Dive Brief:
- U.S. agricultural cooperatives saw sales soar 14% last year to hit a record net income of $7 billion, according to recent USDA data.
- Total business volume for the Top 100 cooperatives declined from $177 billion in 2014 to $149 billion in 2015.
- Iowa hosts 15 Top 100 co-ops, more than any other state. Minnesota follows with 11, and Nebraska has nine.
Dive Insight:
"While the (co-op) model has long been one of the hallmarks of rural economies, its reach has greatly expanded to include almost every aspect of U.S. commerce," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
Co-ops are particularly prominent in rural areas, but manufacturers can find ways to capitalize on this movement in rural and urban regions to boost sales in relatively inaccessible markets and food deserts. The primary difference between conventional companies and co-ops is that co-ops are member-owned and operate for the mutual benefit of all members, rather than any particular stakeholders.
Several grocery store chains and food distributors have an employee-owned structure, but fewer manufacturers have embraced this trend. The one exception in the top 100 largest employee-owned companies across all industries is Schreiber Foods.
The largest co-ops as of last year are CHS Inc. ($34.7 billion in total business volume), Dairy Farmers of America ($13.9 billion) and Land O'Lakes ($13.1 billion). In terms of sales, these three lead the nearly 3,000 farmer cooperatives in the U.S.