A survey of 2,675 U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives ending their business year during calendar year 2006 showed a net business volume of $110.5 billion with a net income of $3.2 billion. These cooperatives had assets totaling $48 billion, about $28 billion of liabilities, and $20 billion in equity. Cooperatives were a major employer in rural areas, with 123,000 full-time workers and 57,000 part-time or seasonal employees. Business volume by commodity is reported for all cooperatives. Number of cooperatives, cooperative memberships, and number of employees are classified according to whether the business is a marketing, farm supply, or service cooperative. Trends in cooperative numbers, memberships, employees, business size, sales volume, net income, assets, liabilities, and net worth are reported.
