United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Rural Development 

Cooperative Programs 

CIR 1 Section 26 Part I 

Farmer, Rancher, and 

Fishery Cooperative 

Historical Statistics, 

1913-1950 
ii

CONTENTS

 Page 

First Nationwide Survey in 1913........................................................................................................ 1 

1930s and 1940s........................................................................................................................... 1

Cooperative Definition................................................................................... ..................... ......... 2 

Number, Membership, and Business Volume....................................................................................2 

Number, Membership, and Business Volume....................................................................................3 

Discontinued Cooperatives....................................................................................................... 3 

Bibliography............................................................................................................................... 5 

Tables.................................. .............................. .............................. ................ ........................... 7 

Figures.................................. .............................. .............................. ................ ........................... 12 

Cooperative Information Report 1, Section 26, Part I 

January, 2015 

 
1

FARMER, RANCHER, AND FISHERY 

COOPERATIVE HISTORICAL 

STATISTICS, 1913-1950 

 

 Over the years, statistics on farmer, 

rancher, and fishery cooperatives have 

provided a measure of the extent to which 

cooperatives have been used to improve 

their owner’s economic position. Statistics 

were first compiled on U. S. cooperatives 

around 1863, covering the operations of 35 

cooperative cheese factories. By 1900, at 

least 1,223 active marketing and farm 

supply cooperatives existed in the United 

States. 

First Nationwide Survey in 1913

 The first nationwide survey of farmer 

cooperatives was undertaken by the Office 

of Markets and Rural Organization of the 

United States Department of Agriculture 

from 1913 to 1915. The Department initially 

received reports from 3,099 cooperatives 

with an estimated business volume of $310 

million. Final tabulations, after eliminating 

duplicates and non-cooperatives, showed 

5,424 cooperatives. It was estimated that 

these cooperatives had 651,186 

memberships and a total business volume of 

about $636 million. 

 The second nationwide survey of farmer 

cooperatives was conducted in 1919 as part 

of the agricultural census by the Bureau of 

the Census of the United States Department 

of Commerce. The data showed 624,527 

farms that sold to, or purchased from, 

cooperatives. Sales through these 

cooperatives amounted to almost $722 

million while purchases by 329,449 farmers 

were nearly $85 million. 

 Early in 1922, the Department of 

Agriculture began another nationwide 

survey of cooperative buying and selling. In 

1924, the Department reported 10,170 active 

cooperatives. The 1924 statistics showed the 

development of “large-scale” cooperatives 

operating over an entire State or producing 

region. During the 1925-26 marketing year, 

almost 200 of the 10,803 associations listed 

by the Department were classified as 

“large-scale.” 

1930s and 1940s

 Statistics on farmer cooperatives have 

been published by USDA each year since 

1930. The 1929-30 survey reported 12,000 

marketing and farm supply cooperatives, 

with an estimated 3.1 million memberships 

and a business volume of $2.5 billion. 

 The 1936-37 survey was a joint effort by 

the Farm Credit Administration, 12 district 

banks for cooperatives, and 33 agricultural 

colleges. It was the only “door-to-door” 

nationwide survey of farmer cooperatives 

and served as the benchmark for later 

surveys. The 10,752 cooperatives reported 

nearly 3.3 million memberships and a total 

business volume of $2.2 billion. 

 The effect of the Great Depression on 

cooperative activity was evident during the 

decade of the 1930s. Dollar volume fell to a 

low of $1.3 billion in 1932-33 and then rose 

to $2.3 billion in 1940-41, but was still 

below the $2.5 billion reported for 1929-30. 

 By 1940-41, memberships had increased 

to 3.4 million, while association numbers 

dropped to 10,600. Statistics in the 1940s 

reflected the impact of the war years. 

Cooperatives developed plans for 

manufacturing powdered milk, producing 

dehydrated foods, and performing other 

types of processing required by the war. 

 During the remainder of the decade, 

memberships and business volume of farmer 

cooperatives continued to increase while the 

number of cooperatives decreased slightly. 

Early surveys were mainly tabulated by 

“pencil and paper.” Manual, and then 

electric, calculators made the statistics easier 
2

to handle and tabulate. 

