WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that U.S. farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives set records for sales, income and assets in 2012, buoyed by strong prices for grain, farm supplies and many other agricultural commodities.
Sales by agricultural and fishery co-ops of nearly $235 billion surpassed the 2011 record by $18 billion, an 8.3 percent gain. Record net (pre-tax) income of $6.1 billion was up nearly 13 percent over the $5.4 billion recorded in 2011.
"Agricultural cooperatives are a driving force in the nation's thriving farm economy. Because they are farmer-owned and operated businesses, the sales dollars and income generated are much more likely to be returned and spent in rural areas and communities," Vilsack said. "Ag cooperatives are also vital to the rural economy because they support 185,000 full- and part-time jobs, and are often the major employer in many rural towns."
USDA's annual survey of the nation's more than 2,200 agricultural and fishery cooperatives shows that grain and oilseed sales by co-ops increased more than $7 billion in 2012. Taken together, bean and pea, fruit and vegetable, nut, poultry and sugar sales by co-ops increased at least 3 percent over 2011 levels. Farm and ranch supply sales by co-ops were up by $7 billion, primarily due to rising energy prices. Fertilizer, feed and petroleum sales by co-ops each increased by at least $1 billion.
Net assets owned by agricultural co-ops - which range from local grain elevators and farm supply stores to major food and beverage processing plants - also showed a dramatic increase in 2012, rising to $82.9 billion, up 4.4 percent from $79.4 billion in 2011. Owner equity gained $1.8 billion. Equity capital remains low, but is clearly showing an upward trend, with a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year.
USDA recently released its annual list of the nation's 100 largest agricultural cooperatives. The list shows that Farmway Co-op Inc., a grain co-op based in Beloit, Kan., made the largest upward jump on the Top 100, rising from 114th place in 2011 to 62nd on the 2012 list.
The next biggest "gainer" was West Central Cooperative, in Ralston, Iowa, a co-op that handles grain and farm supplies, which climbed from 69th to 41st place in 2012. As a sector, the biggest upward jumps on the Top 100 list were made by grain and grain/farm supply co-ops. Eight of the 10 biggest co-op gainers on the list in 2012 were grain or grain/farm supply co-ops.
The 100 largest agricultural cooperatives reported revenue of $162 billion in 2012, a new record and an increase of more than 9 percent over 2011, when revenue was $148 billion. Net income for the 100 top cooperatives also set a new record in 2012, reaching $3.5 billion, up from the previous record of $3.1 billion in 2011.
Further details about the top 100 largest agricultural cooperatives are available in the September/October 2013 issue of Rural Cooperatives magazine.
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