BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, US and ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, US – CHS, Inc. and GROWMARK, Inc. announced on Jan. 12 that they have agreed to explore opportunities for the agricultural cooperatives to collaborate to better serve their owners and customers.

The cooperatives already have a track record of working together. In 2021, they formed Cooperative Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on supporting advancements in breakthrough technologies for the agriculture industry.

“Continuing our long history of adding value to our members and customers, while ensuring a strong and vibrant cooperative system for the future, is critical to the GROWMARK System,” said Mark Orr, chief executive officer, GROWMARK. “Our partnership with CHS in Cooperative Ventures is a great example of cooperation amongst cooperatives that benefits the shareholders of both companies.”

Jay Debertin, president and CEO of CHS, added: “Ultimately, we aim to better meet customer demand for our owners’ products around the world and increase the value of the cooperative system,” he said.

While the outcome of the exploratory process is unknown, GROWMARK and CHS said they anticipate emerging with an even stronger relationship focused on improving customer outcomes and strengthening agriculture for farmer- and cooperative-owners.

GROWMARK is an agricultural cooperative serving almost 400,000 customers across North America, providing agronomy, energy, facility engineering and construction, and logistics products and services, as well as grain marketing and risk management services. Headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, GROWMARK owns the FS trademark, which is used by member cooperatives.

As a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States, St. Paul, Minnesota-based CHS serves customers in 65 countries and employs nearly 10,000 people worldwide, providing critical crop inputs, market access and risk management services.