Cooperative Definition 

 USDA Rural Development Cooperative 

Programs considers four major criteria in 

identifying farmer, rancher and fishery 

cooperatives: 

 (1) Membership is limited to persons 

producing agricultural and aquacultural 

products and to associations of such 

producers; 

 (2) Cooperative members are limited to 

one vote regardless of the amount of stock 

or membership capital owned; or the 

cooperative does not pay dividends on stock 

or membership capital in excess of 8 percent 

a year or the legal rate in the state, 

whichever is higher; 

 (3) Business conducted with nonmembers may not exceed the value of 

business conducted with members; 

 (4) The cooperative operates for the 

mutual interest of members by providing 

member benefits on the basis of patronage. 

 These criteria may result in larger or 

smaller numbers of farmer, rancher and 

fishery 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. 

Number, Membership, 

and Business Volume 

Early data collected encompassed gross 

business volume of cooperatives marketing 

10 products and selling farm supplies. Data 

collected at this time did not include 

information on service cooperatives or 

services offered by marketing and farm 

supply cooperatives. Business volume, as 

well as the number of cooperatives and their 

membership, were the primary items 

collected (tables 1-13). 

Marketing cooperatives derive most 

(over 50 percent) of their total dollar volume 

from the sale of members’ products. These 

cooperatives are further classified into 1 of 

10 commodities or commodity groups, 

depending upon which accounts for most of 

its business volume. 

Supply cooperatives derive most (over 

50 percent) of their business volume from 

the sale of production supplies, machinery 

and equipment, and building materials. 

Many also handle farm, ranch and home 

items, such as heating oil, lawn and garden 

supplies and equipment, and food. 

Many cooperatives handle multiple 

commodities and provide marketing and 

supply farm production inputs, as well as the 

facilities and equipment used to perform 

these functions. These associations are 

classified according to the predominant 

commodity or function, as indicated by 

business volume. 

Cooperative numbers include local, 

regional, and interregional cooperatives, 

both centralized and federated in structure. 

Membership estimates since about 1935 

include members, contract members, and 

shareholders; but do not include patrons in 

these categories. Some duplication probably 

exists because some farmers belong to more 

than one association. 

Business volume includes the value of 

commodities sold or purchased for patrons. 

The data for 1921 reports only cooperative 

numbers and dollar volumes while only 

cooperative numbers were collected in 1924. 

Discontinued Cooperatives 

 From 1900 through 1938 data has been 

collected on the number of cooperatives that 

discontinued operations (went out of 

business for any of several reasons). Again, 

information collected includes eight 

different marketing classifications and also 

includes farm supplies (table 14). 
3

 The tables in this report provide the 

reader useful data. Figures allow visual 

presentations of the data and often trends not 

apparent in tabular presentations can be 

detected. Some of the tables in this 

publication have associated figures and are 

presented in the final section of this report 

(figures 1-5). 

 As a historical report, this document 

relies on the work of many prior authors. In 

the early years, R.H. Elsworth, O. B. 

Jesness, and W. K. Kerr were the principal 

authors of cooperative information cited 

here. These and other authors are listed with 

their publications in the bibliography. J. 

Warren Mather and Katherine C. DeVille 

were instrumental in assembling data 

covering 1900 to 1950. Anne L. Gessner 

initially wrote the section on early surveys. 

Beverly L. Rotan and Jacqueline E. Penn 

moved much of the older format data into 

digital form. Charles A. Kraenzle was 

instrumental in converting the database 

from main frame computers to a desk top 

environment. Further data handling 

improvements have been developed by E. 

Eldon Eversull. 

Bibliography 

Elsworth, R. H., Development and Present Status of Farmers' Cooperative Business 

Organizations, Department Bulletin No. 1302, USDA, Washington, DC, December 1924. 

Elsworth, R. H., Agricultural Cooperative Associations, Marketing and Purchasing, 1925, 

Technical Bulletin No. 40, USDA, Washington, DC, January 1928. 

Jesness, O. B. and W. K. Kerr, Cooperative Purchasing and Marketing Organizations Among 

Farmers in the United States, Bulletin No. 547, USDA, Washington, DC, 1917. 

The following authors have been involved with one or more of the past Historical Statistics: 

J. Warren Mather, Charles A Kraenzle, Celestine C. Adams, Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. 

Penn, Ralph R. Richardson, Beverly L. Rotan, and E. Eldon Eversull. Cooperative Historical 

Statistics, CIR 1, Section 26, USDA, Washington, DC, was published in May 1984, May 1989, 

May 1994, April 1998, August 2004 and August 2014. 

