Merger Date: March 2021 Why: The formation of this new company provides both cooperatives the size and scale needed to achieve this strategic objective to remain relevant well into the future. With an expanded geographical footprint covering Southern and West-Central Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Eastern Iowa, and Eastern Minnesota, the new coop offers benefits including innovative logistics opportunities, sharing of agronomy assets, and backup feed mill options.
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Co-Alliance, Harvest Land to Merge
Merger Date: February 2021 Why: The merger brings efficiencies to the agronomy, energy, grain, swine, and animal nutrition services of each company and is representative of the importance of scale in the cooperative model serving local farmers.
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Agri-AFC, GreenPoint AG, and Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Join Forces
Merger Date: September 2020 Why: When asked why the parent companies decided to join these three businesses together, Rivers Myres, CEO of Alabama Farmers Cooperative said, “Even though we are all individually strong, it takes vision and strategic leadership to both remain competitive and to provide exceptional service to our ultimate customer, the American farmer, and GreenPoint AG will allow for us to do both.”
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MKC Acquires Mid-West Fertilizer
Acquisition Date: May 2020 Why: "Together, the acquisition strengthens our position in the marketplace and will allow us to expand our services to create additional value for our owners and customers. We see growth of our footprint as a key part of our strategy. Mid-West Fertilizer is a strong ag retail organization with a great team. The synergies gained through this acquisition will allow both companies to continue to achieve greater success," said MKC President and CEO Brad Stedman. Photo: MKC facility in Moundridge, KS.
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Simplot Acquires Pinnacle Agriculture
Acquisition Date: January 2020 Why: "By combining our geographic footprint and shared commitment to service, we will better serve customers in some of the most important agricultural communities in the world. We look forward to bringing together these complementary businesses and continuing to create value for our customers,” said Doug Stone, President of Simplot’s AgriBusiness Group. Photo: Simplot Grower Solutions' St. Anthony, ID facility.
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Gar Tootelian, Bennett Water Systems Merge
Merger Date: January 2020 Why: “The merger of Bennett Water Systems with GAR raises the bar and brings together two locally owned family businesses with outstanding reputations for integrity and trust with complimentary cultural values, products and services. Together, our opportunities are endless,” said Gar Tootelian CEO Greg Musson. Pictured are Karen and Greg Musson, standing outside of the Gar Tootelian’s Ag Zone in 2015.
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Nutrien Acquires Van Horn
Acquisition Date: March 2019 Why: “Van Horn has built a strong ag retail business, with a track record of providing high value products and service for growers in Illinois. This acquisition is an attractive addition to Nutrien Ag Solutions’ retail network and we look forward to building on Van Horn’s relationships with their customers. We are seeing an acceleration of consolidation within the ag retail industry and this acquisition aligns with our strategy to grow our retail business through highly accretive acquisitions,” said Mike Frank, Nutrien’s Executive Vice President and CEO of Retail. Photo: Aerial view of Van Horn facility.
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The Tremont and Lyman Groups Form Grow West
Merger Date: February 2019 Why: “Today, we can serve California growers, no matter how large or small, with unmatched quality and personal attention to their operation’s profitability. But there is no doubt, we’re a stronger organization when we’re operating with a unified platform to partner with our customers on virtually every aspect of their business,” said Ernie Roncoroni, Grow West CEO.
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GROWMARK Acquires Northwest Ag Supply
Acquisition Date: December 2018 Why: Northwest Ag Supply, ranked No. 70 at the time of the acquisition, sold its single Iowa location to No. 3 GROWMARK.
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North Central Farmers Elevator, Wheat Growers Merge to Form Agtegra
Merger Date: February 2018 Why: “We’re combining two, legacy-rich organizations into one. We are preparing to create new efficiencies, expanding the use of new technologies, creating new opportunities for our employee team – all aimed at creating more value for our members,” said Wheat Growers CEO Chris Pearson.
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Crop Production Services Acquires 20 Ag Retail Locations from Southern States Cooperative
Acquisition Date: September 2017 Why: “Agrium remains focused on enhancing our retail distribution network in the U.S. and this acquisition will allow us to further capitalize on our existing presence in these regions. We would like to extend a warm welcome to the Southern States ag retail employees and are enthused to bring the latest in technologically advanced proprietary products and precision ag services to grower customers in the southeastern U.S.,” said Agrium President and CEO, Chuck Magro.
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Farmers Cooperative, West Central Cooperative Merge to Form Landus Cooperative
Merger Date: April 2016 Why: “This merger showcases our members’ request for their cooperative to do more together for their operations than either business could do separately. We take our members’ confidence in a combined cooperative seriously as we prepare for integration and execution,” said WCC President/CEO Milan Kucerak.
And just three months into 2021, we’ve already have witnessed two major moves. In early March we saw the merger of two Wisconsin-based cooperatives, Landmark Services Cooperative (No. 39) and Countryside Cooperative. The two chose each other as merger partners because “they share many similarities and merging into a single cooperative was a natural fit,” according to a press release.
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In February, another merger was finalized between Indiana-based ag cooperatives Co-Alliance, LLP (No. 16) and Harvest Land Cooperative (No. 46). “This merger will offer exceptional opportunities to our farmer-owners in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois,” said Scott Logue, CEO of Harvest Land. “The expanded resources, more robust product line, and extension of quality service will extend beyond what the two co-ops could offer individually. Together, we anticipate great success in cultivating opportunities for our members through this historic merger with the Co-Alliance team.”
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So why are ag cooperatives feeling the urge to merge? “Many farmers are under financial distress,” said CoBank in a report. “Depressed incomes and tight margins can affect cooperative viability and make a merger look more attractive. Many recent consolidations represent mergers of equally strong organizations.”
But CropLife 100 cooperatives haven’t been alone in the consolidation craze. Independent dealerships have also been a part of some of the largest mergers and acquisitions in the industry. In the slideshow, you’ll find what we consider to be the 12 largest deals that have most impacted the CropLife 100 since 2016.
115CropLife 100 and Consolidation: 12 Biggest Ag Retail Deals in the Last 5 Years
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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.
April 3, 2021 
