USDA Releases National Farmers Ranked Third For Dairy Farms
Represented
By Brad Rach
Hoard’s Dairyman recently published its annual list of the Top 50 milk cooperatives in the United States.
This year’s list had some bad news concerning farm numbers. Total membership in the Top 50 was down by almost 2,000 farms in a single year. No surprise there, I’m afraid.
The 18th largest organization on the list bucked the trend, however. Its numbers for both members and volume increased. Anyone want to guess the name of that organization?
That’s right. National Farmers continued to grow in these toughest of times. It’s a great tribute to each of you and to the wonderful staff that supports you.
The Hoard’s list ranks cooperatives based on volume of milk marketed. What if they used how many farms each cooperative represents? The rankings would have us at number three!
Only two cooperatives on the list have more members than we do, and one of those two is a testing cooperative.
Think about this for a minute. One out of every 14 dairy farmers on the Top 50 list belongs to NFO. Talk about strength in numbers!
We have been through some tough times. No doubt about that. But looking ahead, every expert opinion I have read lately tells me that milk supplies will remain tight for as far out as anyone can see.
Here’s what I think that means for us. We will continue to sell your milk into an increasingly competitive market. We won’t be dumping milk. The National Farmers dairy program is growing during the toughest of times. We are well positioned for tomorrow’s tightening milk markets.
Congratulations to everyone, farmers and staff alike, on a job well done.