Author, E. Eldon Eversull, Senior Agricultural Economist 
4
5

Table 1—Marketing and farm supply cooperatives, 1913-19501 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Millions Billion $ 

 

 1913 3,099 n/a 0.3 

 1915 5,424 0.7 0.6 

 

 1921 7,374 n/a 1.3 

 1924 10,160 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 10,803 2.7 2.4 

 1927-28 11,400 3.0 2.3 

 1929-30 12,000 3.1 2.5 

 

 1930-31 11,950 3.0 2.4 

 1931-32 11,900 3.2 1.9 

 1932-33 11,000 3.0 1.3 

 1933-34 10,900 3.2 1.4 

 1934-35 10,700 3.3 1.5 

 1935-36 10,500 3.7 1.8 

 1936-37 10,752 3.3 2.2 

 1937-38 10,900 3.4 2.4 

 1938-39 10,700 3.3 2.1 

 1939-40 10,700 3.2 2.1 

 

 1940-41 10,600 3.4 2.3 

 1941-42 10,550 3.6 2.8 

 1942-43 10,450 3.9 3.8 

 1943-44 10,300 4.3 5.2 

 1944-45 10,150 4.5 5.6 

 1945-46 10,150 5.0 6.1 

 1946-47 10,125 5.4 7.1 

 1947-48 10,135 5.9 8.6 

 1948-49 10,075 6.4 9.3 

 1949-50 10,035 6.6 8.7 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 

 
6

Table 2—Marketing cooperatives, selected years, 1913-19501 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Millions Billion $ 

 

 1913 2,988 n/a 0.3 

 1915 5,149 0.6 0.6 

 

 1921 6,476 n/a 1.2 

 1924 9,013 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 9,586 2.5 2.3 

 1927-28 10,195 2.6 2.2 

 1929-30 10,546 2.6 2.3 

 

 1930-31 10,362 2.6 2.2 

 1931-32 10,255 2.7 1.7 

 1932-33 9,352 2.5 1.2 

 1933-34 9,052 2.5 1.2 

 1934-35 8,794 2.5 1.3 

 1935-36 8,388 2.7 1.6 

 1936-37 8,142 2.4 1.9 

 1937-38 8,300 2.5 2.1 

 1938-39 8,100 2.4 1.8 

 1939-40 8,051 2.3 1.7 

 

 1940-41 7,943 2.4 1.9 

 1941-42 7,824 2.4 2.4 

 1942-43 7,708 2.6 3.2 

 1943-44 7,522 2.7 4.4 

 1944-45 7,400 2.9 4.8 

 1945-46 7,378 3.2 5.1 

 1946-47 7,268 3.4 6.0 

 1947-48 7,159 3.6 7.2 

 1948-49 6,993 4.0 7.7 

 1949-50 6,922 4.1 7.1 

 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
7

Table 3—Cooperatives marketing cotton and cotton products, 

selected years, 1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Millions Billion $ 

 

 1913 79 n/a 0.02 

 1915 213 18.4 0.00 

 

 1921 47 n/a 0.02 

 1924 107 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 121 300.0 0.15 

 1927-28 125 140.0 0.10 

 1929-30 199 150.0 0.11 

 

 1930-31 261 190.0 0.13 

 1931-32 267 240.0 0.07 

 1932-33 274 200.0 0.04 

 1933-34 250 200.0 0.10 

 1934-35 305 255.0 0.10 

 1935-36 311 300.0 0.11 

 1936-37 400 341.8 0.14 

 1937-38 415 350.0 0.11 

 1938-39 476 315.0 0.07 

 1939-40 536 270.0 0.08 

 

 1940-41 535 255.0 0.08 

 1941-42 556 215.0 0.14 

 1942-43 539 235.0 0.17 

 1943-44 533 258.0 0.19 

 1944-45 530 266.0 0.18 

 1945-46 529 285.0 0.18 

 1946-47 525 284.0 0.23 

 1947-48 514 285.0 0.30 

 1948-49 519 332.0 0.45 

 1949-50 532 354.0 0.39 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
8

Table 4—Cooperatives marketing dairy products, 1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Billion $ 

 

 1913 1,187 n/a 0.1 

 1915 1,708 140.6 0.1 

 

