The Nation’s 296 dairy cooperatives marketed 105.8 billion pounds of milk, or 76 percent of all milk sold to plants and dealers in 1987. Total number of member-producers was 120,603. There were 121 cooperatives operating 229 dairy processing and manufacturing plants, 44 with only milk-receiving stations, and 131 with no milk-handling facilities. Cooperatives sold 14 percent of the Nation’s packaged fluid products, 8 percent of the ice cream and ice milk, 83 percent of the butter, 91 percent of the dry milk products, 45 percent of the cheese, and 13 percent of the cottage cheese made in the United States. The traditional method of paying for milk adjusted for butterfat, with or without adjusting for other components, was the prevailing method of paying for member milk. A quality premium program was the incentive offered most frequently by cooperatives.