The two biggest agricultural cooperatives in the country are based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but there’s no question who is No 1. It’s CHS, a grain handler, farm supplier and energy producer, best known in the Plains and upper Midwest. CHS had $44.5 billion in revenue, followed by Land O’ Lakes, the dairy and food processor, with $14.3 billion in revenue in 2013, says USDA in its annual ranking of top cooperatives. Rounding out the top five are Dairy Farmers of America, of Kansas City, Mo, $12.9 billion; Growmark, of Bloomington, Illinois, $10.2 billion; and Ag Processing, of Omaha, Nebraska, $5.7 billion.
The Top 100 list is sprinkled with familiar names – Ocean Spray Cranberries at No 17, Riceland Foods at No 22, Blue Diamond Growers at No 25, Sunkist Growers at No 32 and Tillamook County Creamery, of Tillamook, Oregon, at No 54. There also are some bashful co-ops. Six of them, including No 8 and No 14, appear only as “Name withheld by request.” USDA says 16 of the 100 largest co-ops are in Iowa, the largest number for any state.