 1921 1,579 n/a 0.2 

 1924 1,966 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 2,197 460.0 0.5 

 1927-28 2,479 600.0 0.6 

 1929-30 2,458 650.0 0.7 

 

 1930-31 2,391 725.0 0.6 

 1931-32 2,392 740.0 0.5 

 1932-33 2,293 724.0 0.4 

 1933-34 2,286 757.0 0.4 

 1934-35 2,300 750.0 0.4 

 1935-36 2,270 720.0 0.5 

 1936-37 2,337 656.9 0.6 

 1937-38 2,421 700.0 0.7 

 1938-39 2,373 650.0 0.6 

 1939-40 2,395 620.0 0.6 

 

 1940-41 2,374 650.0 0.7 

 1941-42 2,366 665.0 0.8 

 1942-43 2,369 710.0 1.0 

 1943-44 2,286 702.0 1.2 

 1944-45 2,214 726.0 1.3 

 1945-46 2,210 739.0 1.4 

 1946-47 2,132 746.0 1.7 

 1947-48 2,091 788.0 2.0 

 1948-49 2,047 805.0 2.1 

 1949-50 2,008 806.0 2.0 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 

. 
9

Table 5—Cooperatives marketing fruits and vegetables, 1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Billion $ 

 

 1913 456 n/a 0.1 

 1915 871 109.9 0.2 

 

 1921 734 n/a 0.2 

 1924 1,232 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 1,237 180.0 0.3 

 1927-28 1,269 215.0 0.3 

 1929-30 1,384 218.0 0.3 

 

 1930-31 1,386 182.0 0.3 

 1931-32 1,347 180.0 0.3 

 1932-33 1,268 170.0 0.2 

 1933-34 1,194 185.0 0.2 

 1934-35 1,082 158.0 0.2 

 1935-36 1,063 166.0 0.2 

 1936-37 1,102 141.7 0.3 

 1937-38 1,164 164.0 0.3 

 1938-39 1,116 168.0 0.3 

 1939-40 1,088 145.0 0.3 

 

 1940-41 1,048 157.0 0.3 

 1941-42 945 153.0 0.3 

 1942-43 944 160.0 0.5 

 1943-44 920 160.2 0.6 

 1944-45 916 162.0 0.8 

 1945-46 921 177.0 0.8 

 1946-47 937 168.0 0.8 

 1947-48 929 176.0 0.7 

 1948-49 930 173.0 0.8 

 1949-50 922 175.0 0.8 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
10

Table 6—Cooperatives marketing grains and oilseeds (excluding 

cottonseed), rice, and dry beans and peas, 1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Billion $ 

 

 1913 960 n/a 0.1 

 1915 1,637 166.8 0.3 

 

 1921 2,458 n/a 0.5 

 1924 3,154 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 3,338 520.0 0.8 

 1927-28 3,455 900.0 0.7 

 1929-30 3,448 810.0 0.7 

 

 1930-31 3,448 775.0 0.6 

 1931-32 3,500 705.0 0.5 

 1932-33 3,131 600.0 0.3 

 1933-34 3,178 600.0 0.3 

 1934-35 3,125 580.0 0.3 

 1935-36 3,010 610.0 0.4 

 1936-37 2,614 362.9 0.4 

 1937-38 2,619 360.0 0.5 

 1938-39 2,540 367.0 0.4 

 1939-40 2,462 365.0 0.4 

 

 1940-41 2,422 363.0 0.4 

 1941-42 2,389 380.0 0.5 

 1942-43 2,358 400.0 0.7 

 1943-44 2,311 452.0 1.2 

 1944-45 2,285 484.0 1.3 

 1945-46 2,256 536.0 1.5 

 1946-47 2,224 602.0 1.9 

 1947-48 2,233 682.0 2.4 

 1948-49 2,192 740.0 2.3 

 1949-50 2,191 792.0 2.0 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
11

Table 7—Cooperatives marketing livestock and livestock products, 

1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

 1913 44 na 4.8 

 1915 96 13.4 5.6 

 

 1921 992 na 106.8 

 1924 1,598 na na 

 1925-26 1,770 400.0 320.0 

 1927-28 2,012 450.0 320.0 

 1929-30 2,153 465.0 320.0 

 

