Organic Valley hit $1.2B in sales for 2020

Organic Valley recorded sales of $1.2 billion for the year ending 2020, improving consolidated net income by $48.4 million from the previous year, according to a news release from the company.

The company markets itself as the nation’s largest organic farmer-owned cooperative with 1,800 farmers in 34 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. While the company is best known for its lines of organic dairy and meat products, it also grows some produce – for instance, brussels sprouts.

In the news release, Organic Valley CEO Bob Kirchoff said the company was able to maintain a stable pay price for its family farms and improve its financials during a pandemic that disrupted many other industries.

“Farms continue to disappear at an alarming rate while the number of animals grows steadily, producing food in systems designed without regard for the long-term, holistic benefit of people, animals, and the environment,” he said. “We are here to offer an alternative: an opportunity for organic family farms to thrive. Family farms care for animals, steward natural resources, produce nourishing food, strengthen rural communities, and pass that care on from one generation to the next, giving all of us a better food system for tomorrow.”

As more people chose to cook healthy food from home in 2020, Organic Valley experienced consolidated sales growth of 4.5%. An increase in conscious shopping choices by individuals across the country helped the cooperative uphold a stable pay price for its organic family farms.

“Our farmers produced exceptionally high-quality products and exemplified cooperation each step of the way,” said Arnie Trussoni, Organic Valley farmer-member and 2020 board president. “Employees remained steadfast in their commitment to the co-op, overcoming the challenges of remote work, homeschooling, and childcare, and our essential on-site workers showed up every day to make sure we kept getting farmers’ products out the door. As we reflect on what’s happened in the world around us this past year, uncertainty and insecurity were common themes. But the last year for CROPP (the cooperative) was the opposite – it was a year marked by strength and stability.”

Above, a riparian restoration project at an Organic Valley member farm. Jessica Rowland Photography/Organic Valley