Iowa cooperative Landus announced on May 11 that it has signed a collaborative agreement with Mid State Milling, an independently owned feed mill company with Iowa operations in State Center, Clemons, and Buckeye.
Mid State is now the third company to join Landus in an “optimization model” that the co-op describes as an alternative to traditional mergers and acquisitions. The first agreement was signed with Iowa co-op NuWay-K&H in April (GM April 16, p. 1), followed by another with Snittjer Grain in Wellsburg, Iowa.
“The diversity of the first three businesses joining us on this journey of optimizing ag retail demonstrates the universal applicability of the model,” said Matt Carstens, Landus President and CEO. “We welcome the addition of Mid State Milling to help maximize feed infrastructure, grain supply, and operational excellence for the benefit of farmers.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Landus said the new model is designed for collaboration and optimization on grain, feed, soybean processing, agronomy, data, technology, logistics, and back-office functions, providing an opportunity to maximize capital investments, infrastructure capacity, and employee talent. Landus said participating companies maintain autonomy, preserve local community presence, and enhance farmer relationships while participating in a shared platform of strength.
“Joining Landus and this network of ag retail partners provides a powerful platform for generating more growth and value for our business and our customers,” said Mid State President Doug Riese, who will maintain his role while lending feed operations expertise to the Landus feed team on a part-time basis.
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, it ranks as Iowa’s largest agricultural cooperative, providing products and services in agronomy, grain, feed, animal nutrition, and data.