 1930-31 2,014 400.0 300.0 

 1931-32 1,885 450.0 260.0 

 1932-33 1,575 440.0 182.0 

 1933-34 1,371 410.0 162.0 

 1934-35 1,197 410.0 175.0 

 1935-36 1,040 600.0 250.0 

 1936-37 1,012 549.0 320.6 

 1937-38 926 600.0 312.0 

 1938-39 862 600.0 280.0 

 1939-40 844 580.0 282.0 

 

 1940-41 800 600.0 291.8 

 1941-42 781 570.0 337.0 

 1942-43 700 600.0 595.0 

 1943-44 642 636.0 747.0 

 1944-45 661 695.0 730.0 

 1945-46 618 800.0 705.0 

 1946-47 572 860.0 790.0 

 1947-48 552 905.0 1,180.0 

 1948-49 616 964.0 1,297.0 

 1949-50 580 939.0 1,291.0 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
12

Table 8—Cooperatives marketing nuts, 1921-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

 1921 57 na 16.1 

 1924 51 na na 

 1925-26 39 20.0 16.0 

 1927-28 40 15.0 14.6 

 1929-30 44 14.0 14.6 

 

 1930-31 71 17.0 12.0 

 1931-32 70 18.0 8.6 

 1932-33 65 17.5 8.5 

 1933-34 57 15.0 11.5 

 1934-35 53 14.8 11.3 

 1935-36 52 16.0 13.1 

 1936-37 49 13.3 12.8 

 1937-38 52 15.8 15.8 

 1938-39 46 15.0 14.0 

 1939-40 51 21.0 16.0 

 

 1940-41 48 42.0 31.9 

 1941-42 46 44.0 39.3 

 1942-43 46 53.0 75.0 

 1943-44 48 49.0 159.0 

 1944-45 46 46.7 200.0 

 1945-46 43 62.7 176.5 

 1946-47 41 65.0 59.0 

 1947-48 40 98.0 100.6 

 1948-49 42 117.4 144.0 

 1949-50 43 118.4 86.0 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
13

Table 9—Cooperatives marketing poultry and poultry products, 

1921-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

 1921 26 na 15.0 

 1924 56 na na 

 1925-26 71 50.0 40.0 

 1927-28 90 50.0 40.0 

 1929-30 157 67.0 79.4 

 

 1930-31 160 82.0 86.0 

 1931-32 172 88.0 72.0 

 1932-33 154 78.0 53.0 

 1933-34 147 73.0 48.0 

 1934-35 164 85.0 53.0 

 1935-36 154 93.0 69.0 

 1936-37 180 112.5 72.0 

 1937-38 194 106.0 91.0 

 1938-39 180 100.0 78.0 

 1939-40 181 104.0 76.0 

 

 1940-41 179 105.0 82.1 

 1941-42 178 115.0 105.0 

 1942-43 166 111.0 145.0 

 1943-44 159 130.0 196.0 

 1944-45 160 130.6 225.0 

 1945-46 153 127.0 213.0 

 1946-47 148 127.0 225.0 

 1947-48 143 131.0 275.0 

 1948-49 144 134.5 304.0 

 1949-50 131 142.0 290.6 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives 
14

Table 10—Cooperatives marketing tobacco, 1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

 1913 18 na 2.6 

 1915 43 17.8 6.5 

 

 1921 9 na 3.2 

 1924 25 na na 

 1925-26 24 300.0 90.0 

 1927-28 16 15.0 22.0 

 1929-30 15 75.0 6.8 

 

 1930-31 13 40.0 7.2 

 1931-32 21 54.0 10.0 

 1932-33 20 60.0 6.5 

 1933-34 16 46.6 5.5 

 1934-35 16 50.0 7.5 

 1935-36 14 60.0 11.5 

 1936-37 12 91.2 14.4 

 1937-38 11 70.0 13.0 

 1938-39 10 66.0 11.0 

 1939-40 10 68.0 11.5 

 

 1940-41 10 104.0 13.7 

 1941-42 11 114.5 15.2 

 1942-43 11 124.3 17.7 

 1943-44 11 120.0 18.6 

 1944-45 12 122.0 27.0 

 1945-46 13 150.0 24.1 

 1946-47 15 239.8 70.4 

 1947-48 16 298.0 121.0 

 1948-49 17 473.5 189.4 

 1949-50 22 502.7 115.8 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
15

Table 11—Cooperatives marketing wool and mohair, 1921-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

