News, Optimization

United Farmers Cooperative Joins Optimization by Landus

Landus UFC 060221 vf

Network of Agriculture Retailers Rapidly Growing in Size and Scale

AMES, IOWA (June 9, 2021) - Landus, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Iowa, announced today the latest addition to its optimization model. United Farmers Cooperative (UFC), a farmer-owned cooperative offering a diversified set of products and services to its membership, is the second agriculture retail company from Minnesota and fourth overall to participate in this innovative alternative to a traditional merger or acquisition.

“It’s exciting to see the momentum starting to build for this new way to collaborate. It speaks volumes about the need for a better way to work across organizations who serve farmers directly,” said Matt Carstens, President and CEO, Landus. “We welcome UFC to our growing network of farmer facing businesses in Minnesota.”

Effective June 9, 20201, UFC will become an optimization account with Landus while continuing to maintain a separate Board of Directors, employees, and operations. 

“We are in a constant state of change across our industry, and it is partnership opportunities like this that inspire me,” said Mitch Altermatt, CEO & General Manager, UFC. “Now more than ever, we need to focus on the growers’ current and future needs, and this ‘local collaboration’ approach is a significant step in the right direction. We look forward to sharing resources and learning from this group of forward thinkers.”

Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.


About Optimization Model

Landus first announced in April 2021 an innovative alternative to traditional mergers and acquisitions for agriculture retail. Participating companies maintain autonomy, preserve local community presence, and enhance farmer relationships while participating in a shared platform of strength. 

This new model is designed for collaboration and optimization on grain, feed, soybean processing, agronomy, data, technology, logistics, and back-office functions. It also provides the opportunity to maximize capital investments, infrastructure capacity, and employee talent. 

Agreements are tailored to the strengths of each party and developed on a case-by-case basis. Refer to previous announcements here.

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About Landus

Landus is a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative headquartered in Ames, Iowa. We employ about 600 full-time employees at locations in more than 60 communities to serve our 7,000 farmer-owners. We are Iowa’s largest agricultural cooperative providing unmatched scale, expertise, facilities, and logistics. Our products and services span the five pillars of agronomy, grain, feed, animal nutrition, and data. 

For more information, visit LandusCooperative.com.

About United Farmers Cooperative

United Farmers Cooperative is a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative with over 200 full-time employees servicing our farmers in Southern Minnesota. Our mission is to be a trusted partner for the high-quality, dependable products, services, and insights that help those who count on us to achieve their goals. 

For more information, visit https://www.ufcmn.com/