return on assets 26.94 19.36 23.69 12.79 11.03

Return on member equity 55.47 54.81 52.37 26.02 24.26

(continued next page)

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
32 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Dairy and dairy products

Cooperative sales size > $1 $500 million $200 to $50 to $20 to

 billion to $1 billion $500 million $200 million $50 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 47.75 56.25 58.34 64.80 62.82

Other assets 30.65 11.43 4.50 6.50 3.21

Investments 1.79 1.73 3.51 6.07 13.91

PP&E (net) 19.81 30.59 33.64 22.63 20.06

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 39.74 54.26 38.66 49.11 54.38

Total liabilities 64.52 72.65 66.16 55.62 60.19

Allocated equity 28.40 23.26 25.34 30.72 33.07

Retained earnings 7.08 4.10 8.50 13.66 6.74

Total equity 35.48 27.35 33.84 44.38 39.81

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 93.38 90.80 91.48 91.59 93.05

Gross margin 6.62 9.20 8.52 8.41 6.95

 

Service and other income 0.40 1.55 0.36 1.18 0.95

Gross revenue 7.02 10.76 8.87 9.59 7.90

Expenses

Wages 4.01 3.13 3.71 3.99 1.87

Depreciation 0.81 0.71 0.70 0.61 0.48

Interest 0.59 0.46 0.34 0.15 0.19

Other 1.25 5.65 3.14 4.09 4.85

Total expenses 6.66 9.96 7.90 8.84 7.39

 

Income from own operations 0.36 0.80 0.97 0.76 0.51

Patronage income 0.27 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.29

Non-operating income 0.27 -0.34 0.00 0.11 0.02

Net income before taxes 0.90 0.48 1.01 0.92 0.83

Taxes 0.04 0.09 0.05 0.02 0.01

Net income 0.86 0.39 0.96 0.90 0.81

Ratios Percent or number 

Current 1.20 1.04 1.51 1.32 1.16

 

Debt to asset 0.65 0.73 0.66 0.56 0.60

Debt to equity 1.82 2.66 1.96 1.25 1.51

Times interest earned 2.54 2.03 3.98 7.00 5.38

 

Total asset turnover 3.12 5.34 4.78 4.57 7.07

Fixed asset turnover 15.78 17.46 14.22 20.21 35.23

 

Gross profit margin 6.62 9.20 8.52 8.41 6.95

Return on assets 4.66 5.02 6.44 4.91 7.17

Return on member equity 9.46 9.00 18.15 13.43 0.00
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 33

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Dairy and dairy products

Cooperative sales size $10 to $5 to $1 to Less than

 $20 million $10 million $5 million $1 million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 67.06 51.81 60.92 58.84

Other assets 3.71 7.76 12.04 11.04

Investments 14.30 19.54 6.90 9.13

PP&E (net) 14.93 20.89 20.14 21.00

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 53.87 39.58 43.18 36.59

Total liabilities 56.35 48.30 52.65 45.80

Allocated equity 36.90 39.35 30.56 44.69

Retained earnings 6.75 12.35 16.80 9.52

Total equity 43.65 51.70 47.35 54.20

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 95.10 92.86 91.57 92.54

Gross margin 4.90 7.14 8.43 7.46

 

Service and other income 2.26 2.57 3.72 8.21

Gross revenue 7.16 9.71 12.16 15.67

Expenses

Wages 1.41 1.87 3.89 7.72

Depreciation 0.37 0.58 0.71 1.52

Interest 0.19 0.28 0.36 0.60

Other 4.88 6.30 6.43 6.15

Total expenses 6.85 9.02 11.38 15.99

 

Income from own operations 0.30 0.68 0.77 -0.32

Patronage income 0.23 0.28 0.05 0.07

Non-operating income 0.19 0.07 0.02 0.52

Net income before taxes 0.72 1.03 0.84 0.27

Taxes 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00

Net income 0.72 1.02 0.84 0.27

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.24 1.31 1.41 1.61

 

Debt to asset 0.56 0.48 0.53 0.46

Debt to equity 1.29 0.93 1.11 0.84

Times interest earned 4.85 4.71 3.33 1.45

 

Total asset turnover 7.08 6.46 5.41 2.14

Fixed asset turnover 47.40 30.91 26.88 10.21

 

Gross profit margin 4.90 7.14 8.43 7.46

Return on assets 6.46 8.43 6.53 1.87

Return on member equity 13.74 16.74 14.93 1.28

(continued next page)
34 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Fresh fruit and vegetable

Cooperative sales size > $50 $20 to $10 to $5 to $1 to Less than

million $50 million $20 million $10 million $5 million $1 million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 61.82 54.88 54.58 69.77 66.51 62.00

Other assets 8.58 4.46 7.33 8.15 7.27 15.75

Investments 2.63 3.35 2.93 2.84 7.13 0.00

PP&E (net) 26.97 37.31 35.16 19.23 19.09 22.25

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 47.00 48.05 40.91 55.19 42.45 51.97

Total liabilities 58.57 61.97 54.52 65.90 57.11 62.25

Allocated equity 34.79 30.14 36.24 26.51 30.59 24.50

Retained earnings 6.65 7.89 9.24 7.59 12.29 13.25

Total equity 41.43 38.03 45.48 34.10 42.89 37.75

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 76.90 74.22 76.61 88.44 81.25 88.50

Gross margin 23.10 25.78 23.39 11.56 18.75 11.50

 

