Four Southern States Cooperative locations in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia have announced plans to merge into a new organization called Freedom Ag & Energy Cooperative.
Members of the businesses in Oakland, Md., Winchester, Va., Petersburg, W.Va., and Buckhannon, W.Va., voted on the unification this month after the Boards of Directors in June formally approved the merger. Results of the member vote will be announced in early August.
If approved, the combined business will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and will no longer be affiliated with Southern States. The businesses said in a press release that the merger will provide “additional flexibility to capitalize on competitive advantages” in the local and global agriculture markets. No jobs will be eliminated, the press release said, and overall employment is expected to increase as a result of the merger.
“The merger will allow the locations to take advantage of the synergies in their core businesses – petroleum products, agronomy, feed and farm supply, and retail – to strengthen their overall financial position while safeguarding members’ equity and patronage,” the businesses said.
Southern States is headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company in 2020 announced a transaction with Growmark Inc., Bloomington, Ill., to align the organizations operationally (GM Aug. 7, 2020). Since Sept. 1, 2020, Growmark has managed the wholesale agronomy and energy assets of Southern States, providing crop inputs, fuels, propane, and a variety of customer support and marketing services to Southern States and its member cooperatives.