GROWMARK and Southern States Cooperative recently announced plans to close on a transaction that aligns the organizations operationally to yield increased innovation, growth, and returns for the farmer-owners of both cooperative systems.
GROWMARK CEO Jim Spradlin says his company?s vision is to be the best agricultural cooperative system in North America, and that this partnership with Southern States enables the two organizations to further that goal together.
?GROWMARK will purchase the wholesale agronomy and energy business of Southern States, along with six of their retail locations in what we consider our Mid-Atlantic region,? Spradlin said. ?Those will be operated by GROWMARK FS. Those locations are specifically in Delaware and in Maryland. They are primarily agronomy locations.?
As part of the deal, GROWMARK will provide crop inputs, fuels, propane, and a variety of customer support and marketing services to Southern States and its member cooperatives. They, in turn, will continue to deliver custom solutions with access to GROWMARK?s product mix, distribution expertise, and drive for innovation.
?We?ve been talking with Southern States for some time,? Spradlin said. ?We were able to design a partnership that we believe will be mutually beneficial to both cooperatives and our member owners. It allows Southern States to retain the value in their identify. They will be able to focus on what they consider their core retail operations.?
GROWMARK is an agricultural cooperative with annual sales of $8.7 billion providing agronomy, energy products and services, as well as grain marketing and a variety of support services throughout North America.
Southern States Cooperative is a Richmond, Virginia-based cooperative serving retail and wholesale outlets across 21 states. They provide a wide range of farm inputs including fertilizer, seed, livestock feed, pet food, animal health supplies, petroleum products, and various other items for the farm and home.
Spradlin’s full interview can be heard below.