Service and other income 3.46 10.64 3.98 7.51 5.83 21.69

Gross revenue 26.57 36.42 27.37 19.07 24.58 33.18

Expenses

Wages 8.11 10.85 12.16 7.57 9.90 18.77

Depreciation 1.65 1.70 1.86 1.26 2.06 2.61

Interest 0.28 0.79 0.53 1.77 0.80 0.60

Other 15.57 21.27 11.01 7.78 9.57 10.32

Total expenses 25.61 34.60 25.57 18.39 22.32 32.31

 

Income from own operations 0.95 1.82 1.80 0.68 2.26 0.87

Patronage income 0.02 0.16 0.12 0.24 0.14 0.00

Non-operating income 0.15 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.25 -0.03

Net income before taxes 1.13 2.19 2.13 1.10 2.65 0.84

Taxes -0.12 0.08 0.04 0.00 0.04 0.00

Net income 1.25 2.12 2.09 1.10 2.61 0.84

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.32 1.14 1.33 1.26 1.57 1.19

 

Debt to asset 0.59 0.62 0.55 0.66 0.57 0.62

Debt to equity 1.41 1.63 1.20 1.93 1.33 1.65

Times interest earned 4.96 3.79 4.99 1.62 4.34 2.39

 

Total asset turnover 2.76 2.61 2.54 1.46 1.78 1.42

Fixed asset turnover 10.23 7.01 7.23 7.59 9.31 6.39

 

Gross profit margin 23.10 25.78 23.39 11.56 18.75 11.50

Return on assets 3.90 7.80 6.76 4.19 6.13 2.05

Return on member equity 9.89 18.36 14.67 6.08 15.16 4.87

 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 35

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Processed and fresh fruit and vegetable

Cooperative sales size > $310 $215 to $10 to $1 to Less than

 million $290 million $100 million $10 million $1 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 54.79 61.10 66.27 70.09 66.56

Other assets 12.64 8.75 5.69 12.47 4.53

Investments 2.30 0.99 7.22 1.30 5.92

PP&E (net) 30.27 29.17 20.82 16.14 22.99

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 33.64 38.27 55.34 47.77 50.77

Total liabilities 67.86 64.95 69.62 59.68 59.79

Allocated equity 23.97 22.32 23.52 32.34 35.87

Retained earnings 8.18 12.74 6.86 7.98 4.34

Total equity 32.14 35.05 30.38 40.32 40.21

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 72.31 71.17 83.83 85.82 69.48

Gross margin 27.69 28.83 16.17 14.18 30.52

 

Service and other income 4.19 0.08 2.48 7.59 2.43

Gross revenue 31.88 28.91 18.65 21.77 32.96

Expenses

Wages 8.45 11.90 7.17 10.47 8.45

Depreciation 2.26 2.04 1.19 1.18 1.73

Interest 1.11 1.10 0.87 0.96 1.43

Other 14.63 9.32 8.98 4.90 17.69

Total expenses 26.45 24.37 18.21 17.51 29.30

 

Income from own operations 5.44 4.55 0.44 4.26 3.65

Patronage income 0.05 0.04 0.34 0.04 0.29

Non-operating income 0.23 0.00 -0.23 0.01 0.00

Net income before taxes 5.72 4.37 1.17 4.31 3.95

Taxes 0.00 0.35 0.06 0.03 0.00

Net income 5.72 4.24 0.49 4.28 3.95

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.63 1.60 1.20 1.47 1.31

 

Debt to asset 0.68 0.65 0.70 0.60 0.60

Debt to equity 2.11 1.85 2.29 1.48 1.49

Times interest earned 6.16 4.98 2.34 5.50 3.76

 

Total asset turnover 1.85 1.80 2.16 2.13 1.74

Fixed asset turnover 6.11 6.19 10.39 13.21 7.55

 

Gross profit margin 27.69 28.83 16.17 14.18 30.52

Return on assets 12.61 9.87 4.40 11.23 9.34

Return on member equity 44.12 34.32 4.51 28.25 19.11

(continued next page)
36 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Farm supply

Cooperative sales size > $1 $300 million $100 to $50 to $30 to $25 to

billion to $1 billion $200 million $100 million $50 million 30 million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 54.09 67.95 52.76 55.41 53.85 59.57

Other assets 11.04 15.16 4.74 3.25 3.69 4.34

Investments 6.18 2.01 8.30 17.18 16.72 13.43

PP&E (net) 28.69 14.88 34.20 24.16 25.75 22.66

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 37.91 43.41 38.88 41.43 37.87 42.83

Total liabilities 57.52 52.55 55.16 49.15 47.02 50.64

Allocated equity 36.04 27.93 31.44 30.98 30.73 33.74

Retained earnings 6.43 19.52 13.39 19.87 22.25 15.62

Total equity 42.48 47.45 44.84 50.85 52.98 49.36

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 91.15 90.50 89.49 85.88 85.89 84.55

Gross margin 8.85 9.50 10.51 14.12 14.11 15.45

 

Service and other income 0.63 0.86 6.33 3.05 3.01 3.18

Gross revenue 9.48 10.36 16.83 17.18 17.11 18.62

Expenses

Wages 2.84 6.13 5.57 8.43 7.55 9.04

Depreciation 0.71 0.76 1.02 1.46 1.35 1.49

Interest 0.54 0.42 0.72 0.78 0.77 0.77

Other 0.93 2.48 7.78 4.87 5.23 5.62

Total expenses 5.02 9.79 15.09 15.55 14.90 16.93

 

