Dan Kelley -
Chairman of the Board and President
Bill Davisson - Chief Executive Officer
Employees:
Full-time based in U.S. - approximately
730
Full-time in Canada - approximately 22
Subsidiaries - approximately 6,000
Description:
GROWMARK is a regional cooperative with
annual sales of $4.4 billion (FY 2007 data) providing
agriculture-related products and services and grain
marketing in the Midwest and Ontario, Canada. FS brand
farm supplies and related services are also marketed to
farmers in the northeastern United States and by
GROWMARK subsidiaries.
History:
In the 1920s, Illinois Farm Bureau
members invested money and efforts into forming local
cooperatives to ensure a reliable supply of farm inputs
and to maintain ownership and control of their own
business. In 1927, nine local cooperatives formed
Illinois Farm Supply Company, GROWMARK's first
predecessor company.
Through a series of mergers in the early 1960s, FS
Services, Inc. served local supply cooperatives in
Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. In 1980, FS Services and
Illinois Grain Corporation consolidated to form
GROWMARK. In 1994, GROWMARK purchased the major assets
of United Co-operatives of Ontario. UPI Energy LP is
jointly owned by GROWMARK, Inc. and Suncor Energy
Products, Inc. UPI is a leading marketer of energy
products, including biodiesel blends and ethanol-blended
gasolines, and related services to rural Ontario.
GROWMARK has developed alliances with agricultural
leaders including Syngenta, Monsanto, TruServ Canada,
and Central States Enterprises.
GROWMARK, its FS member cooperatives and subsidiaries do
business in 21 states and the province of Ontario.
Other Information:
GROWMARK, Inc. is a regional cooperative
owned by local cooperatives that, in turn, are owned and
guided by the nearly 250,000 farmers who do business
with them.
Point of Contact:
Karen Jones, publications and news
specialist
Phone (309) 557-6184