This category covers establishments engaged in the wholesale distribution of animal feeds, fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, pesticides, seeds, and other farm supplies, except grains. Establishments primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of pet food are classified in SIC 5149: Groceries and Related Products, Not Elsewhere Classified; those distributing pet supplies are classified in SIC 5199: Nondurable Goods, Not Elsewhere Classified.
444220 (Nursery and Garden Centers)
422910 (Farm Supplies Wholesalers)
422920 (Book, Periodical and Newspaper Wholesalers)
The range of items distributed by wholesale farm supply establishments is wide, including such disparate products as alfalfa, beekeeping supplies, flower and field bulbs, harness equipment, hay, insecticides, agricultural lime, pesticides, phosphate rock, garden flower seeds, and straw.
In 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau reported approximately 6,885 establishments involved in the farm supplies industry, down from 7,158 in 2000. According to D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions, there were a total of 17,070 in 2003. The combined establishments generated $49.4 billion in sales. There were a total of 122,449 employees, up from 74,868 employees in 2002.
Farm supplies represented the largest segment of the industry. They numbered 4,597 establishments, and their combined sales totaled $9.5 billion. Fertilizer and fertilizer materials numbered 2,076 establishments, with $10.6 billion in sales. The animal feeds numbered 2,489, with $2 billion in sales. States with the highest number of establishments were Texas with 1,521, California with 1,187, Iowa with 964, and Illinois with 907.
According to Rural Cooperative Magazine, farmer sales increased in 2002; however, the 3,140 farmer-owned cooperatives dropped to $96.8 billion in sales. The livestock feed and seed sales climbed to $1.4 billion, but the petroleum and fertilizer sales fell 4.4 percent in 2002. Some analysts expected the demand for fertilizer to improve in 2004.
The farm industry experienced mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations throughout 2000 and 2002. There were 3,346 farmer-owned cooperatives in 2000, and that figure dropped to 3,140 in 2002. The memberships of the cooperatives also decreased from three million in 2001 down to 2.8 million a year later.
In 1997, farmer cooperatives increased their share of overall farm supply sales to 30 percent, the highest recorded total since tracking of this data began in 1951. In the same year, co-op sales of major farm supplies totaled $21.9 billion, according to the November/December 1998 issue of Rural Cooperatives Magazine . These statistics, gathered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conjunction with the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), included petroleum sales amounting to $6.8 billion, a 7.4 percent increase over 1996's total. Notwithstanding the inclusion of petroleum sales, sales of other supplies increased similarly: feed sales rose 11 percent, and crop protectant sales increased 10.5 percent for farmer cooperatives selling farm supplies. Charles A. Kraenzie, Director of the USDA/RBS Statistics Staff, attributed these increases to "the favorable crop conditions farmers had experienced in 1997."
The increasing role of farmer cooperatives in farm supply sales in 1997 continued the trend reflected in 1996 USDA statistics, when co-op farm supply sales rose to $24 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion or 11 percent. While these statistics also included a 21 percent rise in petroleum sales, sales of other supplies increased similarly, such as the 11 percent climb in fertilizer sales. As was true in 1997, favorable weather in 1996 helped fuel these increases in farm supply sales for farmer cooperatives. Net income for farm supply co-ops rose almost 17 percent, from $808 million in 1995 to $942 million in 1996, and net business volume increased from $21 billion in 1995 to $23 billion in 1997.
Just over 28,000 companies operated businesses of this nature in 1996, with overall sales of an estimated $56 billion, an increase of about 10 percent over 1993. According to Dun's Census of American Business, 28,481 wholesale farm suppliers were in operation, a decrease of 5,625 establishments since 1993.
In 1996 the typical wholesale farm supplier was small, with fewer than 10 employees and with sales above $250,000. More than half of the total suppliers—about 16,000—had fewer than five employees. About 9,000 suppliers employed between five and 14; 2,500 establishments employed more than 15. In 1996, there were 5,316 concerns with sales between $250,000 and $499,000; 5,257 units had sales between $1 million and $5 million; 3,318 units had sales between $500,000 and $999,000; 3,983 units had sales between $100,000 and $249,000; and roughly 1,500 had sales less than $100,000.
The wholesale farm supplier remained small—employing less than 5 people. In 2003, 10,238 suppliers had fewer than five employees; 3,621 had between five and nine; 2,379 had between 10 and 24; 592 had between 25 and 49; 170 had between 50 and 99; 53 had between 100 and 249; and about 63 suppliers had between 250 and 499.
Leading companies involved in the wholesale farm supply business included Illinois Agricultural Association of Bloomington, Illinois; Transammonia Inc., based in New York City; and Southern States Co-op, Inc. of Richmond, Virginia.
D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions, 2003. Available from http://www.zapdata.com .
Dun's Census of American Business 1996, Parsippany, NJ: Dun and Bradstreet, 1996.
Eversull, Elden. "Farmer Cooperative Sales, Income Fall in 2002." Rural Cooperative Magazine, 04 January 2004. Available from http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/jan04/sales.html .
Hoover's Company Profiles, April 2004. Available from http://www.hoovers.com .
Tindall, Bill. "Fertilizer Sales Outlook Strong for 2004." Apply. 1 December 2003. Available from http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Apply/2003/12/01/342710.com .
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