Income from own operations 4.46 0.57 1.74 1.63 2.21 1.69

Patronage income 0.81 0.10 0.57 1.32 1.20 1.09

Non-operating income 0.34 0.18 0.51 0.17 0.08 0.10

Net income before taxes 5.61 0.85 2.82 3.12 3.49 2.89

Taxes -0.26 0.01 0.91 0.59 0.46 0.29

Net income 5.88 0.84 1.91 2.54 3.03 2.60

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.43 1.57 1.36 1.34 1.42 1.39

 

Debt to asset 0.58 0.53 0.55 0.49 0.47 0.51

Debt to equity 1.35 1.11 1.23 0.97 0.89 1.03

Times interest earned 11.41 3.01 4.91 4.99 5.51 4.75

 

Total asset turnover 2.97 3.07 2.77 2.30 2.24 2.10

Fixed asset turnover 10.34 20.61 8.10 9.51 8.72 9.25

 

Gross profit margin 8.85 9.50 10.51 14.12 14.11 15.45

Return on assets 18.26 3.89 9.80 8.97 9.58 7.68

Return on member equity 48.40 9.17 16.81 18.81 22.12 16.15
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 37

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Farm supply

Cooperative sales size $20 to $15 to $10 to $5 to $1 to Less than

$25 million $20 million $15 million $10 million $5 million $1 million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 52.42 55.63 52.26 56.39 59.08 63.14

Other assets 4.66 3.38 2.59 5.95 7.65 10.23

Investments 16.88 17.50 19.14 14.58 11.40 6.13

PP&E (net) 26.04 23.49 26.02 23.08 21.87 20.50

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 40.22 36.96 36.48 34.67 35.37 40.00

Total liabilities 49.77 44.08 43.98 41.49 44.05 50.63

Allocated equity 31.37 35.40 36.89 39.01 38.28 32.61

Retained earnings 18.86 20.26 19.13 19.50 17.37 16.76

Total equity 50.23 55.92 56.02 58.51 55.95 49.37

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 85.11 85.47 84.46 85.94 85.78 83.63

Gross margin 14.89 14.53 15.54 14.06 14.22 16.37

 

Service and other income 2.91 3.08 3.89 3.35 3.79 5.28

Gross revenue 17.80 17.61 19.43 17.41 18.01 21.66

Expenses

Wages 8.80 8.85 9.47 9.25 9.95 14.03

Depreciation 1.78 1.74 1.82 1.52 1.46 1.26

Interest 0.90 0.67 0.67 0.62 0.63 0.88

Other 5.53 4.70 6.13 4.65 5.03 5.38

Total expenses 17.01 15.96 18.08 16.03 17.08 21.55

 

Income from own operations 0.80 1.65 1.35 1.39 0.93 0.11

Patronage income 1.35 1.21 1.32 1.02 0.81 0.22

Non-operating income 0.32 0.24 0.16 0.13 0.11 0.04

Net income before taxes 2.47 3.10 2.83 2.53 1.84 0.37

Taxes 0.30 0.30 0.24 0.16 0.09 0.01

Net income 2.17 2.79 2.59 2.37 1.75 0.36

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.30 1.51 1.43 1.63 1.67 1.58

 

Debt to asset 0.50 0.44 0.44 0.41 0.44 0.51

Debt to equity 0.99 0.79 0.79 0.71 0.79 1.03

Times interest earned 3.74 5.64 5.25 5.11 3.91 1.42

 

Total asset turnover 2.04 2.11 2.01 2.01 1.88 1.72

Fixed asset turnover 7.82 8.99 7.74 8.69 8.59 8.40

 

Gross profit margin 14.89 14.53 15.54 14.06 14.22 16.37

Return on assets 6.85 7.95 7.04 6.32 4.64 2.15

Return on member equity 14.09 16.66 14.12 12.21 8.58 1.91

(continued next page)
38 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Mixed farm supply

Cooperative sales size $250 to $100 to $50 to $30 to

$900 million $200 million $100 million $50 million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 67.07 58.04 57.27 59.98

Other assets 3.32 3.43 3.63 3.84

Investments 5.97 14.19 15.85 13.17

PP&E (net) 23.64 24.34 23.24 23.01

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 45.64 45.68 45.76 46.87

Total liabilities 63.52 60.61 55.93 54.94

Allocated equity 22.96 21.76 23.45 28.28

Retained earnings 13.53 17.64 20.63 16.79

Total equity 36.48 39.39 44.07 45.06

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 87.17 87.63 87.72 86.51

Gross margin 12.83 12.37 12.28 13.49

 

Service and other income 1.85 3.78 4.40 4.55

Gross revenue 14.68 16.15 16.67 18.03

Expenses

Wages 7.02 7.26 7.75 8.09

Depreciation 1.49 1.51 1.67 1.73

Interest 1.09 1.03 1.07 0.88

Other 5.20 5.15 5.38 5.92

Total expenses 14.80 14.95 15.87 16.61

 

Income from own operations -0.11 1.19 0.80 1.42

Patronage income 0.73 1.26 1.21 1.24

Non-operating income 0.59 0.20 0.48 0.12

Net income before taxes 1.21 2.65 2.49 2.78

Taxes 0.12 0.48 0.48 0.20

Net income 1.09 2.17 2.01 2.58

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.47 1.27 1.25 1.28

 

Debt to asset 0.64 0.61 0.56 0.55

Debt to equity 1.74 1.54 1.27 1.22

Times interest earned 2.11 3.56 3.33 4.17

 

