Stuttgart Rice Mills Make USDA Annual List of Nation’s Top 100 Agri Co-ops

Two Stuttgart-based rice mills with annual revenues together exceeding $2.1 billion once again made the top 100 list of the nation’s agricultural cooperatives, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Riceland Foods Inc. and Producers Rice Mill Inc. of Stuttgart both climbed up the list of the nation’s top agriculture co-ops, which together set a new sales record with total business volume of more than $246 billion. That surpasses the previous record, set in 2012, by $8 billion, a 4% gain. U.S. co-ops also enjoyed robust job growth over the previous year, the USDA said.

Compared to last year, Riceland Foods jumped from 27th to 22nd on the annual list, with annual revenues of $1.32 billion, up 13.8% from $1.16 billion a year ago. Riceland markets and sells more than 125 million bushels of rice, soybeans and wheat grown by its 5,500 farmer-members in Arkansas and Missouri. The Stuttgart based cooperative, which is the world’s largest rice miller, has 1,500 employees, company officials said.

Neighbor and rival Producers Rice Mill also enjoyed a successful year, jumping 15 spots from 79th to 64th on the list of the nation’s top co-ops. The Stuttgart rice producer, which has over 2,500 farmer members, four rice mills and 12 storage and receiving locations, had revenues of $571 million up 19.2% from $479 million in 2012, the USDA said.

Like the nation’s agri co-op sector as a whole, the top 100 cooperatives also enjoyed a third consecutive year of record sales. Together, the top 100 reported revenue of $174 billion in 2013, an increase of almost 9% over the $166 billion reported in 2012. Net income (after taxes) remained virtually unchanged from 2012, at $3.5 billion. The previous records for sales and net income were set in 2012.

CHS Inc., Saint Paul, Minn. – an energy, farm supply, grain and food co-op – has been the nation’s largest ag co-op during the past decade. It held onto the No. 1 spot in 2013, with $44 billion in revenue. It was followed by Land O’ Lakes Inc., Saint Paul, Minn., with sales of $14 billion, and Dairy Farmers of America, Kansas City, Mo., with almost $13 billion in revenue.

Wheaton-Dumont Cooperative Elevator, a grain co-op based in Wheaton, Minn., made the biggest climb up the Top 100. In 2012, it was not even on the list, ranking 150th. The co-op rose 58 spots, to 92nd place, in 2013.

The Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, Wahpeton, N.D., a sugarbeet co-op, was the next biggest “gainer,” moving from 131st place in 2012 to 98th in 2013.

Twenty-three cooperatives, including Producers Rice Mill, improved their ranking by double-digits. Six of these are mixed co-ops (co-ops that handle grain and farm supply sales). Dairy and grain each had two co-ops make double-digit gains, while cotton, rice and sugar each had one co-op jump by at least 10 places.

Grain cooperatives have experienced the largest increase in top 100 representation during the past decade. There were 19 grain cooperatives in the top 100 in 2004. That number rose to 41 in 2013. Dairy cooperative representation in the top 100 fell from 28 to 21 during the same period, while farm supply cooperatives increased from 13 to 16.