Statistics of Farmer Cooperatives, 1966-67

Excerpts from the report Highlights: The 1966-67 survey of marketing, farm supply, and related service cooperatives showed a continuing upward trend in total business volume but a decrease in number of memberships and organizations between July 1, 1966, and June 30, 1967. Total gross business volume (including intercooperative business) handled by these cooperatives amounted to $21.9 billion. This was an increase of 6.2 percent from the $20.6 billion reported in the previous fiscal year. Total net business, after adjusting the gross figure for business done between cooperatives, amounted to almost $16.6 billion. This was an increase of 6.1 percent from the $15.6 billion net in 1965-66. The total number of farmer cooperatives decreased from 8,329 in 1965-66 to 8,125 in 1966-67, a net decrease of 204 associations. The decline reflects a continuing reorganization trend involving merger, consolidation, and acquisition. Cooperative memberships totaled 6,501,700 in 1966-67, a decrease of 4.8 percent from 6,826,275 memberships reported for 1965-66. The drop continues the long-term trend of declining cooperative memberships due to the decreasing number of farmers in the United States