Co-ops set new records for sales, income
Business volume tops $146 billion in 2007
Editor’s note: Information for this article was compiled by the
Statistics Staff of USDA Rural Development, Cooperative
Programs: Katherine C. DeVille, Jacqueline E. Penn and E. Eldon
Eversull.
ales by farmer, rancher and fishery
cooperatives were the highest ever in 2007,
due primarily to increased commodity prices
and continued high fuel prices. This is the
third consecutive year for record pre-tax net
income for cooperatives.
The main increases were in grain/oilseed, dairy, sugar, feed
and fertilizer sales. Grain and dairy sales increased due to
higher prices while feed and fertilizer sales grew due to
increased ingredient prices (feed grains and energy products).
Gross business volume for cooperatives was $146.6 billion,
up $20 billion from 2006, easily eclipsing the previous record
of $128 billion, recorded in 1996. Marketing, farm supply
and service sales all increased (table 1). Both gross and net
business volume records were set, continuing the general
upward trend in sales that started in 2002 (figure 1).
Net income before taxes increased 21 percent, to a record
$3.8 billion. Patronage refunds grew 30 percent, to $600
million, up from $500 million in 2006.
Sugar sales were boosted by the addition of several
cooperatives to the database maintained by the Cooperative
Programs office of USDA Rural Development. The deletion
from the database of a farm supply co-op resulted in a decline
in petroleum sales. This farm supply co-op had been more
than 50 percent owned by another cooperative; its sales are
thus now included in the parent co-op’s consolidated financial
statements (the acquisition occurred in 1993, so this change
in the database was overdue).
Cooperative assets grew, mainly as a result of the increased
value of inventories from higher prices of products marketed.
Equity capital increased 5 percent, to almost $21 billion, but
remains low at 37 percent of all assets.
Farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives remain one of
the largest employers in many rural communities, with
181,000 workers. The number of full-time employees
increased 1 percent, to 125,000, while part-time and seasonal
employees decreased 2 percent, to 56,000.
Farm numbers continue to decline and grow in size as do
farmer cooperatives. Cooperative memberships were 2.5
million in 2007, down 5 percent from 2006. Many farmers
are members of more than one cooperative, hence
cooperative memberships greatly exceed U.S. farm numbers.
There are now 2,594 farmer, rancher, and fishery
cooperatives, down from 2,675 in 2006.
