GROWMARK has officially reported record sales for the last fiscal year, according to recently released complete financial results. Higher commodity prices and solid volume growth in most GROWMARK business units produced record sales for GROWMARK, as officials reported audited financial results for the fiscal year which ended August 31, 2012. Marshall Bohbrink, vice president, finance, risk management, and chief financial …
The Advantage of AgVantage FS
The first stop on the GROWMARK media tour through Iowa last week was in the little town of Chapin, just south of Mason City, where the main work horse grain facility of AgVantage FS is located. The facility handles 10-12 million bushels a year – about 40% of the co-op’s total. “We’re an operating division of GROWMARK,” explained Grain Marketing …
GROWMARK Media Tour in Iowa
Just returned from a great media tour of GROWMARK and FS Cooperative facilities in Iowa. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the last stop due to flight scheduling, but I did get to attend the majority of the tour and it was fantastic! Congrats to Karen Jones, GROWMARK Publications and News Specialist, for putting together a very interesting and organized …
GROWMARK supports Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
GROWMARK generously supports the non-profit organization Farm Safety 4 Just Kids in their effort to keep youth safe in rural areas. GROWMARK provides their customers with agricultural products as well as the means to deliver, market, and store those products. “GROWMARK’s sponsorship of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids demonstrates their commitment to their curstomers,” David Schweitz, executive director of Farm …
Savings in the Tank for GROWMARK Lubricants
You’ve probably never heard of a VI Improver Solubilizer Tank, but if you use any of the quality lubricants marketed by GROWMARK, it makes a difference. The VI (which stands for Viscosity Index) Improver that was installed in GROWMARK’s remodeled Council Bluffs lubricant facility has helped them to improve productivity and efficiency in lubricant blending, according to Craig Stout, director …
Importance of Cooperatives in Feeding the World
“Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.” Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General That is a quote on the official United Nations 2012 International Year of Cooperatives web page and the UN Secretary General’s visit to the 2012 World Food Prize last week indicated the importance that they …
Agricultural Cooperatives Key to Feeding the World
We have now gone from Blog Action Day to World Food Day 2012. The FAO says that agricultural cooperatives are the “key to feeding the world.” They are the focus of this World Food Day. The official World Food Day theme, announced each spring by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), gives focus to World Food …
Celebrating National Co-op Month
Each October, cooperatives across the United States celebrate the cooperative difference, business model and the contributions of cooperatives to their communities during National Co-op Month and this year continues the celebration of 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives with the slogan “Cooperative enterprises build a better world.” As one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, GROWMARK has been celebrating all …
Sightings Contest Launches FS InVISION Seed Corn
Shawn Kinkade of Piper City, Ill., was selected as the winner of a social media contest in which people reported sightings of the new FS InVISION™ logo. Kinkade’s photograph showed the logo prominently displayed on a fertilizer storage tank at the Heritage FS facility near Herscher, Ill. The contest was launched to raise awareness of the newly re-branded FS seed …
Farm Co-ops Set Records in 2011
October is National Cooperative Month and 2012 is the the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, so it is extra special to celebrate record farm cooperative income in 2011. USDA released the latest statistics today, showing that farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives posted record sales of $213 billion and $5.4 billion in net income, surpassing the previous record sales year …