The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Heartland Cooperative Wednesday, announced he will be retiring at the end of this year. Larry Petersen informed the Co-Op Board of his decision earlier this week. Petersen has spent the last 31-years with the Heartland combined companies, and his served in the agricultural-related industries for more than 42-years. He became the General Manager of the Panora Farmers Cooperative in 1981, and is the first and only CEO of the Heartland Co-Op since its inception in 1987.

During his tenure, Heartland has grown to become one of the largest local cooperatives in the nation, according to Board President Art Churchill.  Churchill says the Heartland Board of Directors has begun the process to secure a replacement for Petersen, and they fully expect to have a new CEO in-place before Petersen’s departure on December 31st.

The Heartland Co-Op has corporate offices located in West Des Moines, and consists of a total of 51 locations in Central and Eastern Iowa. The organizations serves more than 4,500 members with operations in grain handling and marketing, fertilizer and application, Ag chemicals and application, livestock feed and processing, agricultural products, and propane.