New Coop 50th Anniversary

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50th Anniversary - Table of Contents

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Your Partner in the Field

Farmer-owned cooperatives are so common in rural America that it’s easy to take them for granted—and to forget how revolutionary they were when they started decades ago.

When NEW Cooperative was created in 1973, the farmer-directors of two local co-ops (Vincent and Badger) knew that joining together could help them serve local farmers better than trying to go it alone.

Today, NEW continues to embrace the cooperative business model, which emphasizes local ownership to be your partner in the field. “Why do we exist? To serve the farmers’ needs and add value,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW Cooperative. “Being your partner in the field means we help farmers work together to achieve goals they couldn’t reach on their own.”

The co-op business model is highly flexible and can address a wide variety of needs. Farmer-owned co-ops like NEW help their members and customers secure crop inputs and ag services, purchase feed and energy products, and market their grain. “As we’ve grown, the size and scope of NEW has allowed us to spread costs across a wider base of members,” Dix said. “This means more competitive prices on agronomy products and better grain bids.”

Trust defines the cooperative philosophy. “Our employees invest the time it takes to build relationships with the farmers we serve,” Dix said. “Reliability and trust are essential in this business.”

Building this trust has helped NEW grow. The cooperative serves 8,000 members throughout 60+ locations in Iowa. “This growth has allowed us to do things we never thought we’d be able to do, like build the Port of Blencoe on the Missouri River and expand into the feed sector in a major way,” said Frank Huseman, a project manager at NEW. “All this has allowed us to be farmers’ partner in the field in some exciting new ways.”

This has also boosted NEW’s profitability. In a cooperative like NEW, profits can be directed three ways: 1.) back to the members through patronage; 2.) reinvested into the co-op’s facilities, services and equipment to serve members more efficiently, and 3.) geared towards a strong balance sheet that allows the co-op to remain financially viable and grow.

“If you’re a farmer-member, it should be important to you to have a say in your cooperative, have the ability to receive the earnings back through patronage, and have the facilities you need, now and into the future,” Dix said. “We believe the owner of the cooperative should be the producer who is using the cooperative today. That drives our rapid equity revolvement through the years.”

All this helps NEW remain your partner in the field, Dix said. “We’re all in this together, and we’ll be here for the long haul to serve you.”

Farmer-Focused for 50 Years

Iowa farmers are blessed with some of the best farmland in the world. Producing bountiful crops on this land, raising livestock and passing these opportunities to the next generation have long been important to Iowa’s farmers.

Those goals are important to NEW Cooperative, too. As a farmer-owned cooperative, our roots run deep here in farm country.

“Since 1973 when NEW was created by two local cooperatives in northeast Webster County coming together, one element of our story remains consistent,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager. “NEW was founded by farmers who saw mutual benefits in sharing resources.”

Today, 50 years later, we’ve grown into a grain, agronomy, energy and feed cooperative headquartered in Fort Dodge. Much more than an ag retailer, we provide grain markets and innovative ag services to 8,000 members throughout our 60 locations in Iowa.

We still embrace the cooperative model of working together to accomplish goals that individual farmers couldn’t achieve on their own. “Our founders knew that when we pool our resources, every single farm gains momentum,”

Dix said. “From the start, NEW’s guiding principles have been progressive and practical.”

Skilled, knowledgeable employees help NEW’s members and customers evaluate their options and determine which solutions are the best fit for their acres. These employees are guided by NEW’s mission to add value to our members’ farming operations. They also help us achieve our vision to remain an innovative and efficient provider of today’s ag markets and services. From NEW’s managers to the co-op’s employees to our board members, NEW understands that farming is just not a business; it’s a way of life.

“We take pride in doing things the right way,” Dix noted. “You’ll see American flags flying at our locations. Farmers are a very patriotic group, and NEW Cooperative is, as well.”

While agriculture is evolving at a fast pace, the cooperative model remains useful to help guide NEW into the future. “As we honor 50 years of serving area farmers, we’re also focused on ways to help NEW to remain relevant now and for the farmers of tomorrow,” Dix said. “We look forward to positioning this cooperative for continued success for the next 50 years and beyond.”

A Timeline in Progress

1973: Members of farmers’ cooperatives in Badger and Vincent, (Northeast Webster County) Iowa agree to merge, creating NEW Cooperative, Inc. During the first operational year, Duncombe farmers voted to add their rail location to the mix.

1978: NEW Cooperative expands to include locations in Fort Dodge, Otho and Roelyn. The unification gave NEW flexibility to load unit trains on two different railroads.

1980: Clare and Barnum area farmers join NEW.

1981: NEW adds its first location outside of Webster County, with the addition of Knierim co-op in Calhoun County.

1989: NEW purchases private elevators in Lohrville and Rands.

1992: Co-op members in Palmer, Pomeroy, and Knoke vote to join NEW.

1995: When farmer-owners in Humboldt vote to join with NEW, total grainstorage capacity with the cooperatives grows to 28 million bushels at 14 locations.

1998: In partnership with Land O’Lakes feeds, NEW Cooperative creates NEW Cooperative Feed LLC.

1999: NEW purchases the former Terra Industries agronomy location in Pomeroy.

2002: NEW expands to the north when co-op members in Bode and Lu Verne vote to merge.

