Just under 42,000 member-producers, owners of the Nation’s 132 dairy cooperatives, marketed 161.2 billion pounds of milk, or 81 percent of all U.S. milk marketed, in 2012. Including milk received from non-members and non-cooperative firms, total milk handled by cooperatives was 167.7 billion pounds (of which 3 billion pounds was organic milk), or 84 percent of the national share. Forty-seven cooperatives operated milk plants and receiving facilities. Cooperatives marketed 75 percent of the Nation’s butter, 91 percent of nonfat and skim milk powders, 22 percent of natural cheeses, and 43 percent of dry whey products. Eighty dairy cooperatives reported having 22,969 full-time and 816 part-time employees. Eighty-nine cooperatives reported that for the fiscal year, on a per-hundredweight (cwt) basis: total assets were $10.90; total liabilities were $8.12; total equity was $2.78; and net margin before taxes was 22 cents, or a return-on-equity of 8 percent.