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Abstract
Excerpts from the report Introduction: Agricultural cooperative statistics are collected annually and published to provide information on the position and trends among the Nation’s farmer, rancher, and fishery cooperatives. These statistics are used for cooperative benchmarking, research, technical assistance, education, planning, and public policy. The collection, analysis, and dissemination of cooperative statistics by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are authorized by the Cooperative Marketing Act. Aggregate statistics are reported for cooperative business years ending in calendar year 2018. The information was collected by a mail survey of all organizations identified by USDA Rural Development’s Cooperative Programs as farmer, rancher, or fishery cooperatives. This report presents agricultural cooperative statistics for 2018 in table and chart format and consists of six sections: (I) overall financial statistics; (II) number of co-ops, memberships, and employees; (III) business volume and losses; (IV) Top 100 cooperatives; (V) benchmark statistics for comparing cooperatives; and (VI) statistical trends. Selected highlights are provided at the beginning of each section, and associated tables follow.