Growmark and CHS Seek Collaboration
With an announcement on Jan. 12, Growmark and CHS say the two cooperatives are entering into an exploratory process to find synergies and new opportunities for how to serve farmers.
“We believe that by working together we can better serve our farmer- and cooperative-owners. Ultimately, we aim to better meet customer demand for our owners’ products around the world and increase the value of the cooperative system,” said Jay Debertin, president and CEO of CHS.
Notably, the two farmer-owned cooperatives have built long-standing partnerships. For example, in 2021 they formed Cooperative Ventures, a venture capital fund exploring ag technologies.
“Continuing our long history of adding value to our members and customers, while ensuring a strong and vibrant cooperative system for the future, is critical to the Growmark System,” said Growmark CEO Mark Orr. “Our partnership with CHS in Cooperative Ventures is a great example of cooperation amongst cooperatives that benefits the shareholders of both companies.”
What this means or could amount to is being left as fairly ambiguous. The companies say there is no specific outcome being pursued from the discussions. They also do no share a timeline for any results from the discussion.
Headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, Growmark owns the FS trademark and serves 400,000 customers in North America with agronomy, energy, facility engineering/construction, logistics products and services and grain marketing/risk management services.
CHS is known as the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the U.S., and also serves customers in 65 countries and employs nearly 10,000 people.