Total asset turnover 2.73 2.20 2.23 2.15

Fixed asset turnover 11.54 9.03 9.60 9.36

 

Gross profit margin 12.83 12.37 12.28 13.49

Return on assets 6.27 8.10 7.95 7.88

Return on member equity 12.98 21.96 19.16 19.65
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 39

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2005 (continued)

Type of cooperative Mixed farm supply

Cooperative sales size $20 to $10 to $5 to Less than

$30 million $20 million $10 million $5 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 53.69 54.72 58.27 56.54

Other assets 3.70 4.40 3.62 8.43

Investments 18.24 16.73 13.12 11.11

PP&E (net) 24.38 24.15 25.00 23.91

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 40.02 38.77 39.75 37.91

Total liabilities 49.70 45.98 47.10 46.11

Allocated equity 32.83 34.99 33.20 34.90

Retained earnings 17.47 19.03 19.71 19.38

Total equity 50.30 54.02 52.90 53.89

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 87.27 87.49 88.30 87.22

Gross margin 12.73 12.51 11.70 12.78

 

Service and other income 4.65 4.84 5.15 5.08

Gross revenue 17.38 17.34 16.85 17.86

Expenses

Wages 8.56 7.91 8.15 10.08

Depreciation 1.73 1.76 1.78 1.50

Interest 0.91 0.78 0.65 0.69

Other 5.21 5.93 5.50 4.98

Total expenses 16.40 16.38 16.20 17.26

 

Income from own operations 0.98 0.97 0.65 0.60

Patronage income 1.17 1.08 0.93 0.60

Non-operating income 0.20 0.20 0.14 0.09

Net income before taxes 2.35 2.25 1.72 1.29

Taxes 0.24 0.18 0.12 0.04

Net income 2.12 2.07 1.60 1.26

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.34 1.41 1.47 1.49

 

Debt to asset 0.50 0.46 0.47 0.46

Debt to equity 0.99 0.85 0.89 0.86

Times interest earned 3.60 3.88 3.66 2.86

 

Total asset turnover 2.11 1.99 2.14 1.95

Fixed asset turnover 8.66 8.23 8.57 8.17

 

Gross profit margin 12.73 12.51 11.70 12.78

Return on assets 6.88 6.03 5.07 3.88

Return on member equity 13.61 11.74 10.32 7.05

 (continued next page)
40 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Type of cooperative Mixed grain and oilseed marketing

Cooperative sales size $225 to $100 to $50 to $30 to

$450 million $200 million $100 million $50 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 57.37 56.48 60.02 62.12

Other assets 3.41 9.92 3.55 2.03

Investments 10.97 12.59 12.25 11.59

PP&E (net) 28.25 21.01 24.18 24.26

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 48.11 49.21 49.35 50.92

Total liabilities 61.94 68.04 60.73 62.14

Allocated equity 20.43 20.13 23.62 23.60

Retained earnings 17.62 11.83 15.65 13.45

Total equity 38.06 31.96 39.27 37.86

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 91.26 91.93 91.06 91.47

Gross margin 8.74 8.07 8.94 8.53

 

Service and other income 4.44 5.78 4.50 5.06

Gross revenue 13.19 13.86 13.43 13.59

Expenses

Wages 4.48 4.91 5.33 5.57

Depreciation 1.58 1.54 1.54 1.57

Interest 0.98 1.30 1.01 0.88

Other 4.75 5.14 4.36 4.63

Total expenses 11.79 12.89 12.22 12.65

 

Income from own operations 1.40 0.97 1.21 0.93

Patronage income 0.66 0.85 0.74 0.78

Non-operating income 0.22 0.08 -0.15 0.15

Net income before taxes 2.28 1.90 1.80 1.87

Taxes 0.40 0.16 0.21 0.15

Net income 1.87 1.74 1.58 1.72

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.19 1.15 1.22 1.22

 

Debt to asset 0.62 0.68 0.61 0.62

Debt to equity 1.63 2.13 1.55 1.64

Times interest earned 3.33 2.46 2.79 3.13

 

Total asset turnover 2.55 1.82 2.34 2.25

Fixed asset turnover 9.03 8.66 9.69 9.29

 

Gross profit margin 8.74 8.07 8.94 8.53

Return on assets 8.30 5.81 6.56 6.18

Return on member equity 23.40 15.74 15.72 16.43

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 41

Type of cooperative Mixed grain and oilseed marketing

Cooperative sales size $20 to $15 to $10 to $5 to Less than

$30 million $20 million $15 million $10 million $5 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 61.16 61.94 63.24 63.09 63.61

Other assets 4.16 6.17 5.52 7.59 9.97

Investments 10.48 7.89 8.98 7.18 4.55

PP&E (net) 24.20 24.00 22.26 22.14 21.87

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 49.71 49.84 51.10 44.95 45.02

Total liabilities 57.58 59.16 58.30 54.39 53.66

Allocated equity 26.52 24.77 25.75 27.93 30.15

Retained earnings 15.90 16.07 15.95 17.69 16.19

Total equity 42.42 40.84 41.70 45.61 46.34

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 91.22 91.34 91.28 92.05 90.55

Gross margin 8.78 8.66 8.72 7.95 9.45

 

Service and other income 4.90 4.66 4.58 4.40 4.23

Gross revenue 13.68 13.33 13.13 12.35 13.68

Expenses

Wages 5.71 5.74 5.54 5.44 6.48

Depreciation 1.62 1.62 1.57 1.43 1.49

Interest 0.78 0.82 0.83 0.63 0.74

Other 4.64 4.28 4.42 4.21 4.52

Total expenses 12.85 12.46 12.35 11.61 13.23

 

