March 1 marked the official date for two mergers in ag retail.
New entity serves Kansas
The Great Bend Co-op (Great Bend, KS) and The Cooperative Grain and Supply Company (Bazine, KS) announce the formation of the Cooperative Supply and Service Alliance (CSSA) as founding members.
Chris Wagner, CEO of Great Bend Co-op states, “We are excited to form this new agreement that will benefit the member owners of Great Bend Co-op and The Cooperative Grain and Supply Company. Great Bend Co-op continues to grow at a rapid pace and this framework will only add to our ability to continue that growth and pass on the rewards that this creates to our members and the members of The Cooperative Grain and Supply Company.”
Michael Kempke, General Manager of The Cooperative Grain and Supply Company adds, “We each have successful and strong local brands. While we could have explored a merger or LLC arrangement, we feel that we can enhance both cooperative supply chains while capturing the benefit of economy of scale through a working alliance like CSSA. It is a new model that requires trust and willingness to collaborate.”
GreenPoint Ag expands its official footprint in the south
Also, Tri-County Farmers Association (Tri-County) and GreenPoint Ag Holdings, LLC (GreenPoint Ag) have completed the transaction to combine their operations.
GreenPoint Ag is a top 7 wholesale and retail agronomy company with over $1 billion in sales that employs over 1000.
Tri-County Farmers Association is a farmer-owned cooperative with seven retail locations in east-central Arkansas.
“I am absolutely thrilled for this combination,” said Jeff Blair, CEO of GreenPoint Ag. “Tri-County‘s farmer-focus and service-oriented business is a perfect fit with GreenPoint Ag. There is very little geographic overlap and Tri-County’s locations will fit well within the existing GreenPoint Ag footprint. Thus, we believe the combination will allow us to provide better service to all growers in the region and be more efficient logistically.”
“We think this is the right move at the right time for Tri-County’s farmers. We’ve done some great work over the last 65 years, always advancing and strengthening our coop, but now recognize that for Tri-County to continue, in this era, and to provide best possible service to our growers, we need a large partner,” said Sam Medford, TCFA’s Board Chair.
GreenPoint Ag in all has 114 retail and wholesale agronomy in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas, servicing 11 crops across 28 million acres.
