Boards OK Cenex and Harvest States Merger

The boards of two major farm cooperatives have approved a merger that would result in one of the nation’s largest farmer-owned co-ops with about $10 billion in annual sales. Members of Cenex Inc. of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., and Harvest States Cooperatives of Falcon Heights, Minn., will be asked to approve the merger in a mail-in ballot to be tabulated April 15. Harvest States has 600 local co-op members, 38,000 direct farmer members, 2,350 employees and sales of $7.1 billion. It’s the nation’s largest cooperative grain marketer and specializes in flour milling, soybean processing, food manufacturing, farm supplies and packaging. It’s also one of Cenex’s larger fertilizer customers. Cenex has 1,400 local co-op members and 2,500 employees and sales of $2.7 billion. It sells fertilizer, petroleum, lubricants, tires and crop protection products. If approved, the new organization would be called Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives and begin operating June 1. Because there is minimal overlap in operating areas, the two co-ops, which already share many members, said they anticipate few layoffs.