Farmers Cooperative Society

What Farmers Cooperative Society does

Farmers Cooperative Society is a member-owned agricultural cooperative founded in 1907 and headquartered in Sioux Center, Iowa, operating 10 facilities across Northwest Iowa and Southeast South Dakota. It serves corn, soybean, and livestock producers through three integrated business lines: Grain Marketing & Sales (50 million bushels annual volume, five feed mills processing 110,000 bu/day of corn, 14 grain contract types, and a Condominium Grain Storage ownership program); Agronomy (fertilizer, chemicals, seed, and application services plus a precision-ag stack including Trimble guidance systems, Ag Leader and Precision Planting hardware, the GRIDVIEW grid-sampling app, and the Elite Crop/Advance+ data-driven agronomy consulting program); and Feed (HAACP-certified bagged feeds, show feeds, supplements, minerals, and the PROVEN swine management program), with the How-To Building Center retail lumberyard as an adjacent subsidiary. Revenue is generated through transaction-based pricing (per-bushel grain contracts with fees ranging from $0.03/bu on Extended Price contracts to $2.50/bu on Condominium shares, per-ton carbon credits at $30/MT through the Truterra partnership, per-pallet feed discounts), supplemented by cooperative patronage distributions to member-owners. Customer acquisition is primarily direct-to-farmer through on-site agronomists, grain marketing specialists, and field sales teams, reinforced by seasonal grain marketing meetings, farm show presence (Dakota Farm Show, Sioux Falls Farm Show), FFA/4-H partnerships, and a customer portal with cash bid and DTN market intelligence services.

Name

Farmers Cooperative Society

Legal name

Farmers Cooperative Society

Website

https://farmerscoopsociety.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1907

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Farmers Cooperative Society is a member-owned agricultural cooperative founded in 1907, operating 10 locations across Northwest Iowa and Southeast South Dakota to provide grain marketing, agronomy, feed, precision agriculture, and lumber services to corn, soybean, and livestock producer-members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Cooperative Services

NAICS

Other Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (424590)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corn (Maize) Farming (AFAGAAAB), Mixed Cereal & Grain Farming (Multiple Grains) (AFAGAAAH)

Keywords

• Grain marketing services
• Agronomy products
• Livestock feed
• Precision agriculture
• Farm supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Sioux Center

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grain Marketing & Sales: Core revenue from grain purchasing and merchandising. FCS buys grain from farmer-members at competitive prices, utilizing 110,000 bushels of corn daily through five feed mills. Annual volume of 11 million bushels of beans and 39 million bushels of corn. Multiple contract types including cash, basis, futures-fixed, accumulators, minimum price, and direct ship programs.
2. Agronomy Products & Services: Revenue from fertilizer, chemical, seed products, and application services. Includes precision ag services, crop protection, and agronomic consulting through certified crop advisors.
3. Feed Products & Services: Feed mill products including bagged feed, show feed, supplements, and swine management programs (PROVEN). HAACP certified feed manufacturing. Hog store retail operations.
4. Condominium Grain Storage: Grain storage ownership program where growers purchase 5,000-bushel shares at $2.50/bu with $0.095/bu annual maintenance fee. 24-month financing available.
5. Patronage Program: Cooperative model where profits are distributed back to farmer-members based on their volume of business with the cooperative.
6. Sustainability/Carbon Programs: Truterra carbon credit programs offering $30/metric ton compensation for sustainable farming practices (no-till, strip-till, cover cropping). New market access opportunities through Land O'Lakes sustainability initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Farmers Cooperative Society is a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative providing grain marketing, agronomy services, and livestock feed products to its farmer-members across Northwest Iowa and Southeast South Dakota. The cooperative operates 10 locations handling 11 million bushels of beans and 39 million bushels of corn annually, runs five feed mills processing 110,000 bushels of corn per day, and offers crop inputs (fertilizer, chemicals, seed), precision agriculture services, grain storage, and cooperative patronage dividends.

Product overview

Farmers Cooperative Society is a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative offering three core divisions: Agronomy, Feed, and Grain. The Agronomy division provides crop inputs (fertilizer, chemical, seed) plus precision agriculture services including GPS guidance technology (Trimble, Ag Leader, Precision Planting), Elite Crop data consulting, and variable rate applications. The Feed division offers bagged feeds, show feeds, supplements, and minerals for cattle, swine, sheep, and goats through brands like Purina and Sullivan Supply, plus the PROVEN Swine Management program. The Grain division operates ten locations handling corn and soybean marketing with 14 contract types, condominium grain storage, direct shipping, and annual volumes of 11 million bushels of beans and 39 million bushels of corn. Additional offerings include the How-To Building Center retail lumberyard and DTN market news service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Advance+: Agronomy services brand offering equipment, service, on-farm trials, and elite crop precision services.
• Proven
• Elite Crop
• How-To Building Center
• Member's Cut

