Letter from the CEO
May 15, 2025
As we enter 2025, we reflect on a year of progress, resilience, and dedication to serving our member-owners. United Cooperative remains steadfast in its mission to provide superior products, services, and infrastructure to support the evolving needs of our agricultural community.
Throughout 2024, our employees demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence, ensuring operational efficiency and exceptional customer service. Their dedication, combined with the trust and support of our members, has driven another year of growth across all core divisions. We extend our sincere appreciation to every employee, member, and partner who contributed to our success.
United Cooperative continues to invest in infrastructure to meet the increasing demands of our members. In the past year, we have completed and initiated key building projects in locations such as Waupun, Mayville, Ripon, Hillsboro, Center Valley, and Coleman. These enhancements position us to better serve our customers with increased capacity and improved efficiency.
Agriculture remains an industry of adaptation, and despite the challenges of unpredictable weather and supply chain fluctuations, we experienced strong crop yields and favorable harvesting conditions in 2024. Our ongoing facility upgrades have allowed us to efficiently handle higher volumes, ensuring that our members receive the best possible service. We are grateful for the efforts of our seasonal workforce and suppliers who played a crucial role in another successful year.
Grain production continues to grow in Wisconsin, and we are committed to expanding our storage capacity and refining our logistics to accommodate this upward trend. Because of that grain growth, United Cooperative is in the final construction phase of our soybean crush plant in Waupun, Wisconsin. This will provide new market access and further the value supply chain for soybeans.
Celebrating 89 years of service, United Cooperative remains dedicated to long-term sustainability and growth. The agricultural landscape is constantly evolving, influenced by economic pressures, technological advancements, and global markets. We encourage our members to collaborate with our trusted sales teams to make informed decisions that enhance profitability and efficiency.
United Cooperative takes pride in giving back to our local communities and helps advance many non-profit organizations’ initiatives throughout the year. The cooperative’s approach is to target community giving to three areas that support members the most: rural health and safety; agricultural youth; and food pantries. This year our total giving to initiatives in these three areas reached over $100,000. In 2024, 47 high school and college students were awarded a $1,000 United Cooperative scholarship, bringing the total number of students supported through this program to over 600, which equates to $600,000 in scholarships since the program’s inception in 2008.
Revenues for 2024 were $1.19 billion. United Cooperative’s core businesses of agronomy, grain, feed, and energy generated $61.5 million in profits. The investments United Cooperative has made in ethanol production contributed $36.5 million to our net income in 2024. Patronage from regional cooperatives was $9.9 million dollars. All combined, United Cooperative had a total net margin before income taxes in 2024 of $107.9 million dollars.
With those numbers, United Cooperative is returning $48.6 million in total patronage to members. Fifty percent of this patronage, or $24.3 million, will be distributed in cash to our patron members in May, while the other 50 percent, or $24.3 million will be retained in equity credits. In addition, we plan to again revolve stock in October, retire stock at age 77 and pay all estates as requested.
As we embark on another year, we reaffirm our commitment to innovation, service, and reliability. Together, we will continue to strengthen our cooperative and support the farmers who feed our communities. We appreciate that you “Rely on Us” as your partner in success.
Thank you again for your patronage in 2024 and I look forward to an exciting and prosperous year in 2025.