Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools CROPP Summary

George Simeon, CEO of the Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools (CROPP), better known as Organic Valley, calls the operation “a social experiment disguised as a business.”

Although CROPP is best known for its dairy, it all began with produce back in 1987, when Simeon gathered a few of his Southwest Wisconsin neighbors to brainstorm co-operative ways to save their farms. The Farm Crisis was hitting the Heartland hard but Simeon believed growing demand for organic produce—all but unheard of then—could yield a premium price. The forward-thinking cooperative would go on to find wild success and play a major role in advancing the organic food category in America.

Dairy farmers joined the co-operative and soon surpassed produce as the major interest group. Securing a national market was a big leap for the Wisconsin-based dairy pool, but in 1989 CROPP developed its own label – Organic Valley Family of Farms—to market butter, milk and eggs. Demand was strong and in 1995, CROPP started its first remote regional pool and processing facility in the Pacific Northwest and continued to establish more regional production centers over the next 10 years.

In the mid 1990s, just as bovine growth hormone was being widely adapted across the industry, CROPP banned it. The company also employed a pasteurizing process that extended the shelf life of many dairy products by a few weeks, which opened the door to many larger retailers.

Today CROPP is a hundred million dollar company, considered a leader in the organic industry. With over $300 million in revenue, 1,200 member/owner farmers, and 500 staff, it’s one of the biggest and most successful producer co-operatives in the country. Sophisticated marketing strategies have helped position Organic Valley as a dairy leader, and its meats and orange juice have found success as well. But twenty years later, CROPP remains committed to its original commitments: stable, premium prices for members; a robust profit-sharing program, and major incentives for recruiting and maintaining members.

Despite its remarkable financial story, CROPP does not define success only by the bottom line. “[Being] ‘wildly successful’ is not a number for us.” says Jerry McGeorge, Director of Co-operative Affairs. “For consumers who want organic food, it’s that we’re ensuring a supply. For farmers, it’s that we’re providing a market that can sustain them. It may even mean a different thing 20 years from now. But if we still have farmers milking their cows, we will have been successful.”