Members of Farmers Cooperative Company (FC), in Ames, and West Central® Cooperative, in Ralston, have both approved the merger of their cooperatives effective April 1st, 2016.  West Central Board Chair and Paton, Iowa-area farmer Sue Tronchetti said  “In this merger vote, our members were presented with a rare opportunity to combine two strong, financially-stable cooperatives in a merger of equals to maintain local ownership for generations to come.”  FC Chief Executive Officer Jim Chism added “We are pleased the memberships approved the boards’ recommendation. We are confident that together, we will become an even stronger cooperative and be better positioned to help improve the economic well-being of our member-owners.”

Each membership met Iowa’s state voting requirement for a successful cooperative merger as certified by independent auditing firm of Gardiner Thomsen. To approve a merger, Iowa law requires at least 50 percent of each membership (plus one) to vote, with two-thirds of those casting ballots voting in favor of the merger. West Central President and CEO Milan Kucerak will become the CEO of the newly formed cooperative.

The unified cooperative, to be known as Landus Cooperative, will be led by current West Central President and CEO Milan Kucerak and be headquartered in Ames. The board of directors will be made up of nine directors from each cooperative for equal representation. More information on any changes will be provided in coming months as integration plans are finalized.

Together, West Central and FC have more than 70 grain, agronomy and feed locations in 26 Iowa and three Minnesota counties. According to World Grain magazine’s Grain and Milling Annual, Landus Cooperative will become the seventh largest grain company in North America based on storage capacity and have shuttle-loading access on all seven major Iowa rail lines.