Income from own operations 0.84 0.87 0.77 0.74 0.45

Patronage income 0.55 0.61 0.75 0.32 0.12

Non-operating income 0.33 0.23 0.17 0.15 0.24

Net income before taxes 1.71 1.71 1.87 1.21 0.81

Taxes 0.11 0.08 0.08 0.02 0.00

Net income 1.60 1.63 1.79 1.19 0.81

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.40 1.41

 

Debt to asset 0.58 0.59 0.58 0.54 0.54

Debt to equity 1.36 1.45 1.40 1.19 1.16

Times interest earned 3.19 3.08 3.25 2.93 2.09

 

Total asset turnover 2.11 2.22 2.08 2.27 2.00

Fixed asset turnover 8.70 9.26 9.36 10.27 9.16

 

Gross profit margin 8.78 8.66 8.72 7.95 9.45

Return on assets 5.25 5.63 5.64 4.19 3.11

Return on member equity 12.72 14.65 14.49 9.70 5.37

(continued next page)

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
42 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Grain and oilseed marketing

Cooperative sales size $100 to $50 to $30 to $20 to

$250 million $100 million $50 million $30 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 57.72 58.76 60.11 61.10

Other assets 4.45 2.13 4.91 1.79

Investments 6.32 11.07 6.34 7.23

PP&E (net) 31.50 28.03 28.64 29.89

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 51.09 49.11 45.78 48.52

Total liabilities 66.97 62.11 58.46 58.08

Allocated equity 20.53 22.55 24.80 24.08

Retained earnings 12.50 15.34 16.73 17.83

Total equity 33.03 37.89 41.54 41.92

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 92.58 93.89 90.29 93.64

Gross margin 7.42 6.11 9.71 6.36

 

Service and other income 3.74 4.10 4.02 3.75

Gross revenue 11.16 10.21 13.73 10.11

Expenses

Wages 3.28 3.59 4.48 3.39

Depreciation 1.46 1.26 1.39 1.57

Interest 0.77 0.73 0.79 0.80

Other 3.80 3.43 5.11 3.19

Total expenses 9.31 9.02 11.77 8.95

 

Income from own operations 1.85 1.19 1.96 1.15

Patronage income 0.34 0.44 0.24 0.36

Non-operating income 0.24 0.05 -0.04 0.16

Net income before taxes 2.43 1.69 2.17 1.68

Taxes 0.22 0.22 0.08 0.22

Net income 2.21 1.47 2.09 1.46

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.13 1.20 1.31 1.26

 

Debt to asset 0.67 0.62 0.58 0.58

Debt to equity 2.03 1.64 1.41 1.39

Times interest earned 4.18 3.30 3.76 3.10

 

Total asset turnover 2.07 2.78 2.44 2.31

Fixed asset turnover 6.56 9.93 8.51 7.74

 

Gross profit margin 7.42 6.11 9.71 6.36

Return on assets 6.60 6.74 7.21 5.73

Return on member equity 22.22 18.13 20.55 13.98
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 43

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Grain and oilseed marketing

Cooperative sales size $15 to $10 to $5 to Less than

$20 million $15 million $10 million $5 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 60.61 63.93 61.89 62.45

Other assets 3.30 2.88 5.52 10.24

Investments 3.90 5.79 5.55 3.89

PP&E (net) 32.19 27.40 27.04 23.41

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 51.04 48.70 45.55 44.12

Total liabilities 63.20 56.27 54.86 54.32

Allocated equity 20.45 22.95 23.05 30.85

Retained earnings 16.34 20.79 22.09 14.83

Total equity 36.80 43.73 45.14 45.68

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 93.93 94.04 93.95 91.45

Gross margin 6.07 5.96 6.05 8.55

 

Service and other income 3.62 3.62 4.04 6.35

Gross revenue 9.68 9.58 10.09 14.90

Expenses

Wages 3.22 3.36 3.61 5.62

Depreciation 1.29 1.27 1.28 1.49

Interest 0.75 0.70 0.63 0.79

Other 3.40 3.29 3.98 5.93

Total expenses 8.66 8.62 9.51 13.83

 

Income from own operations 1.02 0.95 0.58 1.06

Patronage income 0.22 0.21 0.14 0.22

Non-operating income 0.05 0.08 0.10 0.05

Net income before taxes 1.29 1.24 0.83 1.33

Taxes 0.10 0.06 0.04 0.02

Net income 1.19 1.19 0.79 1.32

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.19 1.31 1.36 1.42

 

Debt to asset 0.63 0.56 0.55 0.54

Debt to equity 1.72 1.29 1.22 1.19

Times interest earned 2.73 2.78 2.31 2.69

 

Total asset turnover 2.47 2.70 2.66 1.97

Fixed asset turnover 7.68 9.85 9.85 8.40

 

Gross profit margin 6.07 5.96 6.05 8.55

Return on assets 5.05 5.24 3.90 4.17

Return on member equity 14.41 13.96 9.13 8.39

(continued next page)
44 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Fish marketing Poultry marketing

Cooperative sales size > $10 $5 to $1 to Less than > $30 < $5 

million $10 million $5 million $1 million million million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 84.88 87.84 64.62 62.97 50.12 61.06

