Reducing staff by 5 percent
Landus Cooperative recently announced and implemented Project 2020: Consolidate Then Grow, a multi-year initiative to enhance profitability and re-invest in more efficient assets on behalf of the cooperative’s approximately 7,000 member equity holders.
Landus was formed April 1, 2016, when a merger of West Central Cooperative and Farmers Cooperative was finalized.
“We are reducing costs and consolidating to be more profitable and, in turn, re-investing profits to more efficiently handle smart volume through strategic assets,” explained Milan Kucerak, chief executive officer of Landus Cooperative, the Ames headquartered farmer-owned cooperative.
Implementation of the consolidation phase includes:
- Full closure of locations in Coon Rapids, Leland, Parkersburg and Bristow. NH3 site closures include Chew, Scarville and Rands.
- Closing or seasonalizing several grain assets effective July 1, 2017, including Audubon, Exira (effective January 1, 2018), Dumont and Hampton. Grain seasonalization locations include Ackley, Aredale, Kesley, Plainfield, Thompson, Dayton and Sac City. These locations, once full at harvest, will close for the year.
- Shifting agronomy product lines to regional hubs with central dispatch. The firm plans to touch agronomy products fewer times: dry fertilizer from 17 sites to eight sites; liquid fertilizer from 32 sites to 19 sites; bulk crop protection storage from 35 sites to 25 sites, and NH3 bullets from 60 sites to 49 sites.
- Five percent reduction in staff (38 positions) across all part-time and full-time employees in the 26 counties in which the cooperative has locations.
“We know these changes deeply impact our work family and the decisions have been difficult,” explained Kucerak. “While never easy, we need to make changes in order to move our business forward on behalf of our farmer-owners.”
Implementation of the growth phase is underway as capital expenditure proposals are being finalized for board approval with implementation anticipated in the next fiscal year. A variety of multi-million dollar projects are expected to be implemented through fiscal year 2020 including:
- Automate grain assets and agronomy hubs
- Build greenfield grain/agronomy hubs in currently underserved markets Standardize processes and procedures
- Continued focus on staffing efficiencies
“This plan is important for all members of Landus Cooperative, both today and into the future,” explained John Scott, president of the board of directors and an Odebolt-area farmer. “Just like our farmers, our cooperative must keep costs in line and make smart investments in order to proactively position ourselves as winners in today’s competitive, global marketplace.”