Products and services

• Agronomy Services Fertilizer, chemical, seed products, and application services for row crop farmers across the FCS location network, delivered with certified crop advisor support.
• Feed Products Livestock feed products including bagged feeds, show feeds, supplements, and minerals for cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and dairy, manufactured across five feed mills processing 110,000 bushels of corn daily.
• Grain Marketing Services Comprehensive grain marketing including 14 contract types (cash, extended price, delayed price, basis, averaging, minimum price, accumulator, direct ship, on-farm pickup, JSA Select, and more) plus direct shipping and grain storage programs for corn and soybean farmers.
• PROVEN Swine Management Swine management program providing production management, nutrition consulting, and performance tracking for pork producers, integrated with feed products and specialty diet offerings.
• Condominium Grain Storage Bin space ownership program allowing growers to invest in grain storage capacity in 5,000-bushel share units without on-farm maintenance responsibilities, managed through a dedicated LLC with annual maintenance fees and 24-month financing.
• How-To Building Center Retail lumberyard and building materials store operated in Sioux Center, offering construction supplies, building materials, and hardware for farm and community customers.
• Precision Ag Services (Advance+) Premium agronomy service package including equipment, on-farm trials, elite crop recommendations, GPS guidance systems, variable rate technology, grid sampling, and nitrogen efficiency tools for high-performance crop production.
• Elite Crop Program Site-specific agronomy consulting and data-driven crop management program helping growers optimize inputs and yields through field-level analysis and variable rate recommendations.
• Truterra Carbon Credit Program Sustainability program enabling farmer-members to earn $30 per metric ton CO2 equivalent through no-till, strip-till, and cover cropping practices, with a $2/acre minimum payout guarantee and access to sustainability-related market opportunities via Land O'Lakes Truterra.
• Innovation Assurance Program Crop protection partnership with Growers Edge offering a tiered crop plan that protects yields during sustainable practice transitions, with per-acre credits to farmers if plan performance falls below historical yields.
• DTN News Market Information Service Daily agricultural market news, commodity futures updates, and industry analysis service delivered through the FCS website, providing market intelligence to farmer-members.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 million bushels of beans and 39 million bushels of corn annual volume
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and minor.

• Growers EdgesecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2023Crop protection partnership offering Innovation Assurance Program - tiered crop plan that protects yields during sustainable practice transitions. If plan performance doesn't meet past yields, farmers receive per-acre credit from FCS. Second year of partnership in 2023.
• Land O'Lakes TruterracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability partnership providing FCS farmers access to carbon credit programs and new sustainability-related market opportunities. Land O'Lakes invests in developing market access for cooperative farmers. Farmers can earn $30/metric ton through sustainable practices (no-till, strip-till, cover crops).
• Iowa State University ExtensionsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationQuality assurance partnership for fertilizer application. ISU experts (Doug Houser, Ben Covington, Ryan Huffman) collaborate on spinner calibration, pan testing, and application rate management. G5 spinners optimized to 80ft spread width, G4 spinners to 70ft.
• CP RailroadminorOthersInfrastructure partnership for Sanborn rail crossing replacement in September 2024, improving truck traffic flow to FCS grain and agronomy facilities.
• Proven Swine ManagementsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwine management partnership providing hog producers with building management, specialty diets, and production optimization. Located at Sioux Center and serving FCS feed customers.
• Purina Animal NutritionsecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFeed product partnership providing Purina Honor Show feeds, Purina Stress Tubs, Purina Wind & Rain, and other livestock nutrition products through FCS locations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Helena Agri-Enterprises: National agronomy retailer and input distributor competing for crop input sales in FCS's territory. Comparable agronomy product portfolio (fertilizer, crop protection) and overlapping customer base of row crop farmers.

Broad incumbents

• CHS Inc. One of the largest U.S. agricultural cooperatives, with grain origination, agronomy, and animal nutrition operations across multiple regions. A dominant competitor in commercial grain origination and a possible supplier/customer for FCS's grain volumes.
• GROWMARK: Large regional agricultural cooperative system providing agronomy, grain, energy, and machinery services across the Midwest and Eastern U.S. Significantly larger than FCS and a likely wholesale supplier of agronomy products.
• Cargill: Global agribusiness giant that buys grain from regional cooperatives like FCS and competes for origination. Although far larger and not a cooperative, Cargill is a key end-buyer and competitive reference for FCS's grain merchandising business.
• ADM (Archer Daniels Midland): Global agricultural processor and grain merchandiser with a major footprint in Iowa/South Dakota grain origination. Competes for farmer-delivered bushels and provides price discovery that influences FCS's grain bid levels.

Direct peers

• NEW Cooperative: Iowa-based agricultural cooperative providing grain, agronomy, and feed services to farmer-members. Directly comparable to FCS in scale, geography (Western/Central Iowa), and integrated service offering.
• Landus Cooperative: Iowa-headquartered farmer-owned cooperative with grain, agronomy, and animal nutrition businesses. Overlapping core services and Iowa geography make Landus a direct peer in farmer-member grain marketing and input supply.
• Agtegra Cooperative: Farmer-owned cooperative serving North and South Dakota with grain, agronomy, energy, and feed services. Closely comparable operating model and grain/agronomy focus, though in a different state cluster.
• Co-Alliance Cooperative: Indiana-based member-owned agricultural cooperative offering grain, agronomy, energy, feed, and propane. Comparable integrated service model and farmer-member governance, though operating in a different region.

Regional players

• Wilbur-Ellis: Privately held agribusiness operating in the Western U.S. with crop input, agronomy services, and precision ag offerings. Limited Midwest overlap but a comparable business model in terms of integrated agronomy distribution and technology services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Farmers Cooperative Society