FAR M E R - OWN E D C R O P P C O O P E RAT I V E
3 r d Q UART E R N E WS LE T T E R
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1652 FARMS STRONG
3Q:2010
Financial update
CROPP Cooperative reported revenue of $458,809,916 for the
first three quarters of 2010. This represents a 19.4% increase
over revenue of $384,342,771 during the first 3 quarters of 2009.
The increase in sales is mainly due to the new sales of Stonyfield
branded milk, which CROPP Cooperative distributes through a
licensing agreement with Stonyfield Farm.
Our net income for the first three quarters of 2010 was
$14,970,860, compared to net income from the first three quarters
of 2009 of $2,760,419. This is a 442% increase in net income over
the previous year.
The strength of the year can be attributed to several factors, including stronger than anticipated sales, increased gross margins, farmer
deductions for milk produced over quota, and higher than budgeted prices for conventional milk.
We anticipate 2010 sales of approximately $622 million – a 19%
increase over 2009. Our profit picture for the year remains strong
as well, and we expect to meet or exceed our budgeted profits of
$12.1 million for the year.
CROPP REVENUE
$600
$603M
MILLIONS
$500
$400
$300
$200
$100
OUR MISSION
The purpose of the Cooperative Regions
of Organic Producer Pools is to create and
operate a marketing cooperative that promotes
regional farm diversity and economic stability
by the means of organic agricultural methods
and the sale of certified organic products.
1989 1994 1999 2004
The statements in this investor newsletter that are forward-looking involve numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on current
expectations. The reader should not place undue reliance on these statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated.
© Organic Valley 2010-55020
INV-P02210
2010e
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The Family Farm Cooperative
Q3-2010
Did you know…?
Antibiotics
• Organic Valley farmer-members
maintain and promote animal health
and growth WITHOUT the use of
antibiotics. Our farmers focus on
providing healthy living conditions,
proper nutrition, and attentive care
as the primary factors in preventing
illness.
Addition to CROPP Headquarters in La Farge
CROPP’s 2010 growth has gone far beyond what was expected. To meet the needs of this
growth we have also hired more new employees this year than had been anticipated. Our existing
headquarters building was designed to hold 250 employees; however, it is currently overflowing
with as many as 294 employees!
At the last Board meeting in September, the Directors approved a 33,000 square foot addition
to our current 49,000 square foot headquarters building. This expansion will provide space for
up to 150 employees, space for a research and development lab and an employee wellness facility.
The building expansion is expected to break ground in November of this year and be completed
in time for the Kickapoo Country Fair in July of 2011.
In keeping with our mission, green building (LEED) guidelines and sustainable practices will be
used to the greatest extent possible in this new project.
A Message from the CEIEIO
Investor Partners
Send Stock Sales
Off The Charts
As you probably know, CROPP’s Board
of Directors voted to close our preferred
stock to additional purchases from current
investors at the end of September. We had
already closed our stock to new investors
in March of this year due to more money
coming in than we had anticipated.
As money continued to accumulate, our
board felt it was necessary to close our stock
to current investors as our equity goals had
been met. We were truly amazed to see over
$14 million in additional funding coming
in to our cooperative from January through
September of this year! This is, by far, the
most we have ever raised in one year.
We are grateful to our investor partners
who believe in our mission and have
purchased our preferred stock and also
support us by purchasing Organic Valley
products. We realize that times are hard
for many people, but our consumers also
understand the value of organic products
and of supporting organic family farmers.
We are proud to be part of a growing
industry in this country that offers
sustainable pay and rewarding work for its
family farmers while producing healthy,
organic food.
While paying $4 or more for a half gallon
of organic milk may seem unreasonable to
some, our consumers realize the value of
keeping organic farm production in our
country as well as in their local region.
Our growth over the last 22 years has
been remarkable and this year is no
exception. Our new partnership with
Stonyfield Farm to sell Stonyfield branded
milk helped make this another record
• In the U.S. Government Accounting
Office report on antibiotic
resistance, April 2004, the FDA
declared that antibiotic resistance
in humans resulting from the use
of antibiotics in animals “is an
unacceptable risk to the public
health.”
• The Union of Concerned Scientists
press release on antibiotic use from
Jan 8th, 2001 states that “25 million
pounds of valuable antibiotics
-- roughly 70 percent of total US
antibiotic production -- are fed to
chickens, pigs, and cows for nontherapeutic purposes like growth
promotion.”
year for sales. With this new business,
we’ve needed to add to our employee base
which has further exacerbated the stress
on our already over-capacity headquarters
building. Our board recognized the time
had come to approve additional office
space and we have already broken ground
on the headquarters addition.
We are now planning for 2011 and see
steady growth ahead. We are beginning
to add farmers in the Eastern U.S. and
have many new products in development.
There are also plans to expand our
distribution center once we finish our
headquarters addition.
I must thank you again for your tremendous
support by purchasing our preferred stock
and even more for your partnership with
our cooperative and the organic farmers
throughout our nation who are able to
continue to farm because of it.
In cooperation,
George Siemon
The Family Farm Cooperative
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Q3-2010
Scott & Charlene Stoller
Wayne County, Ohio
In 2007, the Stoller family farm was chosen by
the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) as one of seven farms across the
country that were models of best management
practices: healthy soil, protected waterways,
and ecological integrity. “It shows that
‘organic’ and ‘conservation’ go hand-in-hand,”
says Scott Stoller.
They’ve received several conservation awards
at the county and state level in recognition of
this thriving 350-acre certified organic dairy
farm. They grow corn, soybeans, wheat, barley
and alfalfa as winter rations for their herd of
100 Holstein/Brown Swiss cows. They also
have goats, chickens, donkeys and two dogs,
Sassy and Benji.
