NEW Cooperative recently opened its multi-million dollar expanded facility in Cooper and are looking to continue that expansion elsewhere in Greene County.

CEO Dan Dix says they are in the process of purchasing 40 acres of land just east of Churdan. He talks about the plans for that land.

“At this point it’s an agronomy play. We have a large, large market share in that area and we are hauling the product along a long ways to service those farmers. So our intention is here quite soon to begin adding an anhydrous ammonia facility to start with. And we’ll kind of, like in Cooper, let the producer lead us down the path that he needs to serve his production needs.”    

Dix points out they are also building a $10 million 10,000 ton fertilizer facility at their Cooper location due to the increased need for producers in the southern portion of the county and the surrounding area. He describes why they are making a larger investment there.

“The demand was greater than the facility’s capacity. So we planted our flag in the agronomy business a little deeper here and now have rounded out our offerings for producers in the area.”  

Dix adds farmer-owned cooperatives have greatly reduced in Iowa since the 1930s when there were 350 down to around 40 are left. He says part of their strategy to continue to be a cooperative is reinvesting in their facilities and listening to farmers to see when they should expand those facilities and services.