l a r u R CCSeptemOOber / OcOtOober 201PP3 EE RRAATTIIVVEESS Business blooming for new crop of co-ops CO-OP MONTH SPECIAL SECTION / page 18 Commentary Co-ops have a role in farmland preservation By Bob Wagner, his leadership and the clear synergy between the environment Senior Policy and Program Advisor and the economy, the Working Lands Initiative, not American Farmland Trust surprisingly, benefited from the support and participation of cooperative entities and their members across the state. “No matter how big our economy grows, no Adopted in 2009, the Working Lands Initiative combined matter how technology advances, no matter reforms to the state’s existing farmland preservation planning how global our society, we need people to till and zoning programs with new opportunities to promote the land, produce our food, harvest timber, farming enterprises and activities through the establishment produce our paper and conserve our most of Agricultural Enterprise Areas and to preserve farmland basic and precious resource: Wisconsin’s productive working with a state-funded agricultural conservation easement lands.” Those words were penned in 2006 by co-op purchase program. champion Rod Nilsestuen, now deceased, but at the time Cooperative Resources International, Cooperative secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Network, Wisconsin Farmers Union, CHS Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Inc., CHS Foundation and Organic Valley Protection. were among the broad coalition of Nilsestuen thus set in motion a farmers, farm organizations, community comprehensive effort to overhaul and leaders, land trusts and conservation expand Wisconsin’s commitment to organizations that came together to preserving and conserving the state’s support the initiative. farmland under the Wisconsin Working American Farmland Trust (AFT) Lands Initiative. As he crisscrossed the was honored to be a partner with Secretary state promoting the initiative, Nilsestuen Nilsestuen and the cooperatives in framing would often note that Wisconsin’s a new relationship between land agriculture industry contributed more protection, conservation and farm viability than $50 billion to the gross state product in Wisconsin. As the national, nonprofit while 30,000 acres of farmland were being organization dedicated to reversing and lost each year to development and Rod Nilsestuen stopping the loss of our nation’s fragmentation (land parcels too small to agricultural lands to non-farm farm and too large to mow). development, AFT appreciated the recognition by With then-population growth projections of more than 1 cooperatives of the impacts of farmland loss on their million additional people in the state by 2030, he could see members and businesses, and the opportunity to work with that accommodating this new growth with the same old land- them on an issue of mutual concern. use patterns was unsustainable and that the state’s agriculture The package of policies and programs pursued in industry, landscape and environment would suffer. Wisconsin was pragmatic, respectful of local decision- making, sensitive to property rights and, above all, designed Co-op commitment to the land, to promote farm viability and stability — a true complement sustainable communities to the missions and objectives of cooperatives. As founder of Cooperative Development Services, longtime head of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives Preservation issues national in scope and a member of the National Cooperative Hall of Fame, The issues facing farmers and farmland that inspired Nilsestuen’s vision to connect the future economic health of cooperatives to join Secretary Nilsestuen to act are by no the agricultural industry in Wisconsin to the health and well- means unique to Wisconsin. According to the USDA’s being of its soils reflected his commitment to the cooperative National Resources Inventory, the United States lost principle of sustainable community development. Spurred by continued on page 43 2 September/October 2013 / Rural Cooperatives Features Volume 80, Number 5 September/October 2013 Rural Cooperatives (1088-8845) is published bimonthly by USDA Rural Development, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Stop 0705, Washington, DC. 20250- 0705. The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that publication of this p. 6 p. 18 p. 40 periodical is necessary in the transaction of public business required by law of the Department. