Indiana Ag Company Celebrates Milestone
May 24, 2010 KOVA, an Indiana-based, family owned and operated business is proudly celebrating its 75th anniversary. It started as KOVA Fertilizer Corp. in the spring of 1935, when Francis W. Reed sold his first bag of fertilizer from North Anderson Street in Greensburg, IN. Now, 75 years later, the company still operates on Anderson Street, but has expanded to include retail and wholesale locations through Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. KOVA has also expanded with a family of 10 allied businesses operating under the KOVA Agri-Team (KAT) that includes AgriBusiness Finance, Crop Fertility Specialists, Next Gene Seeds, American Grower Insurance, LLC, KOVA Fertilizer, Inc., KOVA Fertilizer Retail, KOVA of Ohio, Heartland, Fields of Vision, and Next Generation.
Today, the company is headed by the second and third generation of Reeds. Francis’ son Dick works alongside his three sons Todd, Brad, and Brian Reed.
KOVA president, Dick Reed said, “We’re very proud of our industry, our agriculture focus, the producers and communities we serve. There really are only a handful of businesses that share this important diamond anniversary status. Our business is and always has been firmly rooted in trust. We are anxious to celebrate our past while we grow the future of the communities that have helped us grow.”
To celebrate their 75 years in business, KOVA is planning a “Community Gift Back” program to help organizations in the communities KOVA serves meet their fund-raising goals. The program follows a long history of local support. In November 1936, Forrest Stevenson as a visitor to the Decatur County 4-H Club and Farmers’ Corn show won a gift donated by the KOVA Fertilizer Co. KOVA has continued to be an active supporter of the 4-H Foundation. During the 1950s, KOVA was active in supporting 4-H activities and their customers to provide agronomic practices to help them be successful. And in 1960s and ’70s, KOVA continued to support local agriculture through 4-H, FFA, and several state organizations, such as the Indiana Plant Food Association. KOVA continues to support 4-H, FFA, Purdue University, local hospitals, several local organizations such as United Fund and YMCA and several youth activities in the community.
“We feel all of our communities have helped us reach this milestone of 75 years, and we want to give back to those communities,” Reed said. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to include our customers, their families and their communities.”
The “Community Gift Back” program will take place at KOVA Fertilizer and Retail stores in Greensburg, Seymour, and Westport, IN, and eight Crop Fertility Specialists locations in Winimac, LaCrosse, Kewanna, Milford, Rossville, Bourbon, Burnettsville, and Urbana, IN. At each location, $1,075 will be awarded to a local non-profit organization to help them with community projects. A random drawing will be held at each of the 11 locations later in the summer and their efforts showcased at a celebration in Greensburg in August.
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