The US National Cooperative Bank has released its annual NCB Co-op 100 rankings of the country’s top 100 revenue-earning co-ops, with agri-business CHS Inc once more taking the top spot.
The NCB Co-op 100® found that in 2022, the US’s top 100 co-ops posted revenues totalling US$319bn, a 25% increase from 2021.
The bank, which works to “provide critical financing to support the growth and expansion of co-operative businesses, while also deploying hundreds of millions of dollars to support underserved communities and co-operative expansion initiatives”, first released the survey in 1991.
Published every October to mark National Co-op Month, the NCB Co-op 100® is one of the ways the bank works to promote the sector.
The top revenue producers in 2022 for the report’s main sectors are:
Agriculture:
- CHS Inc., based in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, reported $47.8bn in revenue in 2022 and maintained its first-place position on the NCB Co-op 100® list.
- Dairy Farmers of America, based in Kansas City, Kansas, reported $24.5bn in revenue, earning the number two ranking again this year.
Grocery:
- Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., based in Kansas City, Kansas, reported revenue of $12.3bn and earned the fifth position on the list.
- Wakefern Food Corporation/ Shoprite, based in Keasbey, New Jersey, reported $12.2bn in revenue, earning the sixth-ranking this year.
Hardware & Lumber:
- ACE Hardware Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois, earned $9.2bn in revenue and came in at number eight on the list.
- Do-it-Best Corp., located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, earned 13th place on the list, with $5.5bn reported in revenue.
Finance:
- Navy Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, earned $9.2bn in revenues and is number seven on the list.
- CoBank, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, earned $7.4bn and came in 10th on the list.
Healthcare:
- HealthPartners Inc., located in Bloomington, Minnesota, earned $8.2bn in revenue and is ninth on the list.
Energy & Communications:
- Basin Electric Power Cooperative, located in Bismarck, North Dakota, earned the 21st position with a reported $2.8bn in revenue in 2022.
- Oglethorpe Power Corporation, located in Tucker, Georgia, earned the 28th position with reported revenue of $2.1bn in 2022.
This year the bank introduced a new set of awards to recognise the impact of of smaller co-ops alongside the top 100.
“Thousands more do not make this list because of their smaller size and some are just emerging co-op organisations,” said the bank. “This past year, in partnership with Capital Impact Partners, we provided four co-op innovation awards to new co-ops making an impact in communities.”
The winners are:
Rock Steady Farm (Millerton, NY) – a queer- and trans-owned worker co-operative farm rooted in social justice, food access and farmer training that grows high-quality produce and makes it available to historically marginalised communities in the Hudson Valley and NYC. It received $40,000 to launch a new programme, Pollinate, a paid immersive apprenticeship program for queer or trans BIPOC new farmers who practice or are planning to practice co-operative farming models at a scale that can support the wider community.
Compost Cooperative (Greenfield, MA) – a worker co-op that works to build ownership opportunities for people who face barriers to employment while joining local efforts to address changes in the climate. It receives a $50,000 to support the production of a line of compost that will expand services and increase revenue.
Northwest Cooperative Development Center (Olympia, WA) – which supports co-ops from ideation and conversion through growth stages to foster community economic growth and serve low-income groups. It received $45,000 to repurpose its current manufactured housing conversion model to facilitate the purchase and conversion of multi-family properties to resident-owned housing co-ops.
Birthmark Doula Collective dba New Orleans Breastfeeding Center (New Orleans, LA) – a grassroots worker co-op focused on improving the perinatal outcomes and experiences of pregnant, birthing and postpartum people and their families. It supports Black people, people of colour, low-income families, and LGBTQ families, who experience systemic inequities in maternal health and reproductive healthcare, and received $35,000 to provide professional development support and education to its members.
