Farmers Cooperative Elevator

What Farmers Cooperative Elevator does

Farmers Cooperative Elevator is a member-owned agricultural cooperative headquartered in Hanley Falls, Minnesota, operating seven elevator, feed mill, and office locations across western Minnesota (Cottonwood, Echo, Minneota, Minnesota Falls, Montevideo, and Taunton in addition to the headquarters). The cooperative serves farmer-members through three core product divisions: Grain (handling, storage, marketing, on-farm pickup, and direct ship services for corn, soybeans, and wheat), Feed (feed mill operations with online ordering), and Seed (agricultural seed products). Operations are supported by digital infrastructure including a Barchart-powered cash bids grid, futures and options market data, weather services, a mobile app, and a text alert system, with patron account management delivered through AgVantage Software.

The cooperative runs a member investment program open to members, employees, and immediate families, and historically provides financial returns to patrons through cash patronage refunds and equity retirements as financial conditions allow. Pricing is structured around daily cash bids quoted on 10-minute delayed futures with basis differentials by location, a Free Delayed Pricing program running from February 2 to September 15 each year, and standard storage charges applying thereafter. On-farm grain pickup and direct ship services extend the cooperative's reach beyond its physical elevator footprint. The member base is exclusively regional agricultural producers in western Minnesota, with the entire operating geography limited to Minnesota.

The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer (member-facing) across all channels: physical elevators, on-farm pickup, direct shipping, online feed ordering, and a Barchart-powered digital marketplace. Marketing is intentionally lean — limited to a Facebook page, the website, and text alerts — reflecting a relationship-driven cooperative model rather than demand generation. There is no proprietary technology platform; all digital and data capabilities are sourced from third-party vendors (Barchart for market data and digital tools, AgVantage Software for account management), and no AI/ML capabilities are evidenced. Revenue mechanics are transaction-fee-based on grain, feed, and seed volumes, supplemented by member investment deposits that fund operations.

Name

Farmers Cooperative Elevator

Legal name

Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company

Website

https://farmerscoopelevator.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Farmers Cooperative Elevator is a member-owned agricultural cooperative operating seven grain elevator and feed mill locations across western Minnesota, providing grain handling, feed, seed, and market data services to regional farmer-members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Cooperative Services

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Grain Merchandising & Origination Facilities (AFAOAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Country & Inland Grain Elevators (Receiving/Shipping) (AFAOAAAA), Grain & Oilseed Elevator Storage (TLALAIAA)

Keywords

• Grain elevator services
• Agricultural cooperative
• Feed and seed supply
• Grain storage handling
• Farm supply cooperative

Headquarters

HQ city

Hudsonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grain Handling and Storage: Grain handling, storage, and marketing services for member farmers. Free delayed pricing periods offered (February 2 - September 15 annually), with storage charges applying thereafter. On-farm pickup and direct ship services available.
2. Feed Sales: Feed mill operations and feed product sales to member farmers, with online ordering capabilities.
3. Seed Sales: Seed division providing agricultural seed products to member farmers.
4. Membership Investment Program: FCE Member Investment Program available to FCE Members, Employees and their immediate families. The cooperative was accepting deposits previously but is currently not taking new deposits. Equity retirement and cash patronage refunds are distributed as financial conditions allow.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Farmers Cooperative Elevator is a member-owned agricultural cooperative operating three core divisions — Grain, Feed, and Seed — across western Minnesota. It provides grain storage, handling, marketing, and direct shipment services through a network of physical elevator locations, alongside feed mill operations, seed products, and on-farm pickup services. The cooperative supplements its physical operations with digital market data tools, a cash bids grid, a mobile app, text alerts, and a membership investment program for member-patrons.

Product overview

Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. MN operates as a diversified agricultural service cooperative with three core divisions: Grain, Feed, and Seed. The company provides a unified platform combining physical grain elevator services with digital market data tools. The Grain Division forms the core business, handling storage, marketing, and direct shipment of commodities. The Feed and Seed divisions support agricultural customers with feed products and seed services. Digital offerings include the Cash Bids Grid for real-time pricing, the Grain Offers Marketplace powered by Barchart, Market Data Services (futures, options, charts, heat maps), Weather Services, and the FCE Mobile App. The company also provides patron account management through AgVantage Software and offers a text alert system for market updates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grain Division
• Feed Division
• Seed Division
• FCE Membership Investment Program

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BarchartcoreTechnology or IntegrationBarchart provides market data infrastructure for FCE's website including cash bids, futures quotes, market news, and commodity analysis. The platform also powers FCE's mobile app, text alert system, and digital marketplace for cash bids.
• AgVantage SoftwarecoreTechnology or IntegrationAgVantage Software provides the patron login and account management system used by FCE for grain settlements, account access, and member services. The system is hosted at farmerscoopelevator.com.
• University of Minnesota/ExtensionminorOthersAgricultural extension resources and educational materials available through FCE's useful links for farmer members.
• Farm Service Agency (FSA) MinnesotaminorOthersUSDA farm service resources linked through FCE's website for farmer assistance programs.
• Minnesota Department of AgricultureminorOthersState agricultural department resources available through FCE's useful links.
• Minnesota Corn Growers AssociationminorOthersState corn grower association linked for member resources.
• Minnesota Soybean Growers AssociationminorOthersState soybean grower association linked for member resources.
• Minnesota Association of Wheat GrowersminorOthersState wheat grower association linked for member resources.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bunge Global: Major global grain originator and processor with significant U.S. Midwest presence. Comparable to FCE in grain merchandising and storage competition, though at much larger scale and with downstream processing integration.
• Cargill: One of the world's largest privately held agricultural companies, with major grain origination, storage, and trading operations. Competes with FCE for farmer deliveries and offers competing cash bids in the upper Midwest.
• Land O'Lakes (WinField United): Major farmer-owned cooperative with a significant crop inputs and agronomy business through WinField United. Comparable to FCE in cooperative structure and farm supply focus, though at much larger scale with national brand presence.
• Growmark: Large regional agricultural cooperative providing grain, agronomy, and farm supply services across the Midwest. Comparable to FCE in member-owned grain handling, though operates at substantially greater scale.
• CHS Inc. The largest U.S. agricultural cooperative, directly involved in grain handling, marketing, and farm supply. Comparable to FCE in its cooperative ownership model and grain merchandising, but operates at vastly greater national scale.
• ADM (Archer Daniels Midland): Global agribusiness with extensive grain origination and processing infrastructure in the U.S. Midwest. Directly competes with FCE for farmer grain deliveries and operates elevators in western Minnesota and surrounding regions.

Direct peers

• Central Farm Service: Minnesota-based agricultural cooperative providing grain, agronomy, and energy services to farmer members. Highly comparable to FCE as a regional cooperative with grain elevator operations serving Minnesota farmers.
• Harvest Land Co-op: Farmer-owned cooperative offering grain handling, agronomy, feed, and energy services. Directly comparable to FCE in cooperative structure, multi-location grain operations, and member service offerings.
• Ag Partners Cooperative: Regional agricultural cooperative operating grain elevators, agronomy, and feed services in the upper Midwest. Closely comparable to FCE in business model, service mix, and geographic footprint.
• West Central Ag Services: Regional cooperative operating grain elevators and agronomy services in western Minnesota and the surrounding Dakotas. Highly comparable to FCE by virtue of overlapping geography, service mix, and cooperative ownership model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fcecompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/farmers-coop-elevator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Elevator