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC. and additional mailing offices. Copies may be obtained from the 04 Grain, farm supply sectors lead way as ag co-ops set sales, Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, income records DC, 20402, at $23 per year. Postmaster: send address change to: Rural Cooperatives, USDA/RBS, Stop 3255, Wash., DC 20250-3255. 08 Top 100 ag co-ops set sales, income records Mention in Rural Cooperatives of By Sarah Ali and David Chesnick company and brand names does not signify endorsement over other companies’ products and services. Unless otherwise stated, articles in this publication are not copyrighted and may 18 Co-ops: an engine for rural progress be reprinted freely. Any opinions express- ed are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect those of USDA or its employees. SPECIAL SECTION The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disabili- ty, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, CO-OP religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or MONTH because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Departments 02 COMMENTARY 06 CO-OPS & COMMUNITY NEWSLINE Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture 37 Doug O’Brien, Acting Under Secretary, USDA Rural Development Dan Campbell, Editor ON THE COVER: Kim Krajicek Millikin, wrapping bundles of lilacs, is Stephen Hall / KOTA, Design sales manager for Z Callas/Oregon Coastal Flowers, one of the founding Have a cooperative-related question? members of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned Call (202) 720-6483, or email: [email protected] floral cooperative. See the Co-op Month special section, beginning on This publication was printed with vegetable oil-based ink. page 18, for more on this and other new cooperatives around the nation. Photo by David E. Perry Rural Cooperatives / September/October 2013 3 Grain, farm supply sectors lead way as ag co-ops set sales, income records Against the backdrop of United Cooperative’s South Beaver Dam grain and agronomy facility, one of the co-op’s applicators works on a member’s field near Beaver Dam, Wis. Photo by David Lundquist, courtesy CHS and United Cooperative U.S. Farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives set new records for sales, income and assets in 2012, buoyed by strong prices for grain, farm supplies and many other ag commodities. Sales by agricultural co-ops of nearly $235 billion surpassed the previous record, set in 2011, by $18 billion, an 8.3- percent gain. Net (pre-tax) income of $6.1 billion was up nearly 13 percent over the $5.4 billion recorded in 2011. “Agricultural cooperatives are a driving force in the nation’s thriving farm economy, and because they are farmer owned and operated 4 September/October 2013 / Rural Cooperatives businesses, the sales dollars and income Figure 1 — Cooperatives’ Gross and Net Business Volumes, 1979 –2012 generated are much more likely to be Billion dollars returned and spent in rural areas and 250 communities,” says U.S. Agriculture Gross 1 Secetary Tom Vilsack. “Ag cooperatives 225 Net 2 are also vital to the rural economy 200 because they support 185,000 full- and 175 part-time jobs and are often the major employer in many rural towns.” 150 Net assets owned by farm co-ops — 125 including everything from grain 100 elevators and farm supply stores to major food and beverage processing 75 plants — also showed a dramatic 50 increase in 2012, rising to $82.9 billion, 25 up 4.4 percent from $79.4 billion in 0 2011 (Table 1). Co-ops range in size 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 from a small handful of farmers or 1 fishermen who join forces to market Includes inter -cooperative business. 2 Excludes inter -cooperative business. their crops and catch, to federated cooperatives (a cooperative for cooperatives) with many thousands of members. Table 1 USDA’s annual survey of the nation’s U.S. cooperatives, comparison of 2012 and 2011 2,238 agricultural and fishery cooperatives shows that grain and Item 2012 2011 Change oilseed sales by co-ops increased more Number Percent than $7 billion last year, more than Sales (Gross, Billion $) offsetting a drop of $500 million in Marketing 138.1 131.0 5.42 dairy products marketed (Table 2). Farm supplies 91.9 81.4 12.95 Bean and pea, fruit and vegetable, nut, Service 4.7 4.4 6.38 poultry and sugar sales all increased at Total 234.8 216.8 8.27 least 3 percent over 2011 levels. Sales by cotton, fish and tobacco co- Balance sheet (Billion $) ops all registered double-digit declines Assets 82.9 79.4 4.43 in 2012. Liabilities 53.0 51.3 3.30 Equity 30.0 28.2 6.50 Farm and ranch supply sales were up Liabilities and net worth 82.9 79.4 4.43 by $7 billion, primarily due to rising energy prices.