Fertilizer Operations of Local Farm Supply and Marketing Cooperatives

This report analyzes the fertilizer operations of 497 local farm supply and marketing cooperatives. They were surveyed about their 1996 fertilizer sales, source of product, competitors and type of competition, and services offered or desired to offer. Four questions focused on the relatively new use of global positioning and geographic information systems in fertilizer use and application. Fertilizer sales trends for these cooperatives during the past 11 years were compared to questionnaire responses, sales growth, and a prior survey. The data was also divided into 10 standard U.S. farm production regions and four cooperative sizes and types