Land O'Lakes facts for kids
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| Agricultural cooperative | |
| Industry | Food and agriculture |
| Founded | July 8, 1921 |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Key people
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| Products | Dairy foods, animal nutrition, seed and crop protection |
| Revenue | $14.9 billion (2018) |
| Members | 3,963 farmer-owners (2017) |
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Number of employees
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9,000 |
Land O'Lakes, Inc. is a big American company that focuses on dairy products and farming supplies. It's a special type of business called an agricultural cooperative. This means it's owned by its members, who are mostly farmers.
The company is based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, in the United States. Land O'Lakes helps about 300,000 farmers by processing and distributing their products. They handle a huge amount of milk every year! They are well-known for making butter and cheese. They also help farmers with animal nutrition through their Purina Animal Nutrition business and provide seeds and crop protection through WinField United.
Contents
History of Land O'Lakes
Land O'Lakes started a long time ago, on July 8, 1921. It was founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by people representing 320 different cooperative creameries. A creamery is a place where milk is processed to make butter, cheese, and other dairy products.
The main goal of this new organization, first called the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association, was to make butter better and market it well. This would help farmers earn more money from their dairy farms.
The Association created a system to check, grade, and certify butter from its member creameries. This made sure all the butter was of high quality and tasted the same. In 1924, they held a contest to name their new, high-quality butter. The winning name was "Land O'Lakes," which refers to Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes."
The name "Land O'Lakes" became so popular that people often confused the product name with the company name. So, in 1926, the organization officially changed its name to "Land O'Lakes Creameries, Inc."
In its early years, the co-op had to defend its quality checks. But soon, other dairy companies started to copy Land O'Lakes' approach because their high-quality butter was so successful.
Recent Company Growth
Over the years, Land O'Lakes has grown a lot by joining with or buying other companies. This has helped them expand beyond just dairy into farm supplies.
For example, in 2001, Land O'Lakes bought Purina Mills, a big animal feed company. They kept the well-known Purina name and logo. In 2012, they bought Kozy Shack, which makes refrigerated desserts.
In 2018, something historic happened: Beth Ford became the first female CEO of Land O'Lakes. She started her role on August 1st.
More recently, in 2019, Land O'Lakes used a self-driving truck from Plus.ai to deliver 40,000 pounds of butter across the country. This was the first time a self-driving truck completed such a long commercial trip!
In 2020, the company also started the American Connection Project. They teamed up with companies like Microsoft and the Mayo Clinic to create free Wi-Fi spots. This helped people stay connected, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What Land O'Lakes Does
The main office for Land O'Lakes is in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The company has several different parts:
- Dairy foods: This is where they make products like butter, cheese, and desserts. You might see brands like Land O Lakes, Alpine Lace, Kozy Shack, and Vermont Creamery.
- Animal feed: Through Purina Animal Nutrition and Mazuri, they create food for many different animals.
- Seed and crop protection: Their WinField United business provides seeds and products that help farmers protect their crops.
The Butter Packaging and Its Changes
For many years, the Land O'Lakes butter packaging featured an image of an indigenous woman, often called Mia. This image was first painted in 1928 by Arthur C. Hanson. It showed the woman holding a butter box that also had her image on it, creating a repeating picture effect. This is known as the Droste effect.
Over time, the image of Mia was updated. In the 1950s, a Red Lake Ojibwe artist named Patrick DesJarlait updated Mia's image. He wanted to make sure her clothes looked like real Ojibwe styles and that the background showed a specific place in Ojibwe territory, the Red Lake in Minnesota.
In 2018, the image was changed to show only the woman's head, removing the repeating picture. Then, in April 2020, the company announced they would remove the image of the indigenous woman entirely from their packaging.
This decision caused some discussion. Some people, including Native advocates like Peggy Flanagan (who is the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe), praised the change. They felt the image was a racist stereotype.
However, not everyone in the Native community agreed. Patrick DesJarlait's son, Robert DesJarlait, felt the logo was not offensive. He said that for many Native people, seeing a Native woman on a butter box gave them a sense of pride. He believed his father created the image to give that feeling of cultural pride.
Animal Care Concerns
Sometimes, animal rights groups have raised concerns about how animals are treated at farms that supply milk to Land O'Lakes.
In 2009, a group called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) shared a video. It showed some issues at a dairy farm that supplied Land O'Lakes. The video showed unclean conditions and sick cows. Land O'Lakes investigated with veterinarians, who found no mistreatment but suggested improvements for the animals' living areas and hygiene. Land O'Lakes supports industry standards for animal care called National Dairy F.A.R.M.
In 2017, another group, Animal Outlook, also shared a video from a supplier farm. This video showed workers kicking cows and using electric prods too much. As a result, one employee was fired. Land O'Lakes states that they are committed to good animal care practices.
Licensing Agreements
Land O'Lakes also allows other companies to use its brand name for certain products. For example, since 2012, WhiteWave Foods has sold coffee creamers and other dairy products using the Land O'Lakes name. Also, Dean Foods sells Land O'Lakes brand milk in several states in the Midwest.
Land O'Lakes in Popular Culture
- In a book called Super Sad True Love Story (2010), Land O'Lakes is imagined as a huge company that has merged with major car companies.
- In December 2019, an autonomous truck successfully drove from California to Pennsylvania. It was carrying a large load of 40,000 pounds of Land O'Lakes butter!
See also
- List of dairy product companies in the United States