Other assets 3.93 2.95 11.81 10.36 21.50 15.30

Investments 4.89 1.96 0.03 0.00 9.29 0.05

PP&E (net) 6.30 7.26 23.54 26.67 19.08 23.59

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 76.92 67.26 55.40 39.60 34.77 50.42

Total liabilities 91.08 76.66 66.88 73.24 39.59 60.86

Allocated equity 4.67 18.94 19.76 17.26 45.47 39.74

Retained earnings 4.25 4.41 13.35 9.50 14.94 -0.60

Total equity 8.92 23.34 33.12 26.76 60.41 39.14

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 77.74 85.32 88.23 86.86 85.70 68.70

Gross margin 22.26 14.68 11.77 13.14 14.30 31.30

 

Service and other income 2.78 0.46 5.35 2.15 1.77 3.04

Gross revenue 24.72 15.10 12.60 16.48 16.07 34.34

Expenses

Wages 14.47 2.94 11.10 9.22 7.12 16.35

Depreciation 1.31 0.69 3.67 0.93 1.09 1.95

Interest 0.82 0.47 0.47 0.58 0.74 0.61

Other 7.53 6.26 4.51 5.15 5.65 12.04

Total expenses 24.14 10.37 19.75 15.86 14.61 30.95

 

Income from own operations 0.58 4.74 -7.15 0.61 1.47 3.38

Patronage income 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.11 0.01 0.00

Non-operating income 0.32 0.04 4.53 0.00 0.00 0.22

Net income before taxes 0.90 4.79 -2.58 0.72 1.48 3.60

Taxes 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01

Net income 0.89 4.78 -2.59 0.72 1.47 3.59

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.25 1.45 1.71 1.30 1.55 1.27

 

Debt to asset 0.58 0.81 0.74 0.62 0.52 0.55

Debt to equity 1.40 4.27 2.83 1.65 1.07 1.22

Times interest earned 2.10 11.16 -4.53 2.25 3.00 6.92

 

Total asset turnover 2.43 5.98 2.16 1.93 3.91 1.71

Fixed asset turnover 9.65 12.52 2.91 3.59 10.48 5.59

 

Gross profit margin 22.26 14.68 11.77 13.14 14.30 31.30

Return on assets 4.19 31.48 -4.57 2.51 8.68 7.21

Return on member equity 7.73 274.13 0.00 3.75 19.72 18.36
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 45

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)

Type of cooperative Livestock marketing

Cooperative sales size > $500 $60 to $15 to $75 to $1 to Less than

million $375 million $45 million $14 million $5 million $1 million

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 84.88 87.84 64.62 62.97 50.12 61.06

Other assets 3.93 2.95 11.81 10.36 21.50 15.30

Investments 4.89 1.96 0.03 0.00 9.29 0.05

PP&E (net) 6.30 7.26 23.54 26.67 19.08 23.59

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 76.92 67.26 55.40 39.60 34.77 50.42

Total liabilities 91.08 76.66 66.88 73.24 39.59 60.86

Allocated equity 4.67 18.94 19.76 17.26 45.47 39.74

Retained earnings 4.25 4.41 13.35 9.50 14.94 -0.60

Total equity 8.92 23.34 33.12 26.76 60.41 39.14

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 99.25 99.41 95.74 87.95 86.87 91.69

Gross margin 0.75 0.59 4.26 12.05 13.13 8.31

 

Service and other income 1.09 1.76 3.96 2.37 4.84 7.02

Gross revenue 1.84 2.35 8.23 14.42 17.96 15.33

Expenses

Wages 0.82 1.36 4.13 7.34 7.25 10.40

Depreciation 0.05 0.13 0.78 0.97 0.95 1.15

Interest 0.38 0.63 0.32 0.62 0.45 0.61

Other 0.57 0.56 2.49 5.29 8.07 3.81

Total expenses 1.82 2.68 7.71 14.23 16.72 15.97

 

Income from own operations 0.02 -0.33 0.51 0.20 1.24 -0.63

Patronage income 0.02 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04

Non-operating income 0.02 0.78 -0.06 0.05 0.21 0.07

Net income before taxes 0.06 0.48 0.45 0.25 1.45 -0.53

Taxes 0.01 0.10 0.04 0.02 0.00 0.00

Net income 0.06 0.39 0.41 0.24 1.45 -0.53

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.10 1.31 1.17 1.59 1.44 1.21

 

Debt to asset 0.91 0.77 0.67 0.73 0.40 0.61

Debt to equity 10.20 3.28 2.02 2.74 0.66 1.55

Times interest earned 1.17 1.76 2.42 1.41 4.20 0.13

 

Total asset turnover 11.05 4.92 2.18 4.94 3.52 0.96

Fixed asset turnover 175.44 67.84 9.25 18.52 18.42 4.07

 

Gross profit margin 0.75 0.59 4.26 12.05 13.13 8.31

Return on assets 4.91 5.50 1.67 4.30 6.69 0.07

Return on member equity 13.65 10.08 4.52 6.76 11.20 -1.28

 (continued next page)
46 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Type of cooperative Dry bean and pea marketing Nut marketing Ethanol mktg.

