Land O'Lakes is a national agricultural marketing cooperative based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, focusing on the dairy industry. It is owned by 7,000 producers and 1,300 local cooperatives, who are each members. The company had annual sales over US$6 billion in 2003 and directly employs over 6,000 workers. They are one of the largest producers of butter and cheese in the country.

History

Land O'Lakes was founded in 1921 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by representatives from 320 co-op creameries as the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association. The organization aimed to improve marketing and quality, and thus raise the price of butter. In 1924, their new sweet cream butter was given the name "Land O'Lakes" after a contest, and in 1926, the organization took this name.

The company has grown through numerous acquisitions, and now has a large business in farm supply in addition to dairy.

Trivia and Folklore

• The Land O' Lakes package (see image, above) was central to a prank practiced among American school children. First, the lower three sides of the box which the Indian girl holds in front of her are incised with a sharp knife, so as to make a flap which can be lifted. Then the knees are cut off of another image of the maiden (each box bore several images), and pasted to the reverse side of the first, cut-out image. When the flap is lifted, it appears that the girl's breasts are exposed. This was sometimes called the "Indian butter trick."

• The Wacky Packages line of novelty cards, which mocked familiar products, featured "Land O' Quakes" butter, with a terrified maiden in a violently disrupted landscape.