PNW, Co-Ag announce merger

Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative (PNW) and Cooperative Agriculture (Co-Ag) have announced a merger of the two agricultural companies.

PNW, which operates its corporate office in Genesee and another office in Colfax, and Co-Ag voted on the merger in December.

“Both companies’ members voted, and there had to be a super majority on either side for it to pass,” said Bill Newbry, chief executive officer of PNW.

Co-Ag operates its corporate office in Rosalia and also has offices in Oakesdale and Fairfield.

The official merger will take place June 1. Newbry said both companies’ fiscal years end on May 31, so the merger will start on the first day of the new fiscal year. Newbry said the two companies will work well together.

“The companies really complement each other in their synergies,” he said.

He added that the merger will accomplishe “quite a few things.”

“It will lend toward better operational control for the farmers, better diversity for the Co-Ag,” he said. “The processing facilities at PNW are second to none, and PNW has a great field presence. We have the overall umbrella set in place, and the Co-Ag structure just fit nicely into that umbrella.”

Co-Ag was established in 1998 by a merger of three cooperatives: Oakesdale Grain Growers, Rosalia Producers and Fairfield Grain Growers.

According to its website, Co-Ag receives wheat, barley, pea and lentil crops at 21 elevator locations. PNW was also formed through a merger. The company formed in 2008 with the merger of Genesee Union Warehouse and Whitman County Growers.

Newbry said Co-Ag has “struggled over the last several years,” and when its manager was discharged, some fiscal issues emerged.

“Their division team members ran the company for about six months, and they just said, ‘this is crazy,’” Newbry explained. “PNW and Co-Ag do the same thing. They said, ‘let’s join forces and get stronger.’ It will strengthen both companies.”

While the merger does not officially take place until June 1, Newbry said the time now is being used to get everything in place.

“Merging a company is very complicated,” he said. “We’re working really hard and diligently to integrate the functions of each office.”

The current Co-Ag offices, he said, will stay open, and some of the administrative functions of PNW will also move into the Rosalia office.

“The Co-Ag farmers have already been doing business with PNW, and they will now be able to be even better served by the additional staff PNW has and just the marketers overall,” he said. “We have a deeper staff, and PNW has been a very profitable company year-in and year-out.”

PNW currently has more than 80 full-time employees, and the company has agronomy, seed, operations, processing and a grain division. Newbry said PNW also has its own human resources department, a food safety program and a safety director.

“We export to over 50 countries in the world, and we have the largest chickpea production in the U.S.,” he said.

Co-Ag currently has approximately 40 employees, as well as processing plants in Spokane and Fairfield, grain operations, processing and seed divisions. Both companies are structured with a board of directors, who are farmers and are all elected. PNW has a nine-member board, and Co-Ag has a seven-member board.

In a 2016 newsletter, Co-Ag announced the possibility of the merger and stated it was excited for what was to come.

“As many of you are aware, we are exploring the possibility of merging with Pacific Northwest Farmer’s Cooperative (PNW). We feel that this is a great fit, provides our growers with new opportunities and solidifies our place in the market,” the letter read. “The grain business is changing faster than it ever has before, and becoming more competitive by the day. We feel that by merger with PNW we can be ahead of the game and set precedence in the Pacific Northwest of what a grain company will look like today and many years into the future.”