All Posts from May 3, 2016

Land O’Lakes to supply Southern States

Land O’Lakes, Arden Hills, Minn., said May 3 that its Crop Input unit, Land O’Lakes Winfield US, has signed a letter of intent to enter into a supply agreement with Southern States Cooperative Inc., Richmond, Va. Winfield US will exclusively provide a majority of crop input requirements to the Southern States’ network of 1,200 retail locations across 23 states serving 200,000 farmers in the Eastern U.S. beginning in crop year 2017.

“We are very pleased to be working with Southern States to help meet their supply and operational needs and bring Winfield products and services to new customers,” said Chris Policinski, Land O’Lakes president and CEO. “This agreement furthers our commitment to helping agricultural retailers continue to compete in this era of industry consolidation.”

“We’re excited about the possibilities of aligning with a company known for industry-leading operations and with some of the best products and services to help us better serve our customers and grow our business,” said Jeff Stroburg, Southern States CEO.

The agreement is expected to be complete in early summer and effective fall 2016.

Land O’Lakes said the agreement will bring Winfield’s portfolio of products, including seed, seed treatments, adjuvants, micronutrients and plant growth regulators to a new customer base.

While Land O’Lakes currently does not supply conventional mainline fertilizers, that is expected to change in September 2017 when United Suppliers, Ames, Iowa, is expected to merge its crop nutrient business into Land O’Lakes. The delay is due to a non-compete agreement with CHS Inc. which is set to expire at that time. United Suppliers has already merged its crop protection business into Land O’Lakes.

Land O’Lakes and Southern States had not responded to inquiries at the time of this alert. It is not clear whether the Land O’Lakes/Southern States agreement will eventually include conventional fertilizers. However, such would be conceivable in September 2017.

Winfield US is currently a seed and crop protection business serving nearly 1,300 independently owned and operated agricultural retailers that operate thousands of retail locations across the US.

Koch expands relationship with Harrell’s

Koch Turf & Ornamental, a brand supported by Koch Agronomic Services LLC, selected Harrell’s as the nationwide distributor for Polyon® controlled-release fertilizer in professional markets in the United States, effective May 1, 2016. Harrell’s has previously acted as the sole distributor of Polyon® fertilizer in professional markets in the Eastern United States.

“Harrell’s has a strong track record of supporting the Polyon® fertilizer brand,” said Tim Sturm, vice president of Koch Turf & Ornamental. “They bring a market presence and strategic focus that will drive continued growth and market expansion of Polyon® fertilizer across the US providing real solutions for our turf and ornamental customers.”

“We’re very excited that Koch has selected us as the nationwide distributor for Polyon® fertilizer products,” said Jack Harrell Jr., CEO of Harrell’s. “We’ve had nationwide distribution capabilities for several years, and have been a regional distributor of Polyon® fertilizers since 1992. We know the product very well.”

Polyon® controlled-release fertilizer is a market leader in the turf and ornamental space.