Oregon-based Marion Ag Service and Columbia Seeds LLC announced on Aug. 5 that they have agreed to a “supply and marketing consortium” that will combine Marion Ag’s fertilizer technology, combination products, organics, and soil amendment offerings with Columbia’s expertise in the seed market.
Family-owned Marion Ag is based in St. Paul, Ore., while Columbia is headquartered in Albany, Ore. The two companies said they have an aligned company culture and a complementary supply, operational, and marketing structure that will allow them to combine their marketing efforts and relationships into a “collective market-leading suite of agronomic solutions.”
“Marion Ag’s strategic growth imperative led us to join the grass seed market in 2021,” said Jeff Freeman, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Marion Ag. “Now, as our proprietary varieties are hitting the commercial market, accessing the experience, professionalism, and collaboration of the Columbia Seeds team will further catalyze our mission.”
While each company will continue to operate under their current structures, the collaboration provides exposure to greater seed production relationships and an opportunity for multiple agronomic product categories on a single delivery, thereby reducing supply complexity and improving inventory metrics for distributors.
“Combining both company’s marketing and supply efforts will generate new opportunities for our customers,” added Tom Pape, Vice President at Columbia. “I’m excited to partner with an organization that takes customer service as serious as we do.”