Hemisphere Limited LLC, a management company based in Somerset, Ky., announced in early March that it has entered into a contract to purchase Warner Fertilizer Company (WFC), Kentucky’s largest, locally owned independent fertilizer retailer, with 11 locations across 13 counties.
Also headquartered in Somerset, WFC was founded in 1965 and currently offers bagged and bulk fertilizer, crop protection products, farm supplies, and seed for corn, soybeans, small grains, turf, and other field crops. The company’s Kentucky facilities are located at Somerset, Nancy, Monticello, Russell Springs, Tompkinsville, Campbellsville, Albany, Liberty, Stanford, and Columbia.
WFC has approximately 55-58 full-time employees and an additional 20-25 seasonal employees, with annual wages and benefits averaging $2.1 million over the last five years. The company has been ranked on CropLife magazine’s Top 100 U.S. ag retailers list.
WFC services include custom application, spreader/no-till equipment rental, soil testing, and agronomic consultation from certified crop advisors. The company also produces its own branded and bagged fertilizer at Somerset under the Warnco name, which is distributed in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Hemisphere was established in February 2020 as a holding company for a variety of businesses owned by Demetrios Haseotes, an entrepreneur in Pulaski County who also serves as Hemisphere’s CEO. Hemisphere’s businesses include oil refining, wholesale petroleum storage and distribution, real estate development, truck and maritime transportation management, and Circle K convenience stores.
Hemisphere has also been expanding into the agribusiness sector. Haseotes purchased Continental Refining Company LLC in Pulaski County in 2011, and recently announced plans to convert the facility to the production of biodiesel and other byproducts using regionally sourced soybeans. Hemisphere also owns Midland Farms, a New York-based fluid dairy producer.
“Hemisphere’s long-term strategy is to design and adopt value added products and services into WFC’s existing offerings, including the addition of products to serve new farm and garden clients as a ‘one-stop’ source,” the company said in press release. “WFC’s locations will be designed for optimal product visualization and placement, with selling space inside and outside each of its facilities.”