February 17, 2010

Ohio-Indiana farm cooperatives to merge

Two farm cooperatives, Southwest Landmark and Advanced Agri-Solutions, will merge on September 1 to form Trupointe Cooperative.

The merged entity will have an estimated US$500 million in annual sales serving 4,300 members with 45 facilities in 26 Ohio and three Indiana counties from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to the Ohio River.

The two cooperatives' strengths complement each other, according to Larry Hammond of Advanced Agri-Solutions. He will become Trupointe's president and CEO.

Where Advanced Agri-Solutions sells more animal feed, Southwest Landmark does a greater share of work in agronomy and does a much more substantial business in propane and liquid fuels, he said.
 

Southwest Landmark's Gordon Wallace, who will become executive vice president and chief operating officer of Trupointe, said combining forces in grain purchase and grain marketing will give the combined cooperative more muscle in the market.
 

Trupointe plans to locate its executive offices in Troy, near the centre of the combined territory.
 

The merger was approved by 77.1% of Advanced Agri-Solutions voters and 82% of Southwest Landmark voters. A 60% yes vote was required in each area for approval.
 

John Waymire of Clifton, a grain farmer and president of the Southwest Landmark board, said the merger was driven by cooperatives' need to become bigger players in a bigger agribusiness environment.
 

Managers will work until September 1 to take care of the legal and financial details, build brand identity and decide how to blend the organisations and their staffs. No job cuts are anticipated.