Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an American member-owned agricultural cooperative based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, Minnesota, United States,[2] focusing on the dairy industry.

The cooperative has 1,959 direct producer-members, 751 member-cooperatives, and about 9,000 employees who process and distribute products for about 300,000 agricultural producers,[3] handling 12 billion pounds of milk annually.

[5] The co-op is one of the largest producers of butter and cheese in the United States through its dairy foods business; serves producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other large retailers through its Purina Animal Nutrition (Purina Mills) business; and delivers seed, crop protection products, agricultural services and agronomic insights to 1,300 locally owned and operated cooperative and independent agricultural retailers and their grower customers through its WinField United business.

The Association developed and implemented a systematic inspection, grading and certification system of butter from member creameries, resulting in greater uniformity of product.

The co-op was often accused of unfair competition and false advertising in its early years,[citation needed] and compelled to defend its inspection and certification processes.

[11] A federal court in 2002 ordered Land O'Lakes to pay $3 million for patent infringement to Dr William Pordy, the inventor of a type of dairy creamer.

[19] In 2020, the company started the American Connection Project along with Microsoft, Tractor Supply Co., and the Mayo Clinic to set up free wifi locations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[21] The Land O'Lakes indigenous woman, named Mia, holding the butter box was painted in 1928 by Brown & Bigelow illustrator Arthur C.

[22] According to Land O'Lakes, the original image of Mia was "simplified and modernized" in 1939 by Jess Betlach and has undergone many minor modifications since as the enduring logo of the co-op.

[27] The use of an indigenous woman as a mascot had been criticized as a racist stereotype,[28] and the decision to change the label was praised by some Native advocates such as Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.

[36] Since August 2012, WhiteWave Foods has licensed the Land O'Lakes name and sold coffee creamers and fluid dairy products under the brand.