The members of Alceco, based in Albert City, Iowa, have voted in favor of a merger with First Cooperative Association (FCA) of Cherokee, Iowa, according to an announcement from both cooperatives. The merger will be effective on Sept. 1, 2021, with the combined organization headquartered in Cherokee and a home office remaining open in Albert City. The merged co-op will operate a total of 32 grain and agronomy facilities in Iowa.
“By joining together, the new organization will be one of the leading cooperatives in the region with local management and local board representation,” said Chuck Specketer, FCA Board President.
The merger process was first announced in December 2020, with the boards of both cooperatives commissioning a study to examine the synergies between the organizations and make recommendations on potential unification (GM Dec. 18, 2020).
In April 2021, the combined boards voted unanimously to move forward with a vote by the Alceco members (GM April 30, p. 1). Five information meetings were held on May 25-28 in Sheldon, Orange City, Spencer, Storm Lake, and Emmetsburg for Class A Alceco members.
“We are pleased the Alceco members recognized the many benefits this merger will offer, first and foremost to members of both cooperatives, but also to both employee teams and the communities we serve in northwest Iowa,” said Jim Franzmeier, Board Chair for Alceco.
Alceco, which stands for Albert City Elevator Cooperative, was formed in 1905, but grew over the decades through multiple expansions and acquisitions, including a merger in 2008 with Midwest Farmers Cooperative.
Alceco partnered with Cargill in 1997 to form Ag Partners LLC, a joint venture that provides grain, agronomy, feed, and petroleum products and services from 17 retail and wholesale locations in Iowa. Ag Partners now operates as a solely-owned subsidiary of Alceco after the company announced last summer that it had acquired full ownership from Cargill (GM July 31, 2020).
FCA provides agronomy, energy, grain, and feed products and services from 22 locations in northwestern Iowa, with a staff of 182 full-time and more than 40 part-time employees. The company is recognized as the oldest continuously active cooperative elevator in the nation, tracing its roots to 1887, when Farmers Cooperative Elevator of Marcus, Iowa, was incorporated.
FCA was formed under its present name in 1997 through the merger of four Iowa cooperatives – Farmers Cooperative Association in Marathon, Agland Coop in Alta, Farmers Cooperative in Aurelia, and Farmers Cooperative in Cleghorn.
The boards of both organizations named Troy Upah, current CEO of Ag Partners, as CEO of the combined cooperative. Merle Lyons, current FCA General Manager, was named Chief Operating Officer.
“This is an exciting time for our cooperatives and for farmers in northwest Iowa,” said Upah. “As our industry continues to change at a rapid pace, it is important to keep moving forward with those changes. Through this merger, we will be able to continue to meet the needs of our members and area growers now and well into the future.”