organic food founded 1988 1988 headquarters la farge wisconsin united states area served united states 25 countries key people george siemon founding farmer c e i e i o 1 products butter cheese eggs milk produce soy yogurt revenue 1.04 billion 2 operating income 36.8 million 2 members 1 850 farmer owners 2 number of employees 850 2 website organicvalley.coop organic valley ov is an independent cooperative of organic farmers based in la farge wisconsin united states near la crosse wisconsin . founded in 1988 3 it is the largest organic farmer owned cooperative in the world with over 1 800 farmer owners across the united states canada and australia . 4 organic valley markets its products in all 50 states and exports to 25 countries . in 2015 growing annual sales topped 1 billion . 5 2 contents 1 cooperative history 2 cooperative mission 3 management 4 sustainability 5 references 6 external links cooperative history edit organic valley was founded in 1988 under the name cropp coulee region organic produce pool cooperative . 6 what began as a group of wisconsin family farms selling their produce soon expanded into the production and local distribution of vegetables and dairy products . the brand name organic valley was soon adopted and the abbreviation cropp was adjusted to cooperative regions of organic producer pools . the original cropp farms were located throughout southwest wisconsin primarily in the kickapoo river basin area near the cooperative s headquarters . today organic valley comprises 1 800 farmer owners located in 32 states and three canadian provinces that specialize in sustainable organic agriculture practices . organic valley has become the world s largest independent cooperative of organic family farmers and one of the nation s largest producers and distributors of organic produce dairy soy and eggs . 7 it also markets its line of beef pork turkey and chicken products under the organic prairie brand . 8 the modern barn . organic valley s global headquarters in wisconsin with solar trackers . products are marketed in all 50 states canada china japan and 22 other countries . 9 the united states is divided into three selling markets the western central and eastern divisions . each division is managed by sales staff producers and distributors directly associated with the cooperative . organic valley produces six regional milks that are produced processed and distributed in new england northeast heartland rocky mountain california and the pacific northwest . total sales in 2003 were 156 million and reached 972 million in 2014 . 4 in 2009 organic valley launched a partnership with stonyfield farm and hp hood agreeing to license the stonyfield fluid milk brand and manage sales and distribution . the deal also invited the farmers supplying that milk into the cooperative starting january 1 2010 . 10 as of 2016 the cooperative employed over 800 people ; 400 at its la farge headquarters and several hundred more at its cashton wisconsin distribution center and offices . 11 in march 2016 construction was complete on a second 200 000 square foot office building on the cashton campus in order to accommodate continued growth of the cooperative . 2 ahead of the 2016 summer olympics organic valley announced its sponsorship of team usa cyclist kristin armstrong one of the most decorated women cyclists in the world . 12 the cooperative also created new packaging for its white milk half gallons and good to go single serves featuring the milk life team usa logo . cooperative mission edit the mission of cropp is to create and operate a marketing cooperative that promotes regional farm diversity and economic stability by the means of organic agricultural methods and the sale of certified organic products . 13 management edit george siemon one of the founding farmers of cropp is the ceo of organic valley . 14 once a member of the national organic standards board 15 siemon helps to set the standards not only for organic valley but is best known for his leadership in organizing farmers and building market support for organic agriculture across the country . as a cooperative organic valley is primarily run and owned by the farmers that sustain it with a central mission of supporting rural communities by protecting the health of the family farm and working toward both economic and environmental sustainability . 16 with a low profit margin the company s income returns to the farmers employees and farming communities in which the crops are grown . sustainability edit in 2015 organic valley announced that 81 % of the cooperative s combined on site power consumption was generated by renewable energy . 17 on farm sustainability efforts and sustainable operations at the coop s offices and warehouses include solar wind biodiesel and more . 18 these efforts have placed the organization in the top 30 on site generation list by the united states environmental protection agency . 19 references edit http www.organicvalley.coop id 688 a b c d e f organic valley celebrates surge to billion dollar year with even greener pastures on horizon . lacrossetribune . 2016 04 08 . retrieved 2016 04 08 . brett nelson . dean foods to street green is good . forbes september 14 2004 . a b mike tighe 2014 04 04 . organic valley nears 1 billion in sales . wisconsin state journal . retrieved 2014 04 16 . organic valley farmer owners convene at co op s annual meeting to celebrate 2015 milestones and strategize for future generations . prnewswire.com . 2016 04 07 . retrieved 2016 04 07 . organic valley the truest meaning of organic . united natural foods inc. june 2004 . retrieved 2008 03 16 . organic valley history . organicvalley.coop . retrieved 2014 04 16 . why organic prairie . organicprairie.com . retrieved 2014 04 16 . organic valley posts record sales 193 percent profit leap . lacrossetribune.com . 2015 04 10 . retrieved 2014 04 10 . http www.organicvalley.coop newsroom about organic valley organic valley big business in tiny towns . lacrossetribune.com . 2013 05 19 . retrieved 2014 04 16 . http www.groceryheadquarters.com whats new milkpep sponsors team usa and taps organic valley to create special packaging organic valley goals . organicvalley.coop . retrieved 2014 04 16 . http www.organicvalley.coop about us our cooperative our leaders c e i e i o martin andrew . how to add oomph to organic . new york times 19 august 2007 . http www.organicvalley.coop about us our cooperative our co op http issuu.com organicvalley docs cropp 2014 sustainabilityreport fin e 7846503 12192823 http www.organicvalley.coop newsroom press releases details article organic valley and gundersen health system break ground on cashton greens wind farm wisconsins fi http www.epa.gov greenpower toplists top30onsite.htm external links edit official website official website of organic prairie retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title organic valley & oldid 739214912 categories dairy products companies of the united statesdrink companies of the united statesmultinational food companiesorganic foodcompanies based in wisconsinvernon county wisconsinagricultural cooperatives navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 13 september 2016 at 12 16 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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