WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S.
farm cooperatives’ 1979 combined
business volume of nearly $56.3
billion was a record high, even
though the number of cooperatives
continued to decline, according to
a U.S. Department of Agriculture
official.
Randall Torgerson, ad
ministrator of USDA’s
Agricultural Cooperative Service,
said the business volume was 29.1
percent higher than for 1977 and
resulted from higher prices for
many farm products marketed by
cooperatives and for certain farm
production supplies sold by
cooperatives.
He said the number of
cooperatives dropped from 6,736 to
6,445 and memberships declined
from 5.8 million to 5.7 million.
Torgerson said beginning with
this 1979 report, USDA will com
pute annual figures on a calendar
year basis. In the past data were
collected for cooperatives’ fiscal
years ending between July 1 and
June 30.
Figures in the 1979 report are
compared with 1977 figures for
three reasons: The change in
reporting years caused some 1978
figures to be omitted; a new
computer system allowed USDA to
gather 1979 figures more quickly
than those for 1978; and because
1977 is the latest year for which
there are published figures.
Total cooperative business
volume consists of three com
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Farm co-op business at record high
ponents: marketing (the value of
farm products sold); farm sup
plies (sales of fertilizer,
chemicals, fuels, feed and other
inputs to members and patrons j;
and receipts from related services
such as trucking, storage, ginning,
and drying.
Marketing volume, up 29.7
percent from 1977, totaled $41.7
billion. Marketing of all farm
products increased with grain, the
leading farm product, stock and
livestock products, up 63 percent;
miscellaneous products (hay,
forest products, etc.), up 56.7
percent; and fruit and vegetables,
up to 37.7 percent
Farm supply volume of $13.5
billion increased mainly from
increased sales of petroleum
products, feed and fertilizer.
Petroleum products rose 52.2
percent, to $3.8 billion; feed, up
12.5 percent, to $3.2 billion; and
fertilizer, up 13.5 percent, to $2.8
billion. Other supplies (small
hardware items, etc.) and farm
machinery and equipment both
showed an increase .of 37.7 per
cent; and farm chemicals went up
36.8 percent.
Volume of other services related
to the farm business rose to nearly
$l.l billion, an 18 percent increase
over 1977 volume.
The leading state in combined
marketing, farm supply, and
related service volume handled by
cooperatives was lowa with nearly
$4.9 billion, or 8.6 percent of the
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total. Minnesota ranked second,
with nearly $4.3 billion and 7.6
percent. California followed
closely with $4.2 billion and 7.5
percent.
The decrease of 291 cooperatives
between 1979 and 1977 reflects the
continuing trend of merger,
consolidation, and acquisition,
Torgerson said. This decline also
resulted from an intensive effort to
contact cooperatives that had not
HARRISBURG April 1961 egg
production in Pennsylvania totaled
356 million, according to the
Pennsylvania Crop Reporting
Service. This was one percent
above the 535 million eggs pro
duced in April 1980.
outsi
responded during recent surreys, of U.S. farmers amp
In many cases, these organizations farmers belong to two or more
had been discontinued or no longer cooperatives. The 1979 mem
were operating as a cooperative, bership total was down 1.2 percent
he said. from 1977 membership, reflecting
Minnesota continued to have the in part the continued reduction in
most cooperatives with 741. Other the number of farms and farmers,
states, in order, were North Minnesota bad the mn»t co-op
Dakota, 431; Texas, 411; and members with 551,666. Other
Wisconsin, 410. states, in order, were Wisconsin,
The national membership total 347,965; lowa, 322,759; and Illinois,
of 5.7 million exceeds the number -311,663.
Pa.
egg production up
The April average of 16.4 million
layers was one percent above a
year ago. Egg production per 100
layers was 2,174 compared with
2,167 in April 1980.
The nation’s laying flocks
me on the
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ted in
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produced 5.72 billion eggs during
April 1961. Less than one percent
above a year ago. The numoer of
layers for April averaged per 100
layers during the month was 2,018
compared with 2,023 a year ago.
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