Two Southern Plains cooperatives – Skyland Grain LLC in Ulysses, Kan., and Ag Producers Co-op in Bushland, Texas – announced on Feb. 4 that they have signed an agreement for Ag Producers to join the Skyland joint venture, effective April 1, 2021. A statement from the two companies said the agreement will build scale and diversification in services and geography.
“Skyland Grain is a unique and evolved cooperative partnership that allows us to provide our member-owners with greater risk management and the benefits of size,” said Gregg Allen, CEO of Ag Producers. “Culturally, we also fit well together.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Both companies have expanded in recent years through multiple mergers. Skyland was established in 2004 with the merger of Johnson Cooperative Grain Co. and ADM Grain Co. Other companies joined in the years that followed, including Syracuse Cooperative Exchange in 2010, The Cairo Cooperative Exchange in 2015, and United Prairie Ag LLC in 2019 (GM Aug. 23, 2019).
“Skyland Grain and Ag Producers Co-op are both strong and progressive companies. This relationship will offer outstanding opportunities to all of our farmer-owners across Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and West Texas,” said David Cron, CEO of Skyland Grain. “Together, we create a stable and progressive future for our members.
Skyland currently operates agronomy, grain, energy, and finance divisions from 42 locations across Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. The company has a total licensed grain storage capacity of more than 100 million bushels. Its full-service agronomy department provides bulk ammonia and both liquid and dry fertilizer, as well as chemicals, seed, and custom application services.
Ag Producers operates grain, cotton, agronomy, fuel, and retail store businesses from 22 Texas locations, with a total licensed grain storage capacity of more than 68 million bushels and three cotton gins. The company’s footprint has grown through mergers and acquisitions, including Sunray Co-op, Olton Grain Co-op, Olton Co-op Gin, United Farm Industries Inc., Hart Producers Co-op Gin, Bushland Grain Co-op, and Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association. More recently the company acquired AGCO in Spearman, Texas, in 2015, followed by Robinson Grain in Panhandle, Texas, in 2016.