Cooperative sales size > $15 < $8 > $25 < $15 

million million million million All sizes

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 70.50 71.21 59.05 45.94 30.29

Other assets 0.06 0.11 17.17 6.03 0.61

Investments 7.30 1.90 2.02 0.72 2.05

PP&E (net) 22.14 26.78 21.76 46.62 67.05

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 58.08 48.81 37.02 37.67 17.67

Total liabilities 65.48 55.10 64.37 68.60 33.45

Allocated equity 29.00 25.52 22.50 21.25 34.41

Retained earnings 5.52 19.39 13.13 9.68 32.14

Total equity 34.52 44.90 35.63 30.92 66.55

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 85.34 77.51 82.90 88.93 59.74

Gross margin 14.66 22.49 17.10 11.04 40.26

 

Service and other income 0.41 16.08 0.00 14.29 1.11

Gross revenue 15.08 38.57 17.10 25.33 41.37

Expenses

Wages 7.15 17.20 9.44 10.94 1.94

Depreciation 2.03 3.32 0.94 2.14 4.18

Interest 0.91 2.12 1.80 1.79 0.56

Other 3.38 14.71 4.89 7.70 7.44

Total expenses 13.47 37.35 17.06 22.56 14.12

 

Income from own operations 1.61 1.22 0.04 2.77 27.25

Patronage income 0.55 0.00 0.11 0.02 0.06

Non-operating income 0.08 1.95 0.90 0.05 2.14

Net income before taxes 2.23 3.17 1.04 2.84 29.46

Taxes 0.09 -1.25 0.09 0.01 0.44

Net income 2.15 4.42 0.95 2.82 29.02

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.21 1.46 1.59 1.22 1.71

 

Debt to asset 0.65 0.55 0.64 0.69 0.33

Debt to equity 1.90 1.23 1.81 2.23 0.50

Times interest earned 3.46 2.50 1.58 2.59 53.35

 

Total asset turnover 1.53 1.02 2.01 1.76 1.18

Fixed asset turnover 6.90 3.82 9.21 3.79 1.75

 

Gross profit margin 14.66 22.49 17.10 11.04 40.26

Return on assets 4.80 5.40 5.69 8.16 35.30

Return on member equity 11.30 17.70 8.49 23.45 99.16

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 47

Type of cooperative Rice marketing Tobacco marketing Wool marketing

Cooperative sales size > $100 < $15 > $ 5 < $5

million million million million All sizes 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 56.31 60.33 81.21 43.43 44.29

Other assets 1.27 12.34 6.59 4.89 39.66

Investments 0.36 4.03 0.00 0.69 0.00

PP&E (net) 42.05 23.30 12.20 51.00 16.05

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 36.44 47.86 16.99 15.30 22.00

Total liabilities 47.92 56.19 17.78 21.65 41.03

Allocated equity 46.27 39.76 51.47 32.12 29.46

Retained earnings 5.81 4.06 30.75 46.23 29.51

Total equity 52.08 43.81 82.22 78.35 58.97

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 72.14 92.70 92.89 75.50 70.05

Gross margin 27.86 7.30 7.11 24.50 29.95

 

Service and other income 2.37 5.45 10.93 17.59 6.26

Gross revenue 30.24 12.75 18.04 42.09 36.21

Expenses

Wages 10.54 3.90 4.51 11.58 9.36

Depreciation 1.95 0.78 0.35 2.43 1.03

Interest 0.45 0.37 0.03 0.25 0.05

Other 17.15 8.06 6.69 26.20 23.79

Total expenses 30.08 13.10 11.58 40.46 34.23

 

Income from own operations 0.15 -0.35 6.46 1.63 1.98

Patronage income 0.02 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00

Non-operating income 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00

Net income before taxes 0.17 -0.15 6.46 1.63 1.98

Taxes -0.01 0.00 2.12 -0.10 0.00

Net income 0.19 -0.15 4.35 1.73 1.98 

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.55 1.26 4.78 2.84 2.01

 

Debt to asset 0.48 0.56 0.18 0.22 0.41

Debt to equity 0.92 1.28 0.22 0.28 0.70

Times interest earned 1.39 0.60 221.20 7.62 36.99

 

Total asset turnover 2.62 2.76 0.29 0.60 0.52

Fixed asset turnover 6.23 11.86 2.37 1.18 3.25

 

Gross profit margin 27.86 7.30 7.11 24.50 29.95

Return on assets 1.62 0.61 1.88 1.13 1.06

Return on member equity 1.06 -1.02 2.45 3.24 3.50

(continued next page)

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
48 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Type of cooperative Sugar marketing

Cooperative sales size > $300 $100 to $30 to Less than 

million $200 million $100 million $21 million 

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 33.73 32.01 40.43 62.78

Other assets 26.58 3.13 7.83 14.93

Investments 1.07 19.24 2.44 0.00

PP&E (net) 38.62 45.63 49.30 22.29

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 29.97 26.78 34.81 48.34

Total liabilities 64.12 46.97 49.62 59.46

Allocated equity 35.82 41.72 43.05 24.20

Retained earnings 0.06 11.32 7.33 16.35

Total equity 35.88 53.03 50.38 40.54

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of total sales

Total sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Cost of goods sold 74.41 60.88 78.87 93.61

Gross margin 25.59 39.12 21.13 6.39

 

Service and other income 6.90 9.91 1.62 3.64

Gross revenue 32.49 49.03 22.74 10.04

Expenses

Wages 11.98 10.88 8.89 2.81

Depreciation 3.75 2.69 2.05 0.33

Interest 2.10 1.62 1.56 0.16

Other 12.85 28.89 10.00 5.90

Total expenses 30.67 44.07 22.50 9.21

 

Income from own operations 1.81 4.96 0.24 0.82

Patronage income 0.05 0.14 0.06 0.00

Non-operating income 1.00 -0.01 0.14 0.01

Net income before taxes 2.86 5.09 0.44 0.84

Taxes 0.01 0.19 0.00 0.00

Net income 2.85 4.90 0.44 0.84

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.13 1.20 1.16 1.30

 

