2007 Annual Report - Letter to the Shareholders
Imagine. Believe. Achieve.
For 80 years, these three words have launched the
GROWMARK System’s growth and renewal. Through imagination,
belief, and achievement, we are accomplishing our vision to
be the best agricultural cooperative system in North
America. These words now provide a platform for the
initiatives that will shape our future.
Imagine
Imagination is essential to business success. Without
imagination, there is little hope for creative resolution of
the challenges we face. Imagination is the foundation of
cooperative business. Farm Bureau members in the 1920s
imagined a better way of doing business as a means of
providing a reliable supply of farm inputs at a fair price.
The imagination of a small group of individuals sparked the
development of today’s multi-billion dollar GROWMARK System.
Believe
Our success — our System — comes because of cooperation
among the directors and management teams of the GROWMARK
System as we build upon the imagination of our founders. We
believe in our vision, and we believe that our mission is to
improve the long-term profitability of our member-owners. We
have other strong beliefs, as well, including unity,
cooperation, and equality. These values, these beliefs, are
as strong today as they were at our founding.
Achieve
Fiscal 2007 was a year of records: record plant food
volume; record liquid fuels, propane, and lubricant sales;
record seed sales; record construction volume; record sales
through the GROWMARK Tank and Truck Center; record MID-CO
profits; and record Agri-Finance volume.
The records posted in fiscal 2007 come as a direct result
of dedicated professionals working and leading all of our
System businesses. Without people of good character and good
skill we could not achieve the results we have achieved this
year. There is no network of organizations in the world that
can top the people of the GROWMARK System in management
expertise, loyalty, integrity, and commitment to mission.
It is a good time to be part of the agricultural
industry. Yet, we can’t, and won’t, rely on the results of
this year. There are more opportunities to seize, greater
efficiencies to gain, new technologies to adopt, stronger
bonds to develop, and issues to overcome.
Thank you for your commitment to our System’s future
success. Together we imagine that we will continue to be the
best agricultural cooperative system in North America; we
believe that we will improve the long-term profitability of
our member-owners; and we will achieve those goals because
we are committed to each other and the cooperative way of
doing business.
Year in Review
Financial Report
Report Summary
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