The largest dairy cooperative in the nation had a “challenging” 2018 and lost a lot in net sales numbers from the previous year.
The Dairy Farmers of America cooperative held its annual meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, and reported that net sales fell by $1.1 billion during 2018.
That’s a 7.5 percent decrease over 2017. Net sales in 2018 came in at $13.6 billion, while the previous year’s total was $14.7 billion.
As most industry folks expected, the decrease is primarily due to lower milk prices.
The all U.S. milk price was 8.2 percent lower than the previous year. Prices averaged $16.20 per hundredweight in 2018 compared with $17.65 per hundredweight the previous year.
The cooperative’s net income came in at $108.5 million for 2018.
That’s an $18.9 million dollar drop from 2017’s income total of $127.4 million. DFA President and CEO Rick Smith says the past year was challenging for many in the dairy farmer community.
“However, DFA remains focused on bringing value to our members,” Smith says.
“From marketing members’ milk and offering valuable farm services, to expanding our global presence and making strategic investments to strengthen our commercial portfolio, we’re committed to ensuring a strong and sustainable cooperative.”