Net income for the nation's agricultural cooperatives increased 14 percent last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The annual report on cooperative business sales by USDA shows farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives posted a record net income of $7 billion in 2015. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the report shows “the cooperative business model continues to perform strongly.” The report lists the top 100 performing co-ops in the nation. Again, this year's list shows that Iowa is home to more Top 100 co-ops than any other state, with 15. Iowa is followed by Minnesota with 11 and Nebraska with nine. California and Illinois each have six, while Wisconsin has five. USDA indicated that total business volume fell for the Top 100 cooperatives, from $177 billion in 2014 to $149 billion in 2015. However, net income rose from $4.3 billion to $4.9 billion in 2015, an increase of 14 percent. Minnesota-based CHS Inc. remains the nation's largest cooperative, with $34.7 billion in total business volume for 2015. Dairy Farmers of America came in second place, with $13.9 billion in total revenue. Finally, Minnesota’s Land O'Lakes was third, with $13.1 billion in sales.
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