The nation’s 100 largest agricultural cooperatives had record sales and income in 2011, according to the USDA's annual list. The 100 largest ag co-ops reported revenue of $148 billion in 2011, an increase of almost 30 percent over 2010, when revenue totaled $113 billion. The previous top 100 co-op record was $130 billion for sales in 2008. The top ten agricultural cooperatives include four dairy cooperatives:

• No. 2 on the list was Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City with $12.9 billion in revenue, topping 2010 revenue by 20 percent
• California Dairies was No. 6 with $3.66 billion, up 20 percent from 2010
• The 9th and 10th largest cooperatives were Northwest Dairy Association of Seattle and Associated Milk Producers, Inc., both with approximately $2 billion in revenue, up 30 percent and 20 percent respectively from 2010.

All four of these co-ops were also on the Top 10 list for 2010. Click here to read more about 2010's results.

Other dairy cooperatives that topped $1.5 billion in revenue in 2011 were:

• Foremost Farms USA Cooperative with 1.7 billion
• Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. with 1.6 billion
• Dairylea Cooperative Inc. with 1.6 billion

Click here to see the full list of cooperatives. PD

—From USDA news release