Debt to asset 0.64 0.47 0.50 0.59

Debt to equity 1.79 0.89 0.98 1.47

Times interest earned 2.36 4.15 1.28 6.18

 

Total asset turnover 1.40 1.62 1.51 4.46

Fixed asset turnover 3.63 3.55 3.06 19.99

 

Gross profit margin 25.59 39.12 21.13 6.39

Return on assets 6.94 10.85 3.02 4.45

Return on member equity 11.15 18.99 1.53 15.43

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 49

Type of cooperative Rice drier Transportation Storage Hulling

Cooperative sales size > $1 < $ 1

All sizes million million All sizes All sizes

Balance sheet Percent of total assets

Current assets 37.80 49.71 43.60 45.66 39.84

Other assets 2.30 2.26 6.31 4.62 3.15

Investments 0.00 2.25 2.05 0.00 0.02

PP&E (net) 59.90 45.78 48.04 49.72 57.00

Total assets 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Current liabilities 32.66 26.94 17.48 17.11 36.16

Total liabilities 34.05 30.34 20.27 22.51 57.80

Allocated equity 58.83 54.62 71.19 65.32 36.10

Retained earnings 7.12 15.04 8.55 12.17 6.10

Total equity 65.95 69.66 79.73 77.49 42.20

Total equity and liabilities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

 

Income statement Percent of service

Service and other income 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Gross revenue 100.20 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.62

Expenses

Wages 29.42 30.41 45.43 31.06 21.89

Depreciation 5.33 6.01 5.84 1.56 4.46

Interest 0.22 0.34 0.47 0.33 1.03

Other 37.31 59.17 43.35 57.10 36.82

Total expenses 72.28 95.93 95.08 90.06 64.20

 

Income from own operations 27.92 4.07 4.92 9.94 36.42

Patronage income 0.02 0.25 0.09 0.00 0.01

Non-operating income 0.96 0.54 0.69 1.29 0.28

Net income before taxes 28.90 4.86 5.69 11.23 36.71

Taxes 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.34 0.28

Net income 28.90 4.85 5.69 10.89 36.42 

Ratios Percent or number

Current 1.16 1.85 2.49 2.67 1.10

 

Debt to asset 0.34 0.30 0.20 0.23 0.58

Debt to equity 0.52 0.44 0.25 0.29 1.37

Times interest earned 132.53 15.34 13.21 35.26 36.71

 

Return on assets 20.43 14.54 5.56 7.46 33.68

Return on member equity 34.47 24.86 7.22 10.76 90.03

Appendix table 6–Common size analysis, by cooperative type and size, 2006 (continued)
50 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix Table 7–Net income of farmer cooperatives, 1997-20061

 

 From own From other

Year operations cooperatives2 Total

 

 Million dollars

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

2004 1,993 335 2,328

2005 2,147 401 2,548

2006 2,665 498 3,163

 

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. 
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 51

APPENDIX FIGURES

Appendix Figure 1—Distribution of Farmer Cooperatives by Type, 2006

Farm Supply

40.8%

Dairy

6.4%

Fruit & Vegetable

6.2%

Other Marketing

8.5%

Livestock &

Poultry

2.2%

Cotton

0.5%

Grain & Oilseed

24.0%

Service

11.4%

Percentages are based on a total of 2,675 cooperatives. 1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, rice, sugar, fishery, and other product marketing cooperatives.

1

Appendix Figure 2—U.S. Farms and Farmer Cooperative Memberships, 1979-2006

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

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

Million

Memberships 1

Farms
52 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix Figure 3—Distribution of Full-Time Employees

Other Marketing1

5.7%

Farm Supplies

36.0%

Service

3.8%

Cotton

1.4%

Fruit & Vegetable

10.9%

Livestock &

Poultry

1.9%

Sugar

5.3%

Grain & Oilseed

14.1%

Dairy

18.6%

Rice

2.1%

Percentages are based on a total of 123.4 thousand full-time employees. 1 Includes dry bean and pea, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, fishery, and other product marketing cooperatives.

by Cooperative Type, 2006

Billion dollars

Gross1

Net2

2 Excludes inter-cooperative business.

1 Includes inter-cooperative business.
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 53

Appendix Figure 5—Cooperatives’ Net Business Volume, 1979-2006

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

1

 Total includes value of related services and other income.

Billion dollars

Total 1

Marketing

Farm Supply

Appendix Figure 6—Cooperatives’ Investments in Other Cooperatives and 

Patronage Refunds Received From Other Cooperatives,1997-20061

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

 Includes other farmer cooperatives and CoBank.

Billion dollars

Investments

Refunds
54 Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006

Appendix Figure 7—Distribution of Net Income, by Type of Cooperative, 2006

Percent of total 

Percentage based on total net income of $3.2 billion. 

1 Includes dry bean and pea, livestock, poultry, nut, wool and mohair, tobacco, sugar, fishery, and other product marketing coope ratives.

1

Appendix Figure 8—Distribution of Losses, by Type of Cooperative, 2006

 Dairy

 Grain & Oilseed

 Fruit & Vegetable

Farm Supply

Service

 Sugar

 Rice

 Livestock & Poultry

 Cotton

Percent of total 

Percentage based on total losses of $82 million. 

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

Other products 1
Farmer Cooperative Statistics, 2006 55