FARMER COOPERATIVE STATISTICS, 2004

A survey of 2,983 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives ending their business year during calendar year 2004 showed a net business volume of $107.9 billion with a net income of $2.3 billion. These cooperatives had assets totaling $47 billion, about $27 billion of liabilities, and $20 billion in equity. Cooperatives were a major employer in rural areas, with 150,000 full-time workers, but this was about 15,000 fewer employees than in 2003 due to the bankruptcy of two large cooperatives. 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