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Balance sheet strong
The combined balance sheet for the Nation’s ag co-ops remained strong, with record assets of $126.0 billion and record member equity of $54.8 billion in 2022 (Figure 3).
- Assets increased 13.5 percent while equity increased 8.7 percent from 2021.
- Investments in property, plant and equipment (fixed assets) by ag co-ops – including grain elevators, warehouses, farm supply stores, petroleum/convenience stores, fertilizer and feed plants, major food and beverage processing plants, etc. – also increased, to a record $34.3 billion, up $2.9 billion from 2021.
- Total liabilities increased to $71.1 billion in 2022, up 17.6 percent from $60.5 billion.
- Allocated equity and retained earnings also increased in 2022, reaching $29.3 billion and $25.5 billion, respectively.
 Sales category changes
Net sales of commodities increased by $35.7 billion, from $144.1 billion in 2021 to $179.8 billion in 2022. Total net supply sales increased by $21.0 billion to $78.5 billion in 2022.
- Net business revenue increased for every commodity except for wool in 2022. The highest marketing increases were in cotton (up 40.1 percent), cottonseed (39.4 percent), dairy products (29.6 percent), grains and oilseeds (23.2 percent), and livestock (21.4 percent). Significant jumps also occurred in rice (17.8 percent), poultry (15.7 percent), and sugar (10.2 percent).
- Grains and oilseeds sales jumped by $14.8 billion to $79.9 billion, while dairy products rose by 14.3 billion to $62.5 billion. Fruit and vegetable marketing increased to $7.5 billion, while sugar hit $6.0 billion, with livestock at $4.9 billion.
- For supplies, all five categories increased in sales in 2022. Petroleum and energy product sales increased the most, up $8.0 billion to $24.5 billion, with fertilizer up $6.4 billion to $18.5 billion. Feed sales grew by $3.0 billion to $14.9 billion and crop protectants by 2.2 billion to $9.9 billion. Seed sales were $4.2 billion and other supplies were $6.5 billion.
Cooperative numbers
The number of ag co-ops continues to decline. In 2022, USDA counted 1,671 ag co-ops, down from 1,699 in 2021, a drop of 28 co-ops. While there are some co-op dissolutions occurring each year, the major cause for the decline in numbers is the continuing trend of mergers among cooperatives.
In 2022, 867 co-ops (51.9 percent) predominantly marketed commodities, and the other 804 consisted of 696 co-ops mostly selling farm supplies, and 108 service co-ops (i.e., those that provide storage, transportation, information, agronomy services, etc.).
For 2022, 672 co-ops were further categorized as just “marketing” while 195 were labeled as “mixed marketing.” Among farm supply cooperatives, 539 co-ops depended on supplies for 100 percent of their sales (categorized “farm supply”), while 157 co-ops were “mixed farm supply" since they also marketed commodities.
Note that while the numbers of ag co-ops have been dropping, those that remain continue to operate 9,488 locations across all 50 States. In addition to headquarters, ag co-ops operated 7,817 other locations consisting of separate branch facilities, plants, elevators, c-stores, service centers, and other types of locations in 2022.
Structural characteristics, memberships, employees
Most ag co-ops (1,608 co-ops) are centralized – largely local or state-wide co-ops with individual members. Some centralized co-ops operate over multi-state areas and provide more vertically integrated services, such as further processing products or manufacturing feed.
There were 28 federated ag co-ops and 73 mixed co-ops in 2022. In a federated cooperative, two or more individual-member cooperatives have organized to jointly market products, purchase supplies, or perform service or bargaining functions. In mixed co-ops, the membership includes other co-op associations as well as direct memberships of individual producers.
- Memberships were reported at 1,840,586 for 2022, down by 4,597 members from 2021. Not all farmers, ranchers or fishermen belong to a cooperative, but many producers belong to two or more co-ops.
- Ag co-ops had 188,819 total employees in 2022 and 22 percent of those (42,055) were part-time or seasonal employees.
- The average board of directors' size for co-ops with sales up to $99.9 million in sales was 7, while co-ops with sales from $100 million up to $1 billion had an average board of 10, co-ops with sales of more than a billion dollars had 16 directors, and overall, average board size was 8.
Top cooperative activity States
Forty-nine States are home to headquarters of at least one ag co-op. Three States are home to more than 100 ag co-ops: Minnesota (143), Texas (137), and North Dakota (109). California was headquarters to 99 co-ops, followed by Wisconsin with 91.
In 2022, the number of ag co-ops with operations in two or more States was 178, while the remaining 1,493 operate within one State. Minnesota had 182 ag co-ops conducting business in the State, followed by Texas with 161, North Dakota with 129, California with 119, Wisconsin with 116, and Illinois with 106.
Iowa was the leading state for co-op net business volume, at $29.7 billion by 98 co-ops, which includes sales from all co-ops with operations in the State, not just those with headquarters there. Minnesota ranked second with $23.6 billion (182 co-ops), followed by Illinois with $18.8 billion (106 co-ops). Then comes California with $18.0 billion, Nebraska ($13.2 billion), Wisconsin ($12.7 billion), Kansas ($10.9 billion) and North Dakota ($9.9 billion). The top 20 States of sales conducted by ag co-ops accounted for $210.9 billion of the total net sales of $258.3 billion, or 81.6 percent.
Co-ops are an important mainstay in Rural America
Agricultural cooperatives have been a mainstay in rural America for well more than a century. USDA’s cooperative database shows that:
- 391 co-ops (23.4 percent of all ag co-ops) are 100 or more years old,
- 54 four percent (903 co-ops) are 75 or more years old, and
- 77 percent are more are 50 or more years of age.
Ag co-ops are an efficient and sound marketing channel for their members’ commodities, many adding value to products, further benefitting member-owners. Co-ops also continue to provide supplies and services members need to operate their operations in challenging agricultural and economic environments.
Overall, the data show that ag co-ops are well managed, efficient, and financially solid, helping to provide a strong foundation for the viability of the rural communities in which most producer-members live and where many of the thousands of co-op facilities are located. Ag co-ops also boost the economies of many less-rural cities where co-ops may have offices, plants, or other facilities. Co-ops are investing in their operations, as evidenced by the record fixed asset and total asset levels attained in 2022.
High prices played a role in the record sales experienced by ag co-ops in 2022. A strong benefit for producers marketing and purchasing through their cooperatives is that they at least get to experience the opportunity to share in the record income through patronage refunds on the business they did with the cooperative, dividends on preferred stock they own, or the retirement of equity they have in the cooperative. The continued strong performance of ag co-ops in 2022 shows that the time-tested, member owned and governed co-op business influence remains as important as ever to America’s producers and to the overall performance of the food and fiber system, which significantly benefits consumers as well.
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