United Farmers Cooperative

What United Farmers Cooperative does

Central United Cooperative (CUC) is a member-owned agricultural cooperative headquartered in Winthrop, Minnesota, formed through the merger of United Farmers Cooperative with another regional cooperative. The cooperative operates across five integrated service divisions — Agronomy (crop nutrition, crop protection, seed, precision agriculture, and test plots), Energy (propane, refined fuels, DEF, lubricants, and natural gas via the United Natural Gas sub-brand), Feed (animal nutrition programs for dairy, beef, poultry, and swine), Grain (handling, storage, and marketing with flexible contracts and real-time cash bids), and Equipment (farm machinery, construction equipment, and grain systems at the Ag Service Center in Lafayette, MN). It also operates BCA Products, a sub-brand producing custom-blended fertilizers and deicing solutions for lawn care professionals, golf courses, and retail distributors.

The cooperative's technology stack centers on eAgVantage, an online customer portal that provides real-time cash bids, futures tracking, price-later and forward contracts, and account management for both CUC and United Natural Gas customers. Distribution is asset-heavy and physical: multiple agronomy centers, feed mills, grain elevators, energy/cardtank locations, and the Lafayette equipment service center give the cooperative a dense southern Minnesota footprint. GTM is sales-led through local agronomists, feed specialists, energy consultants, and equipment technicians at each facility, supplemented by content marketing via the company blog and email communications.

Revenue mechanics are transaction-based across all divisions: sale of crop inputs, feed products, energy commodities, grain handling/contract fees, equipment and parts sales, and BCA's branded and private-label products. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set against market conditions, volume, and member relationships in line with the cooperative business model. The customer base is overwhelmingly SMB row-crop farmers and livestock producers in southern Minnesota, with no enterprise concentration. Leadership includes CEO Nathan Gieseke and Chairman of the Board Jeff Manderscheid, guiding the cooperative through its first full fiscal year as the merged entity.

Name

United Farmers Cooperative

Legal name

Central United Cooperative

Website

https://ufcmn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Central United Cooperative is a member-owned agricultural cooperative serving south central Minnesota, providing agronomy, energy, feed, grain marketing, equipment, and BCA fertilizer/deicing products through multiple physical locations and the eAgVantage digital portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Cooperative Services

NAICS

Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42491), Other Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (424590), Farm Product Warehousing and Storage (493130)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Farmer Cooperatives & Co-op Retail (AFABAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Agronomy Advisory & Field Services (Retailer-Affiliated) (AFABAJAH)

Keywords

• Agricultural cooperative
• Crop nutrition products
• Animal feed services
• Grain marketing services
• Agronomy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Winthrop

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Agronomy Products and Services: Sale of crop nutrition (fertilizer), crop protection (chemicals), seed, and precision ag services to farmers
2. Feed Products: Animal nutrition products and feed programs for dairy, beef, poultry, and swine producers
3. Energy Products: Propane, refined fuels, DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid), lubricants, and tank installation/monitoring services for homes and farms
4. Grain Marketing: Grain handling, storage, and marketing services with flexible contracts, market insights, and real-time bids. Revenue from handling fees and contract services
5. Equipment Sales and Service: Farm machinery, construction equipment, grain handling systems, parts, and service from the Ag Service Center in Lafayette
6. BCA Products: Custom-blended fertilizers and ice melt/deicing solutions for lawn care pros, golf courses, retail distributors with branded and private label products

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

United Farmers Cooperative (operating as Central United Cooperative) is a member-owned agricultural cooperative that supplies crop inputs (fertilizer, crop protection, seed), precision agronomy services, livestock feed, propane/refined fuels and DEF, grain handling and marketing, and farm/construction equipment to farmers and rural customers across South Central Minnesota. It also operates the BCA Products sub-brand for custom-blended fertilizers and deicing solutions, plus the eAgVantage digital platform for grain marketing and account management.

Product overview

Central United Cooperative (formerly United Farmers Cooperative) operates as a multi-service agricultural cooperative serving South Central Minnesota. The cooperative provides an integrated portfolio of services organized around five core divisions: Agronomy (crop nutrition, crop protection, precision agriculture, seed, and test plots), Energy (propane, refined fuels, tank services, lubricants, and DEF), Feed (animal nutrition for dairy, beef, poultry, and swine), Grain (marketing support with flexible contracts and real-time cash bids), and Equipment (farm machinery and grain systems via an Ag Service Center in Lafayette). The cooperative also operates BCA Products as a sub-brand for custom-blended fertilizers and deicing solutions, and maintains eAgVantage, an online customer portal for grain management and account access. Financing programs support farm operations. The cooperative emerged from a merger and focuses on delivering dependable supply, competitive pricing, and local expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BCA Products: Delivers custom-blended fertilizers and ice melt solutions, serving lawn care pros, golf courses, and retail distributors with branded and private label products.

Products and services

• Agronomy Services

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heartland Co-op: Iowa-based farmer-owned cooperative offering agronomy, grain, feed, and energy services across multiple locations — comparable cooperative structure, service mix, and Midwestern farmer-member base.
• MFA Incorporated: Missouri-based farmer-owned cooperative offering crop protection, fertilizer, seed, livestock supplies, grain, and energy — comparable multi-division cooperative model serving a defined regional farm base.
• Agtegra Cooperative: Large regional farmer-owned cooperative serving North and South Dakota with agronomy, energy, grain, and feed services — directly comparable in multi-division structure, member ownership model, and Upper Midwest footprint.
• MaxYield Cooperative: Iowa-based farmer-owned cooperative delivering agronomy, grain, energy, and feed solutions — comparable Upper Midwest footprint, cooperative structure, and full-service agricultural input offering.
• Crystal Valley Cooperative: Minnesota-based farmer-owned cooperative offering agronomy, energy, grain, and feed services — a direct in-state peer with overlapping service territory and similar cooperative structure.
• NEW Cooperative: Iowa-based farmer-owned cooperative providing grain, agronomy, feed, and energy services through a network of locations — directly comparable in cooperative governance, member base, and integrated service offerings.
• United Prairie LLC: Minnesota-based agricultural cooperative providing agronomy, grain, and energy services to farmer-members — comparable Minnesota footprint, cooperative ownership, and multi-division service mix.

Broad incumbents

• CHS Inc. One of the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives with energy, agronomy, grain, and food ingredients businesses — broad incumbent with overlapping categories (energy, grain, agronomy inputs) and member-ownership heritage.
• Growmark: Large regional agricultural cooperative system spanning multiple U.S. states with agronomy, energy, and grain operations — overlaps with Central United in core service categories but at substantially greater scale and geographic reach.

Regional players

• Frontier Cooperative: Nebraska-based farmer-owned cooperative providing agronomy, grain, energy, and feed services — comparable cooperative structure and service mix but operates in a different geographic territory than Central United Cooperative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ufc_mn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 United Farmers Cooperative