Dairy Farmers of America — the Kansas City area’s largest private company — handled 29% of the nation’s total milk production.
The Kansas City, Kansas-based cooperative reported net sales of $24.5 billion in 2022 — jumping nearly 27% from the previous year’s revenue of $19.3 billion. DFA’s 2021 revenue ranked it No. 1 on the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of area private companies and No. 2 on the NCB Co-op 100 list of the nation’s largest cooperatives.
Dairy Farmers of America said it had net income of $107.9 million last year. That compares with net income, excluding non-recurring items, of $199 million in 2021. The cooperative said it distributed $52 million to its farmer-owners in 2022.
The cooperative attributed 2022’s higher revenue to higher U.S. milk prices and higher overall produce prices. DFA said it paid its members an average of $25.53 per hundredweight (literally for 100 pounds of milk) last year, compared with $18.37 the previous year.
DFA said it directed 65.4 billion pounds of milk for its farmer-owners and others through the cooperative’s consolidated businesses, representing 29% of the nation’s total milk production.
The cooperative continued to grow in 2022, buying two extended shelf-life beverage processing plants in Indiana and Pacific, Missouri, from SmithFoods. It also invested in a joint venture with Dubai-based Mana Agro to boost its ingredients business in the Middle East and North Africa.
