Randall Farmers Co-op Union expands to Concordia

Randall Co-op is expanding to a new location in Concordia. The Co-op's AgPro Warehouse is an agronomic warehouse, selling chemicals, fertilizer, Ohlde seed and custom application to the Cloud County and surrounding areas. "Branching out into Concordia is not an unusual move for us, as we are already doing business in town. Randall Co-op is a 9 percent owner of the Concordia Terminal, LLC. Our producers see the value of our investment in rail in Concordia, so the addition of an agronomy warehouse in the same community is a seamless integration," Kris Allen, general manager, said.

Ron Sothers, agronomy manager, saw a need in the Cloud County area. Sothers said, "Producers from multiple counties were contacting me for agronomic advice, and I saw that as opportunity for Randall Co-op to add a more centralized hub. Randall has goals to grow our business and add value to our agronomy department, as most do. It's all a game in the agronomic business anymore; the more volume of product you sell, the better the price from our suppliers. Increasing our volume, no matter the zip code, brings better pricing to all members in Jewell, Republic, Mitchell, and Cloud Counties."

The project was researched at length, looking at various warehouse spaces in the Concordia area that would be suitable. "Warehouse space is a hot commodity. We utilized Cloud Corp to help us nail down an available space," Allen said.

Phillip Meinecke was hired to manage the AgPro Warehouse, including area sales and logistics. Meinecke is a native of the Linn area, raised on a dairy farm, and has an agricultural background working in various prior roles at Ohlde Seed and Wilbur Ellis. "Phillip has been a quick study, originally in agriculture, but most recently operating a truck polishing business. He has a good support system of knowledge and experience to direct you to the right product for your acre," Sothers said. Meinecke also heads up the seed partnership with Ohlde Seed.

This is Sothers' 30th year in the ag retail sector; his lifetime of experience includes the cooperative system and independent ag retailers both. Sothers landed at Randall Co-op in 2019 as the agronomy manager. Kaity Reedy plays a vital role in keeping Randall's agronomy department organized, responsible for agronomy sales and accounting. Reedy, a 2013 KSU grad with a degree in agronomy, grew up working on her family's farm near Glasco. Randall Co-op has several seasoned custom application operators and utilizes the H2A Visa program for tender truck drivers seasonally. Allen said, "When Spring hits, it takes all of us in every department to make things flow. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service, and every employee pitches in to make the producer's world turn. Some days the office girls are station attendants so those boys can climb the pile or unload fertilizer as needed. We just do what needs done."