Oct 27, 2004 11:05 AM, from staff and wire reports

Land O’ Lakes Inc, the national, farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative reported year-to-date sales of $5.8 billion with net earnings of $32.0 million. This compares with sales of $4.4 billion and net earnings of $42.9 million in the first nine months of 2003.

For the third quarter, Land O’ Lakes is reporting $1.8 billion in sales and a net loss of $29.9 million, versus $1.6 billion in sales and a net loss of $1.6 million in 2003.

Dairy Foods sales through September were $2.9 billion, up about $800 million over the previous year. Sales for the quarter totaled $952 million, up from $786 million for the third quarter of 2003. Dairy Foods is reporting a pre-tax loss of $11.7 million through September, a $7.3 million improvement over the first three quarters of 2003. For third-quarter 2004, the company reported a $3.7 million loss in Dairy Foods, in contrast to $0.7 million in pretax earnings for the third quarter of 2003.