The ag retail industry experienced a relatively quiet year for consolidation in 2023. Outside of the November announcement that Indiana-based farmer-owned cooperatives Co-Alliance Cooperative and Ceres Solutions Cooperative agreed to pursue a merger in 2024, there has been minimal activity on the M&A front in recent months.
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10 | Southern States Cooperative
No. of Retail Outlets: 83 No. of States Served: 8 CropLife 100 Rank: 20 Profile: Since its beginning as Virginia Seed Service in 1923, Southern States has been at the forefront of agricultural advances throughout its years in business, now with 83 retail outlets in eight states served.
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9 | GreenPoint AG
No. of Retail Outlets: 86 No. of States Served: 10 CropLife 100 Rank: 7 Profile:GreenPoint Ag Holdings, LLC is an American-owned agricultural input supplier, resulting from three financially strong businesses coming together to better serve farmers and rural communities of the Southeastern U.S. Photo: GreenPoint AG's Decatur, AL, headquarters.
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8 | Titan Pro
No. of Retail Outlets: 135 No. of States Served: 8 CropLife 100 Rank: 44 Profile:Titan Pro, at its core, is an independent, family-owned company that supplies seed, crop protection, fertilizer, and crop insurance to growers across its Midwest footprint, with more than 135 retail outlets in eight states served.
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7 | MFA Inc.
No. of Retail Outlets: 167 No. of States Served: 4 CropLife 100 Rank: 8 Profile:MFA Inc. is a Midwest-based regional farm supply and marketing cooperative serving more than 45,000 farmer/owners in four states through 167 retail outlets. Photo: MFA Adrian, MO facility.
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6 | Wilbur-Ellis
No. of Retail Outlets: 171 No. of States Served: 17 CropLife 100 Rank: 5 Profile: Established in 1921, Wilbur-Ellis is a leading international marketer and distributor of agricultural products, with 171 retail outlets in 17 states served.
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5 | Simplot
No. of Retail Outlets: 250 No. of States Served: 33 CropLife 100 Rank: 4 Profile: The J.R. Simplot Co. is one of the largest privately held food and agribusiness companies in the world, which includes 250 retail locations serving 33 states. Photo: St. Anthony, ID facility / Marcus Construction
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4 | CHS
No. of Retail Outlets: 270 No. of States Served: 16 CropLife 100 Rank: 6 Profile:CHS Inc. is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the U.S., with 270 retail outlets in 16 states served. Pictured: CHS Dry Fertilizer Storage Building in St. Charles, MN. Photo: Greystone Construction
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3 | Helena Agri-Enterprises
No. of Retail Outlets: 467 No. of States Served: 48 CropLife 100 Rank: 2 Profile:Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC, headquartered in Collierville, TN, is one of the foremost agronomic solutions providers in the U.S. with 467 retail outlets in 48 states served.
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2 | GROWMARK
No. of Retail Outlets: 590 No. of States Served: 20
CropLife 100 Rank: 3 Profile:GROWMARK is a cooperative organization based in Bloomington, IL, with 590 retail outlets in 20 states. Photo: GROWMARK FS Sangerfield, NY location.
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1 | Nutrien Ag Solutions
No. of Retail Outlets: 1,500 No. of States Served: 45 CropLife 100 Rank: 1 Profile: Operated by Nutrien Retail, Nutrien Ag Solutions is a unit of Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest agriculture inputs company, with more than 1,500 retail outlets in 45 states served. Photo: Aerial view of Nutrien Ag Solutions in Holdrege, NE / Stueve Construction
That’s not to say the consolidation trend among CropLife 100 ag retailers has faded away. One just has to look back a few years to see that mergers and acquisitions each year are still alive and well, and perhaps the single biggest factor that influences our annual rankings.
Consolidation not only impacts companies moving up and down (and off) the CropLife 100 rankings, it also has a huge impact on the number of retail locations each has to serve their grower-customers. Take Nutrien Ag Solutions, for example. The company reported that it now has 1,500 outlets in its family of locations. This was due in large part to its acquisition of Van Horn in 2019.
Consolidation has also meant fewer retailers have at least 100 stores to their name. In 2023, that number shrunk to just eight companies. Taking it a step further, only 10 CropLife100 retailers now have more than 80 locations. Overall, these 10 ag retailers combined had a total of 3,719 locations, which is 71% of all CropLife 100 facilities. To find out which 10 companies — which included six dealerships and four cooperatives — have the most retail facilities (in reverse order), view the slideshow above.
Editor’s note: Companies included in the 2023 CropLife 100 listings were limited to independent dealerships and cooperatives that offer fertilizer, crop protection, seed, and custom application services. Figures do not include a host of services, such as data management, consulting/scouting, or grain elevator revenue. Dealerships and cooperatives are ranked in order by total sales in their respective sales group.
12125Top 10 Ag Retailers With the Most Facilities in 2023
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In today’s complex and fast-paced crop production sector, the team at CROPLIFE keeps 21,000 agricultural retailers, distributors and their suppliers up to date on such decidedly 21st century issues as seed technology, biotechnology, precision agriculture, customer service and retention, and business management. See all author stories here.