DES MOINES, IOWA, US — Landus, Iowa’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, has launched Landus Conduit, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary that will be led by grain industry veteran Bruce Vernon, who joins the coop’s executive leadership team after nearly eight years at The Equity.

Landus Conduit will connect farmers, aligned agriculture and grain organizations with collaborators to streamline supply chain and access incremental value, Des Moines, Iowa, US-based Landus said in its Nov. 21 announcement. Collaborations will benefit from new service options through the Landus GROW Solutions Center and financing partners to create new capabilities and channels for sustainability across all segments.

“At Landus, we continually explore ways to bring value to our farmer-owners,” said Matt Carstens, president and chief executive officer at Landus. “The opportunity to add someone like Bruce to our team and engage collaborating companies through Landus Conduit adds increasing value for progressive farmers looking for leadership and engagement from their strategic partners.”

Vernon most recently was at The Equity in Effingham, Illinois, US, the largest independent agricultural cooperative in Illinois, where he and his team led the organization to record sales and income, according to Landus. He also brings deep retail and wholesale experience domestically and globally gained with companies such as Koch Agronomic Services, Viterra, Mid-Kansas Coop and Agriliance.

Initially, reporting to Vernon will be grain teams from Consus and the Landus cross-country trading team. His team will expand to include experienced solution providers across the agricultural value chain in the sustainable production of food, fiber and fuel. Bruce will lead Landus Conduit from the Kansas City, Missouri, US, office.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to apply my career experience and wide network to an innovative and agile company like Landus that is redefining the meaning of a cooperative,” Vernon said. “As we work through the possibilities for applying Landus’ core offerings through adjacent partners, we recognize numerous opportunities to create more value for our farmer-owners and partnership network. It’s an exciting time to be a part of this organization.”

Landus recently added to its cross-country grain trading network with the addition of two highly experienced grain merchandisers, Brock Seidl and Tyson Pettijohn. The cooperative also inaugurated its Innovation Connector in Des Moines and opened its first international office in Guadalajara, Mexico, this year.