The Stollers had returned to the family farm
to help Scott’s ailing grandfather one year
previous when Scott lost half of his right arm
to a baler accident in 1997. Four months after
the accident, his grandfather passed away and
they bought his grandpa’s half of the farm.
Four months later still, his grandmother
passed away and they bought the other half
of the farm. “Everybody thought we were
nuts,” Charlene says. “Scott had just gotten his
prosthesis and was still going through all these
surgeries and wasn’t even sure he’d be able to
milk the cows.”
We would have fed what grew on that land to
our cows and we would have drunk the milk
and nobody would have thought anything
of it. When there’s a skull and crossbones on
the label of something you use on your food,
connect the dots! Interfering with what’s been
perfectly made creates problems.”
imagine how we would have made it without
them. We homeschool our kids, and it works
out wonderfully. They love to be involved on
the farm and it makes them feel integrated
and needed and valued.”
2
$
“For instance, just a few miles from here
a truck full of liquid nitrogen that was
destined to be sprayed on farm fields spilled
accidentally. They evacuated everyone nearby.
Everybody was worried about contamination.
If the spill hadn’t occurred, the truck would
have gone a little farther down the road and
sprayed its contents on acres and acres of land.
00
OFF
EXPIRES 3/31/11
“There’s no question that farming organically
gives my kids a better chance at farming in the
Before transitioning to organic, Scott says he
future,” Scott says. “For me it was ‘how dad
would argue that “you cannot feed the world
always did it was right.’ They’re all gung-ho
farming organically.” He doesn’t feel that way for organic agriculture, because they’ve never
anymore. “The system has proven itself. It
known anything different. This is normal to
works.”
them. At this point, ALL my kids would say
Scott didn’t let it get him down, Charlene says.
they want to go into farming. Yesterday I was
The human head count on this farm is ten.
“He has made up mentally and emotionally
short of tractors because there was so much to
Scott and Charlene feel utterly blessed by their do and not enough equipment to go around.
for what he’s missing physically. He likes to
eight children, who range in age from 1 to 18 They’re disappointed if one of them gets to do
joke that he’s not really handicapped until he
years old. “People sometimes wonder why we
loses his teeth!”
something and the other doesn’t. You can just
have a large family,” Charlene says, “but I can’t see their faces fall.”
Prior to the accident, the Stollers farmed
conventionally. Why did they transition to
organic? Scott says it’s “Because I married a
little lady who routinely asked me why I gave
antibiotics to my cows.” Charlene feels the
biggest kick start was Scott’s accident. “We
do a lot of things in the house and we transfer
any ONE Organic Valley Product
that thought to the barn, and we do things in
(Minimum purchase $2.01)
the barn that we transfer to the house. It’s just
connecting the dots. You see one thing and
that prompts a question about the next thing.”
Consumer: Coupon good only in USA on purchase of brand/size indicated. Void if copied, transferred, prohibited or regulated. Consumer to pay sales tax. Retailer: CROPP Cooperative will
reimburse you the face value of this coupon plus 8¢ handling provided it is redeemed by a consumer at the time of purchase on the brand specified. Coupons not properly redeemed will be
void and held. Reproduction of this coupon is expressly prohibited. (Any other use constitutes
fraud.) Mail to: CMS Dep’t 93966, CROPP Cooperative, 1 Fawcett Drive, Del Rio, TX 78840. Cash
value .001¢. Void where regulated, prohibited or if altered, reproduced or transferred or if it
reduces the retail price below PMMB minimum price. Void on Class 1 Dairy/Fluid Milk in CO.
Do Not Double. LIMIT ONE COUPON PER ITEM(S) PURCHASED PER OFFER.
www.organicvalley.coop
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The Family Farm Cooperative
Q3-2010
Melting Pot Beer Cheese Soup
PREP TIME : 20-30 Minutes
TOTAL TIME: 40-50 Minutes
Ingredients:
3/4 cup (6 oz.) Organic Valley Butter
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup finely chopped onions
31/2 - 4 cups Organic Valley Milk
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup broccoli florets,
cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 cup finely chopped carrots
4 Organic Prairie Italian Chicken
Sausages (one 12 oz. package)
cut into small pieces
2 cups flour
2 cups chicken stock
12 ounces beer
“We feature Organic Valley products at our farm
and inn,” says Lisa Kivirist, the contributor of this
recipe. Lisa is co-author of ECOpreneuring and
Rural Renaissance with her husband, John Ivanko.
She and her family run Inn Serendipity, a farm and
bed-and-breakfast outside Monroe, Wisconsin that
is completely powered by renewable energy.
“I’m not much of an artist in the traditional sense.”
writes Lisa. “Give me a piece of paper and pencil
and I might choke out a few stick figure drawings
for you. But give me a chunk of cheddar, some beer,
fresh veggies and other local ingredients, and I transform into the artistic ninja of my kitchen.” Taste her
wonderful beer cheese soup and you might be transformed yourself!
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
5 cups grated Organic Valley
Cheddar Cheese
Directions:
1. Heat butter in a large pot over medium flame. Add onions and garlic.
Sauté until onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add broccoli and carrots. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in flour, making sure vegetables are coated.
4. Stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Stir in beer, Worcestershire sauce and 31/2 cups of the milk.
Reduce heat to low, simmer 10 minutes.
6. Add maple syrup, mustard, salt and sausage. Cook 5 minutes longer.
7. Slowly add cheese by the handful, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted and
soup begins to bubble. If the soup is too thick, add more milk at this point.
Visit www.organicvalley.coop for nutrition info on this and other fabulous recipes.
save on milk, cheese and more!
E-coupons available at www.organicvalley.coop/coupons
One Organic Way | La Farge, WI | 54639
www.organicvalley.coop | 1-888-444-MILK
54601
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