 1921 70 na 9.8 

 1924 115 na na 

 1925-26 91 50.0 10.0 

 1927-28 99 25.0 7.0 

 1929-30 131 40.0 10.8 

 

 1930-31 136 64.0 26.0 

 1931-32 134 62.0 21.0 

 1932-33 115 62.0 9.0 

 1933-34 120 63.8 13.7 

 1934-35 119 71.0 15.7 

 1935-36 114 51.4 11.0 

 1936-37 139 79.2 11.5 

 1937-38 130 50.0 11.3 

 1938-39 135 60.0 13.0 

 1939-40 134 62.0 11.0 

 

 1940-41 136 74.0 16.0 

 1941-42 128 76.0 23.3 

 1942-43 134 85.0 34.0 

 1943-44 135 107.0 39.0 

 1944-45 130 122.5 35.0 

 1945-46 130 116.0 34.0 

 1946-47 127 109.0 34.0 

 1947-48 123 108.0 35.0 

 1948-49 115 103.0 30.0 

 1949-50 107 98.0 27.0 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
16

Table 12—Cooperatives marketing specialty crops, 1913-19501

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Million $ 

 

 1913 244 na 21.7 

 1915 581 124.7 30.3 

 

 1921 504 na 100.4 

 1924 709 na na 

 1925-26 698 173.0 74.0 

 1927-28 610 192.0 71.4 

 1929-30 557 141.0 78.4 

 

 1930-31 482 133.0 62.8 

 1931-32 467 130.0 50.4 

 1932-33 457 105.8 28.5 

 1933-34 433 113.6 25.3 

 1934-35 433 116.2 25.5 

 1935-36 360 93.6 29.4 

 1936-37 297 65.5 55.8 

 1937-38 368 84.2 35.9 

 1938-39 362 69.0 30.0 

 1939-40 350 65.0 31.5 

 

 1940-41 391 70.0 36.5 

 1941-42 424 97.5 38.2 

 1942-43 441 101.7 46.3 

 1943-44 477 115.8 62.4 

 1944-45 446 140.2 76.0 

 1945-46 505 157.3 79.9 

 1946-47 547 177.2 102.9 

 1947-48 518 159.0 97.4 

 1948-49 371 130.6 97.6 

 1949-50 386 147.9 111.2 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
17

Table 13—Farm supply cooperatives, 1913-20121

 

 Gross 

 Year Cooperatives Memberships volume 

 Number Thousands Billion $ 

 

 1913 111 n/a 0.01 

 1915 275 0.06 0.01 

 

 1921 898 n/a 0.06 

 1924 1,140 n/a n/a 

 1925-26 1,217 0.25 0.14 

 1927-28 1,205 0.40 0.13 

 1929-30 1,454 0.47 0.19 

 

 1930-31 1,588 0.39 0.22 

 1931-32 1,645 0.53 0.18 

 1932-33 1,648 0.54 0.14 

 1933-34 1,848 0.69 0.15 

 1934-35 1,906 0.79 0.19 

 1935-36 2,112 0.95 0.25 

 1936-37 2,610 0.86 0.31 

 1937-38 2,600 0.90 0.35 

 1938-39 2,600 0.89 0.34 

 1939-40 2,649 0.90 0.36 

 

 1940-41 2,657 0.98 0.37 

 1941-42 2,726 1.17 0.48 

 1942-43 2,742 1.27 0.60 

 1943-44 2,778 1.52 0.73 

 1944-45 2,750 1.61 0.81 

 1945-46 2,772 1.86 0.92 

 1946-47 2,857 2.06 1.11 

 1947-48 2,976 2.26 1.44 

 1948-49 3,082 2.41 1.62 

 1949-50 3,113 2.51 1.64 

1

 Data collected on a marketing year, generally July 1 through June 30 for 1925-26 

 through 1949-50. Gross business volume includes sales between cooperatives. 
18

Table 14—Cooperatives that discontinued operations (dissolutions, mergers, etc.), by type, 1875-1939 1

