Merger Focuses On Fertilizer
May 17, 2010 Three CropLife 100 cooperatives have formed a partnership to provide better fertilizer service and costs to their grower-customers.
Central Valley Ag Cooperative (CVA), headquartered in O’Neill, NE, South Dakota Wheat Growers (SDWG), headquartered in Aberdeen, SD, and Farmers Cooperative Co. (FC), headquartered in Ames, IA, have formed an entity named Consolidated Sourcing Solutions (CSS) to provide a partnership in fertilizer sourcing.
CropLife eNews has learned that discussions between the three cooperatives were influenced by by the sudden fertilizer price drop in mid-2009 that hurt many co-ops and dealerships. “I would say what probably triggered the casual discussions to serious discussions was the highly volatile situation that companies found themselves in in terms of procuring and sourcing fertilizer for their customer needs,” says Stephen Briggs, SDWG vice president of marketingBrigg. “One of the goals and objectives is to be able to source or procure fertilizer in a most efficient way and hopefully reducing some of the risk involved with that.”
The three co-ops expect CSS to enable the co-ops to “better manage our fertilizer needs and maximize the efficiencies of our fertilizer assets,” says Doug Derscheid, CVA president/CEO. Dale Locken, SDWG CEO, notes that the trio have similar size, cultures, and service to grower fundamentals.
“The immediate and long-term benefits of CSS will include: logistical support and risk management, better international market intelligence, and the ability to build global sourcing relationships to better position us and our suppliers in the Midwest fertilizer market,” says Roger Koppen, FC president/CEO.
Consolidated Sourcing Solutions is in the process of hiring its president. Consolidated Sourcing Solutions intends to be operational in June 2010 and will operate out of a yet-to-be-announced location.
Look for more information in an upcoming issue of CropLife® magazine.
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