FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2003

A survey of 3,086 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives ending their business year during calendar year 2003 showed a net business volume of $100.6 billion with a net income of $1.1 billion. These cooperatives had assets totaling $47 billion, about $27 billion of liabilities, and $20 billion in equity. Cooperatives continued to be a major employer in rural areas, with 165,000 full-time workers. Business volume by commodity is reported for all cooperatives. Number of cooperatives, cooperative memberships, and number of employees are classified according to whether the business is a marketing, farm supply, or service cooperative. Trends in cooperative numbers, memberships, employees, business size, sales volume, net income, assets, liabilities, and net worth are reported