Iowa cooperative Landus announced on July 6 that it has signed a collaborative agreement with Smith Fertilizer & Grain, a privately-owned agronomy, grain, feed, fuel, and construction business headquartered in Knoxville, Iowa.
Smith Fertilizer is now the fifth company to join Landus in an “optimization model” that the co-op describes as an alternative to traditional mergers and acquisitions. Launched in April (GM April 16, p. 1), the new model is designed for collaboration and optimization on grain, feed, soybean processing, agronomy, data, technology, logistics, and back-office functions.
Agreements are tailored to the strengths of each party and developed on a case-by-case basis, which Landus said provides the opportunity to maximize capital investments, infrastructure capacity, and employee talent. As of July 6, Smith Fertilizer & Grain will become an Optimization collaborator with Landus while continuing to maintain separate management, employees, and operations led by Max Smith, President and CEO.
“Our Smith Fertilizer & Grain family is proud of our long legacy of hard work and commitment to doing what’s right for our customers above all else,” Smith said. “Collaboration with a company like Landus allows us to continue doing what we do best while growing from our partner’s expertise as well. This model lets us both share in each other’s strengths. It’s collaboration at its finest.”
Smith Fertilizer & Grain operates eight locations in southeastern Iowa with more than five million bushels of grain storage and over one million gallons of liquid fertilizer storage. Landus is headquartered in Ames, Iowa, and was formed in 2016 through the merger of Farmers Cooperative Co. in Ames and West Central Cooperative in Ralston, Iowa (GM April 15, 2016).
With 7,000 farmer-owners and 600 full-time employees at locations in more than 60 communities, Landus ranks as Iowa’s largest agricultural cooperative, providing products and services in agronomy, grain, feed, animal nutrition, and data.
“We are excited to welcome the Smith Fertilizer & Grain team to our growing Optimization network,” said Matt Carstens, Landus President and CEO. “They demonstrate a like-minded commitment to leaning into the future of agriculture and putting the profitability of their farmers first.”