 Beans and peas,  grains and oilseeds, Fruits and Poultry Wool and Other Total Farm Year Cotton and rice Dairy vegetables Livestock and eggs mohair products marketing supply Total  Number 1875 to 1900 1 5 22 3 1 0 0 0 32 1 33 1900-01 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1901-02 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 10 1902-03 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 1903-04 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 1904-05 0 1 8 1 0 0 0 0 10 1 11 1905-06 0 1 6 2 0 0 0 0 9 1 10 1906-07 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 1907-08 2 1 7 2 0 0 0 0 12 0 12 1908-09 0 1 5 8 2 0 0 2 18 1 19 1909-10 2 3 10 18 0 0 0 0 33 2 35 1910-11 2 4 11 14 0 2 0 4 37 4 41 1911-12 8 10 22 26 1 0 0 5 72 4 76 1912-13 6 13 29 38 1 0 0 3 90 6 96 1913-14 8 15 42 42 1 0 0 10 118 18 136 1914-15 16 28 67 64 4 1 0 10 190 30 220 1915-16 11 40 81 77 2 0 0 13 224 34 258 1916-17 15 42 102 57 9 4 0 22 251 48 299 1917-18 22 56 112 76 15 1 1 23 306 40 346 1918-19 12 81 98 55 24 1 1 24 296 63 359 1919-20 22 114 107 73 30 1 5 47 399 104 503 1920-21 15 128 92 85 34 2 5 46 407 94 501 1921-22 11 134 94 114 50 2 6 61 472 113 585 1922-23 10 151 88 180 90 9 5 60 593 129 722 1923-24 14 148 78 163 94 9 4 67 577 112 689 1924-25 14 184 112 147 121 10 8 61 657 134 791 1925-26 14 150 102 126 117 10 10 48 577 109 686 1926-27 15 152 125 137 127 14 7 56 633 112 745 1927-28 4 116 90 125 146 27 8 36 552 105 657 1928-29 10 146 116 144 146 27 11 36 636 94 730 1929-30 19 167 128 177 217 27 19 42 796 106 902 
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Table 14—Cooperatives that discontinued operations (dissolutions, mergers, etc.), by type, 1875-2012 1 (continued) 

 Beans and peas,  grains and oilseeds, Fruits and Poultry Wool and Other Total Farm Year Cotton and rice Dairy vegetables Livestock and eggs mohair products marketing supply Total  Number 1930-31 18 137 102 134 206 25 6 31 659 93 752 1931-32 19 152 90 145 264 24 5 35 734 82 816 1932-33 18 90 82 129 207 20 7 41 594 89 683 1933-34 7 97 86 149 212 23 13 34 621 87 708 1934-35 25 118 100 133 195 16 13 42 642 105 747 1935-36 24 120 85 83 111 10 6 44 483 88 571 1936-37 11 136 69 68 95 10 4 34 427 84 511 1937-38 12 172 53 51 65 9 5 18 385 63 448 1938-39 5 50 29 26 20 7 0 9 146 28 174 

1 Revised. Based on year reported to USDA. 
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U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

STOP 3250 

Washington, DC 20250-3250 

www.rurdev.usda.gov

Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) provides research, management, and 

educational assistance to cooperatives to strengthen the economic position of farmers, fishermen, 

and other rural residents. It works directly with cooperative leaders and Federal and State 

agencies to improve organization, leadership, and operation of cooperatives and to give guidance 

to further development. 

The cooperative segment of RBS (1) helps farmers, fishermen, and other rural residents 

develop cooperatives to obtain supplies and services at lower cost and to get better prices for 

products they sell; (2) advises rural residents on developing existing resources through 

cooperative action to enhance rural living; (3) helps cooperatives improve services and operating 

efficiency; (4) informs members, directors, employees, and the public on how cooperatives work 

and benefit their members and their communities; and (5) encourages international cooperative 

programs. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its 

customers. If you believe you experienced discrimination when obtaining services from USDA, 

participating in a USDA program, or participating in a program that receives financial assistance 

from USDA, you may file a complaint with USDA. Information about how to file a 

discrimination complaint is available from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. 

To file a complaint of discrimination, complete, sign and mail a program discrimination 

complaint form, available at any USDA office location or online at www.ascr.usda.gov, or write 

to: 

USDA 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 

Or call toll free at (866) 632-9992 (voice) to obtain additional information, the 

appropriate office or to request documents. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have 

speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay service at (800) 877-8339 or 

(800) 845-6136 (in Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program 

information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center 

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