Fluid Assets
by Karyn L. Nelson
Eighty percent of the nation’s milk produced in 2002 was marketed
by the top 50 cooperatives. They produced 135.9 billion pounds in 2002 which
was up almost 5 billion pounds from 2001. Last year, U.S. dairy producers marketed
a total of 168.6 billion pounds. The rank of the top five cooperatives remains
the same for the fourth consecutive year. In the next five, only a few changes
occurred. Family Dairies USA surpassed Associated Milk Producers to take the
No. 6 slot. Michigan Milk Producers rounded out the top 10 this year, pushing
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers to 11th.
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) continues to lead the
pack as it has since its formation in 1998. With 14,329 farms shipping 35.1
billion pounds, DFA members produced about 21 percent of the nation’s
milk. DFA handled another 12.7 billion pounds of nonmember milk. The top
three co-ops — DFA,
California Dairies and Land O’Lakes — dominate the list. Collectively, their members produced 61.9 billion pounds of milk, more than 36 percent of the U.S. total in 2002.
California Dairies and Land O’Lakes — dominate the list. Collectively, their members produced 61.9 billion pounds of milk, more than 36 percent of the U.S. total in 2002.
Continental Dairy Products claimed the title for the most milk
per farm with 54.7 million pounds per dairy. Second was Zia Milk Producers with
44.9 million pounds. The cooperative making the greatest leap in rank was Select
Milk Producers, which merged with Elite Milk Producers in the summer of 2001.
Select rose from 17th to 12th with the merger. Elite had ranked 29th last year.
Another merger joined Independent Dairymen’s
Cooperative, 46th last year, with St. Albans Cooperative Creamery. These
two mergers allowed Midwest Dairymen’s Company and Hastings
Cooperative Creamery to reappear on our list at 49th and 50th.
Information for our Top 50 Co-op List is provided to Hoard’s
Dairyman by the cooperatives during the summer. Each cooperative is contacted
and asked to provide the previous year’s information. Since some co-ops end
their fiscal year on a date other than December 31, milk volume and member farms
may not necessarily represent the 2002 calendar year.
Top 50 CO-Ops | |||
Rank | Dairy cooperative | Member milk volume (bil. lbs.) | Member farms |
1 4 | Dairy Farmers of AmericaKansas City, Mo. | 35.108 | 14,329 |
2 4 | California Dairies Inc.Los Banos, Calif. | 14.639 | 672 |
3 4 | Land O’Lakes Inc.St. Paul, Minn. | 12.185 | 4,610 |
4 4 | Northwest Dairy AssociationSeattle, Wash. | 6.400 | 732 |
5 4 | Dairylea Cooperative Inc.East Syracuse, N.Y. | 5.500 | 2,511 |
6 | Family Dairies USAMadison, Wis. | 5.480 | 4,401 |
7 4 | Associated Milk Producers Inc.New Ulm, Minn, | 5.200 | 4,600 |
8 4 | Foremost Farms USABaraboo, Wis. | 5.033 | 3,766 |
9 4 | Manitowoc Milk Producers CooperativeManitowoc, Wis. | 3.970 | 2,793 |
10 4 | Michigan Milk Producers AssociationNovi, Mich. | 3.203 | 1,805 |
11 4 | Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Co-op Reston, Va. | 3.141 | 1,513 |
12 4 | Select Milk Producers Inc.Artesia, N.M. | 2.938 | 77 |
13 4 | Southeast Milk Inc.Belleview, Fla. | 2.920 | 305 |
14 4 | United Dairymen of ArizonaTempe, Ariz. | 2.475 | 99 |
15 4 | Agri-Mark Inc.Lawrence, Mass. | 2.287 | 1,341 |
16 4 | Swiss Valley Farms Co.Davenport, Iowa | 2.107 | 1,478 |
17 | Alto Dairy CooperativeWaupun, Wis. | 1.905 | 937 |
18 | Allied Federated CooperativesCanton, N.Y. | 1.730 | 1,919 |
19 4 | Milwaukee Cooperative Milk ProducersMilwaukee, Wis. | 1.670 | 822 |
20 4 | First District AssociationLitchfield, Minn. | 1.621 | 1,518 |
21 4 | Prairie Farms Dairy Inc.Carlinville, Ill. | 1.280 | 864 |
22 | Security Milk Producers AssociationOntario, Calif. | 1.190 | 39 |
23 4 | St. Albans Cooperative Creamery Inc.St. Albans, Vt. | 1.152 | 518 |
24 | Woodstock Progressive Milk Producers Assn.Woodstock, Ill. | 1.080 | 525 |
25 4 | Lone Star Milk ProducersWindthorst, Texas | 1.060 | 170 |
26 4 | Upstate Farms Cooperative Inc.Buffalo, N. Y. | 0.995 | 331 |
27 4 | Continental Dairy Products Inc.Artesia, N.M. | 0.875 | 16 |
28 | Bongards CreameriesBongards, Minn. | 0.763 | 506 |
29 | Magic Valley Quality Milk ProducersJerome, Idaho | 0.753 | 34 |
30 | Central Valley Dairymen Cooperative Inc.Modesto, Calif. | 0.617 | 80 |
31 | Mount Joy Farmers Cooperative Inc.Mount Joy, Pa. | 0.560 | 312 |
32 4 | Tillamook County Creamery AssociationTillamook, Ore. | 0.549 | 150 |
33 4 | Ellsworth Cooperative CreameryEllsworth, Wis. | 0.521 | 514 |
34 4 | Farmers Cooperative CreameryMcMinnville, Ore. | 0.504 | 60 |
35 4 | Niagara Milk Cooperative Inc.Niagara Falls, N.Y. | 0.475 | 183 |
36 | Conesus Milk Producers Cooperative Inc.Perry, N.Y. | 0.444 | 124 |
37 | Plainview Milk Products CooperativePlainview, Minn. | 0.390 | 320 |
37 | Cal-West Dairymen Inc.Walnut Creek, Calif. | 0.390 | 25 |
39 4 | Zia Milk Producers Inc.Roswell, N.M. | 0.359 | 8 |
40 4 | Cass-Clay Creamery Inc.Fargo, N.D. | 0.352 | 388 |
41 | Lowville Producers Dairy Cooperative Inc.Lowville, N.Y. | 0.272 | 198 |
42 | Humboldt Cooperative Creamery AssociationFortuna, Calif | 0.235 | 65 |
43 4 | Arkansas Dairy Co-op AssociationDamascus, Ark. | 0.228 | 160 |
44 | Burnett Dairy CooperativeGrantsburg, Wis. | 0.221 | 210 |
45 | Sunrise Ag CooperativeBuckman, Minn. | 0.202 | 200 |
46 | Southeastern Graded Milk Producers Assn.Somerset, Ky. | 0.197 | 264 |
47 4 | Cooperative Milk Producers Association Inc.Blackstone, Va. | 0.190 | 77 |
48 4 | Country Classic Dairies, Inc.Bozeman, Mont. | 0.187 | 80 |
49 4 | Midwest Dairymen’s Co.Rockford, Ill. | 0.168 | 130 |
50 4 | Hastings Cooperative Creamery AssociationHastings, Minn. | 0.162 | 124 |