25 
Trend in Size 
Size of organization can be measured in terms of average number of 
memberships and average dollar volume of business. The trend in size 
of organization for the 1952-64 period is best measured by the data for 
the 48 continuously operating associations. Average number of member- 
ships and total volume of business for all cooperatives operating in 
these years emphasizes trends in the level of cooperative business, which 
may be affected by exits and entries. 
Memberships.--The 61 processing cooperatives operating in 1952 had 
26,049 memberships; in 1964, 55 associations had 21,838 memberships. A 
10 percent decline in number of cooperatives was accompanied by a 16 
percent decline in memberships. No significant changes occurred in the 
distribution of cooperative processors by number of memberships between 
1952 and 1964 (table 7). In both years, 38 percent of the associations 
had between 101 and 500 memberships, and 56 percent or more had over 
101 memberships. 
A 7 percent decline in average number of memberships was registered 
for all fruit and vegetable processing cooperatives; canning, drying, 
or freezing (table 8). Drying cooperatives had the largest number of 
members and experienced a smaller increase in average memberships. 
Over the 12-year period, average number of memberships in freezing 
associations declined from 870 to 115 (87 percent). 
Membership trends on a geographic basis appear in figure 9. The more 
important producing areas are the Pacific, Middle Atlantic, and East 
North Central States where over 70 percent of the associations are lo- 
cated. In these areas, average number of memberships for all operating 
associations was down in 1964 as compared with 1952. Because of urban 
development and farm mergers, memberships went down by 38 percent in 
East North Central States, 11 percent in Middle Atlantic States, and 
13 percent in Pacific States (appendix table 15). 
Volume.--The 65 processing cooperatives operating in 1952 had $171.6 
million in annual business volume. This compares with a $476.3 million 
volume in 1964. Unlike number of associations and number of memberships, 
which declined over this period, the total volume of business increased 
by 178 percent. 
The volume of processing cooperatives in 1952 ranged from less than 
$100,000 upward to $30 million (appendix table 16). In 1964, the range 
extended beyond $30 million. Well over half (56 percent) of the pro- 
cessing cooperatives in 1952 had less than $1 million annual volume. 
In 1964, only 32 percent were below $1 million and 10 percent exceeded 
$30 million a year. 
