Retailer of the Year: Delivering “Trust-Driven Service”

As a family-owned independent ag retailer, Marion Ag Service Inc. is rooted in serving its customers with a nimble entrepreneurial spirit and an appetite to embrace a diverse range of crops served. To recognize its excellence in business, Marion Ag Service received the 2022 Retailer of the Year recognition, an award given by the Agricultural Retailers Association, sponsored by Bayer and supported by The Scoop. 

The business’ foundation was set in 1976 as Bob Hockett joined four other local farmers to start the company in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Hockett bought out his partners in 1978 and focused the business on lime application, fertilizer sales, trucking and wheat storage and marketing. Today, Marion Ag has four locations serving growers of hundreds of crops from south of Portland to Eugene. 

“Our business was built by our employees. They do the face-to-face everyday job, and I’ve tried not to interfere,” Hockett says. “When people ask how we’ve been able to do something, I think it’s because we’ve had the right people doing the right thing in trying to help the grower.” 

It’s Hockett’s entrepreneurial spirit that is engrained in the company’s team—now 120+ plus employees. His son, John, is current CEO.

“Our culture is rooted around trust—trust with our teammates and trust with customers,” he says. “It’s the energy that you bring to just the small things that make the big difference. And I think that’s it in a nutshell—little things matter to us.”

To deliver its “trust-driven service” motto, Marion Ag has four core values: knowledgeable, integrity, reliability and teamwork.

“Our customers are asking us for sound advice and value-added services that can add to their bottom line,” says Tom Wimmer, executive vice president, who has been with the company for 43 years and was its seventh employee.

One unique opportunity for Marion Ag is its geography and, therefore, the diversity in the crops it services: broadacre crops, grass seed, clover, vegetable seeds, horticultural and nursery products, berries, hops, hazelnuts and grapes. Rather than think of this diversity as a challenge, the team embraces how it can grow the business in serving the range of customers. 

“We have the right climate, great soils and a rich history of being able to grow good crops,” says Craig Vachter, sales manager and agronomist. “If we can’t provide the right service to the customer to be successful, then we won’t be successful. And our leadership gives the freedom to carve your own path but lead by example. And they give you the tools and the amount of information necessary to be successful.” 

As its business has grown and evolved, customer-centered service extends across all facets of the industry the team serves. 

“What Bob Hockett instilled in us is you go in and you take care of your customer. If they have a problem, you solve their problem. It’s about being honest, and when they are asking for a price on something, give them an honest price,” says David Hicks, horticultural specialist.

Upstream demand has changed Marion Ag’s business in the crops it services and also the products it carries. For example, in the early 2000s, the company started offering organic fertilizer and products. Additionally, for more than 25 years, Marion Ag has expanded its use of controlled-release fertilizers.

Its geography is known as the grass seed capital of the world—perennial rye grasses and turf grasses. 

“Here at Marion Ag, we receive seed, process it, bag it and get it ready for shipment, which entails running it through the cleaning machines, weighing trucks in, bagging it and checking it for quality,” explains Scott Banyard, seed processing manager. 

Farmer-customers say often their first phone call in the morning is to their Marion Ag Service advisers. Farmers rely on the product recommendations and expertise provided by Marion Ag. 

“It’s really about our team and teamwork. That’s the biggest asset that we have,” says Jeff Freeman, director of sales and marketing. “If you look at the diversity of customers we have and the diversity of skill sets that our team has, I think that’s what makes us successful.” 

Freeman shares though decisions on inputs and practices may have been made on anecdotal information in the past, now Marion Ag can support recommendations with technology measuring and analyzing what could be the best decision. As such, the company has expanded efforts to build greater trust with customers. For example, it has a data program, CropWatch, and conducts its own in-house field trials. These trials can be a longer-term investment as field trials on perennial crops require three years or more of data. 

“Hazelnuts in particular can have a yield swing every other year. So you can’t just do something one year or even two years and know that it’s going to make a routine difference. Everything’s kind of a long-term investment here,” says Anne Iskra, technical services manager.  

With its team focus, Marion Ag has deliberately structured work to keep its team engaged throughout the year. Production crews shift from dry fertilizer application to summer season work to grass seed harvest and bagging. 

“It’s important to Marion Ag Service that we’re able to keep employees on all year long because our people and their families are really important to us,” Wimmer says. 

The surrounding communities are also important as Marion Ag supports 4-H, FFA, the Career Technical Education Center, Oregon State University research and Extension and other groups. 

Its four facilities are enrolled in ResponsibleAg. In 2017, the company built a rail-served fertilizer plant with automated ERP, blending, scales and bagging. 

“The return on investment for facilities is relevance,” Freeman says. “The Willamette Valley is about a million-acre market. Being able to provide services like train-loading and bagging fertilizer are things that other people don’t do, and we’re willing to take it on. We continue to invest, and I think that’s part of the ag retail model. You have to have those physical investments to provide the service.” 

Investing in customer service has built the business for Marion Ag Service.