USDA awards $22.8 million to support renewable energy
Rural Cooperatives, Nov-Dec, 2004
USDA Rural Development has awarded $22.8 million in competitive grants to 167 recipients in 26 states to support President Bush's renewable energy efforts. The funds will be used by rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers to develop renewable energy systems and promote energy efficiency improvements.
"The Bush administration is committed to advancing renewable energy ventures in rural America," Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman said in announcing the grants. "We have the natural resources and the ingenuity to create new forms of energy and to use it more efficiently."
Veneman said the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements program was created as part of the 2002 Farm Bill to assist farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses develop renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements to their operations. Under this program in 2003, the Bush administration invested $21.7 million to develop or improve wind power, anaerobic digester, solar, ethanol and other bioenergy related systems or energy efficiency improvements in 24 states.
A large percent of the 94 renewable energy applications selected this year will support anaerobic digesters and small and large wind power type ventures. A predominate number of the 73 energy efficiency grants will go to agricultural producers who will use the funds for buildings.
A complete list of the selected grant recipients and projects can be found at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ rd/newsroom/news.htm.
Compare your mixed farm supply cooperative (1) with averages for
cooperatives with similar functions.
Size (2002) (2,3)
Measure/Item Unit Small Medium Large
Market farm products and
sell farm supplies Number 10 11 21
Total assets Mil. dol. 1.5 4.1 8.6
Long-term debt Thou. dol. 74.2 308.3 901.2
Total liabilities Thou. dol. 504.9 1,500.5 3,491.9
Total sales Mil. dol. 3.1 6.5 13.3
Total service revenue Thou. dol. 172.3 329.1 619.6
Total revenue Mil. dol. 3.2 7.0 14.3
Net income (losses) Thou. dol. (94.1) 83.5 320.3
Labor of total expenses Percent 52 47 52
Patronage refunds received Thou. dol. (3.9) 86.1 181.4
Liquidity ratios
Current Ratio 2.00 1.44 1.39
Quick Ratio 1.11 0.66 0.72
Leverage ratios
Debt Ratio 0.34 0.37 0.41
Debt to equity Ratio 0.50 0.58 0.69
Times interest earned Ratio -5.52 34.7 4.49
Activity ratios
Fixed asset turnover Ratio 8.21 5.30 5.75
Total asset turnover Ratio 2.04 1.58 1.55
Profitability ratio
Gross profit margins Percent 13.47 14.77 15.92
Return on total assets
before interest and taxes Percent -5.28 3.65 5.00
Return on total equity Percent -14.35 4.16 8.62
Size (2002) (2,3)
Measure/Item Super Small Medium Large
Market farm products and
sell farm supplies 28 10 11 21
Total assets 22.9 1.5 3.3 8.1
Long-term debt 3,218.1 181.3 243.0 725.5
Total liabilities 11,156.2 600.7 1,310.8 3,147.4
Total sales 38.1 2.9 6.7 13.6
Total service revenue 1,660.5 116.8 249.3 646.6
Total revenue 40.6 3.1 7.1 14.5
Net income (losses) 518.9 28.3 75.0 206.5
Labor of total expenses 51 54 48 52
Patronage refunds received 1,660.5 24.9 92.4 33.5
Liquidity ratios
Current 1.34 1.87 1.49 1.44
Quick 0.66 1.04 0.73 0.71
Leverage ratios
Debt 0.49 0.39 0.40 0.39
Debt to equity 0.95 0.64 0.66 0.64
Times interest earned 2.55 3.48 2.77 3.56
Activity ratios
Fixed asset turnover 5.78 7.37 8.33 6.29
Total asset turnover 1.66 1.89 2.03 1.69
Profitability ratio
Gross profit margins 15.90 12.69 12.88 14.49
Return on total assets
before interest and taxes 4.02 2.74 3.32 3.92
Return on total equity 5.96 4.11 5.29 5.94
Your
Measure/Item Super cooperative
Market farm products and
sell farm supplies 28 --
Total assets 22.4 --
Long-term debt 2,715.0 --
Total liabilities 11,035.7 --
Total sales 45.1 --
Total service revenue 1,626.7 --
Total revenue 47.2 --
Net income (losses) 588.4 --
Labor of total expenses 52 --
Patronage refunds received 197.0 --
Liquidity ratios
Current 1.31 --
Quick 0.67 --
Leverage ratios
Debt 0.49 --
Debt to equity 0.97 --
Times interest earned 2.89 --
Activity ratios
Fixed asset turnover 7.35 --
Total asset turnover 2.01 --
Profitability ratio
Gross profit margins 13.40 --
Return on total assets
before interest and taxes 4.26 --
Return on total equity 6.96 --
(1) 50 to 99 percent of sales were generated from farm supply sales.
(2) Small = Sales are $5 million or less; medium = over $5 million to
$10 million; large = over $10 million to $20 million; and super = over
$20 million.
(3) There were 287 cooperatives surveyed in both years.
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