Wisconsin Ag Connection - United Cooperative Celebrates 'A Year of Building'

Wisconsin Ag News Headlines

United Cooperative Celebrates 'A Year of Building'
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 04/22/2008

The Beaver Dam-based United Cooperative says it is reporting record profits, patronage refunds, and record sales for the past year. During the company's annual meeting last week, President and CEO David Cramer said assets grew to more than $229 million, and cooperative profit grew to $9.4 million before taxes. Sales for the 2007 fiscal year also rose to more than $359 million from $163.9 million in 2006.

Typical of cooperatives, profit is returned as patronage refunds to customers in proportion to their cooperative expenses. Thirty percent of the patronage refund, more than $1.9 million, was paid in cash with the balance allocated to the members as stock. The stock is then revolved back to the members through a plan set by the board of directors.

The United Cooperative feed division, presently with locations in Beaver Dam, Hartford, Loganville, Randolph, Sauk City, and Watertown, sold 103,750 tons of feed concentrate in 2007, up from 60,334 tons in 2006. Total feed division sales resulted in more than $32.4 million.

The largest portion of total sales is in the grain division, with sales of more than $201.4 million in 2007. In all, 43.72 million bushels of grain were handled at 10 United Cooperative grain locations. As one of the largest marketers of fertilizer products in the state of Wisconsin, the agronomy division sold 87,777 tons of fertilizer in 2007. This resulted in total sales of more than $50 million.

Formed in 1936, United Cooperative is a full-service cooperative offering feed, grain, agronomy, and energy products and services to south-central Wisconsin farmers and consumers.