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Headquarters:
4001 Lexington Ave. North Website: http://www.landolakesinc.com Land O'Lakes is one of America's premiere farmer-owned cooperatives. It offers farmers, local cooperatives, and customers across the nation an extensive line of agricultural supplies, as well as state-of-the-art production and business services. A cooperative (or co-op) is a type of business owned by and run for the benefit of those who use its services. Land O'Lakes is the second-largest cooperative in the nation with approximately 9,000 employees, 3,200 direct producer-members and 1,000 member-cooperatives serving more than 300,000 agricultural producers. It handles 12 billion pounds of milk annually, produces a plethora of dairy foods products, and is a trusted partner to many of the nation's top food companies and manufacturers. Land O'Lakes does business in all 50 states and more than 50 countries. Land O'Lakes operates some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including LAND O LAKES Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition, WinField and Geosys. The company's businesses include: Dairy, Crop Inputs, Feed and Layers. In 2013, Land O'Lakes had record sales of $14.2 billion, up 4.4%, and net earnings of $306 million. History In the early 1920s, a cooperative was formed that had new ideas about making butter. In those days, most butter was made from sour cream and sold in tubs. This new cooperative made butter from fresh, sweet cream and sold it in one-pound packages with individually wrapped sticks. It soon became the standard for butter quality and helped implement grading regulations for the industry. That cooperative was Land O'Lakes. The organization was incorporated on July 8,1921 as the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association. In 1924, as the fledgling organization set its sights on market expansion, it realized it needed a brand name and trademark for its butter. So a contest was held to choose a name. The prize? $500 in gold, reflecting the golden color of butter. Two contestants, Mrs. E.B. Foss and Mr. George L. Swift, created the winning name Land O'Lakes, a tribute to Minnesota's sparkling lakes. The name became so popular that in 1926 the cooperative changed its corporate name to Land O'Lakes Creameries, Inc., and later to Land O'Lakes, Inc. Benefits - Competitive salary Updated August 7, 2014 |