2005: Members of the Woolstock and Blairsburg cooperatives overwhelmingly vote to unify with NEW.

2007: Cooperative members in Glidden, Lanesboro, and Lidderdale vote to join NEW, bringing the number of locations in the cooperative to 21.

2012: NEW purchases the Lanyon agronomy location near Jefferson.

2014: NEW purchases two agronomy locations in Coon Rapids and Cooper. Farmers Cooperative Company of Dows also merges with NEW, adding locations in Dows and Rowan.

2015: Western Iowa Co-op members vote to join NEW, adding locations in Blencoe, Correctionville, Hornick, Mapleton, Onawa, Pierson, Sloan, Turin, Washta, and Whiting.

2017: The new feed mill opens at NEW’s Pomeroy location. In addition, members of Berne Cooperative, which is headquartered in Ute and has another elevator location in Mapleton, vote to sell their assets to NEW. NEW also purchases a grain elevator south of Anthon.

2018: The new Rowan feed mill begins manufacturing feed.

2020: NEW begins constructing a 3-million-bushel grain facility and a 500-ton-per-year feed mill to the Cooper location. NEW also starts construction of the Port of Blencoe. This 38-acre site is the northernmost port on the Missouri River. The new port is expected to be operational in the spring of 2021.

2021: The Cooper feed mill and Port of Blencoe begin operations. In addition, members of MaxYield Cooperative vote to merge with NEW, adding 20 locations to the cooperative.

2022: NEW acquires three private agronomy locations in Ventura, Buffalo Center and Fertile.

2023: Members of United Farmers’ Cooperative, headquartered in Red Oak, vote in favor of a merger with NEW. The merger will become effective September 1, 2023. NEW also celebrates its 50th anniversary on August 5, 2023, at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Ft. Dodge, with a gala celebration that includes a concert by the legendary country music group Alabama.

MISSION:

To add value to our members’ farming operations.

VISION:

To remain an innovative and efficient provider of today’s ag markets and services.

Celebrating 50 Years

NEW Cooperative was formed in north-central Iowa 50 years ago on the premise of helping farmers doing things together that they couldn’t do on their own.

“Fifty years ago, farming operations and cooperatives were considerably smaller,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW. “Badger had lost its railroad, like many small communities had. NEW was founded in 1973 when board members with the co-op in Badger and the co-op in Vincent agreed to work together.”

In 1973, the Vincent Farmers Elevator had installed one of Iowa’s first rail loaders. “A rail loader back then was considerably different from what this equipment is today, but it was fairly forwardthinking for the time,” Dix said. “The two companies got together and figured if they could combine grain volumes and ship grain out of Vincent, both memberships would benefit.”

Also, these two, farmer-owned cooperatives were six miles apart, so working together made sense. Because they were both in the northeast corner of Webster County, the name NEW (North East Webster) Cooperative worked well for the new company. Then the co-op in Duncombe came in the company that same year, so NEW Cooperative grew to three locations by late 1973. “A co-op this size was fairly unheard of in Iowa in 1973,” Dix said.

After all, there were 340 individual, farmer-owned cooperatives in Iowa in the early 1950s, Dix noted. “There

were six in Webster County alone. Today, only 12% of those 340 elevators exist. Today, some individual farms are larger than many of those cooperatives were back then.”

Many local cooperatives today are also larger than regional cooperatives were 50+ years ago, and regional cooperatives today are the size of multi-national businesses. But throughout this whole consolidation process, NEW has found new ways to bring additional value to its member-owners.

“In the last five decades, the things that farmers can do for themselves have changed dramatically,” Dix said. “NEW has had to adapt and change to provide new tools and services that the farmer of today needs.”

That means adding efficiencies to the system, and leveraging the buying power and other opportunities that a larger organization can bring. It all starts with strong leadership and a vision for the future.

“From the beginning, NEW has had forward-thinking board members who ask key questions about what this cooperative would need to do to succeed and provide value to the farmer of the future,” Dix said. “That’s what it means to be farmer focused and member driven.”

There have been 80 board members in the 50-year history of NEW. “During that time, these various directors have always had a consistent approach to finding what’s important to the Iowa farmer, and they’ve never waivered from that,” Dix said. “This focus was part of NEW’s culture from the start and continues to guide our employees. We’ve never taken our eye off the ball of what got us here.”

The Symbolism of the NEW Logo

The colors and design of NEW Cooperative’s logo aren’t just an artist’s creation. The black color on the bottom represents the cooperative’s roots in the deep, rich, fertile soil of Iowa. That soil supports healthy, abundant crops, which are reflected in the green section at the top of NEW’s logo. Today, they symbolize how NEW Cooperative’s mission to add value to our members’ farming operations.

Algona

Anthon

Badger

Barnum

Belmond

Blairsburg

Blencoe

Bode

Britt

Buffalo Center

Clare

Cooper

Coon Rapids

Correctionville

Dickens

Duncombe

Dows

Emmetsburg

Everly

Where We Do Business

Fertile

Forest City

Fostoria

Garner

Glidden

Greenville

Gruver

Hornick

Humboldt

Klemme

Knierim

Knoke

Langdon

Lanyon

Lanesboro

Lidderdale

Lohrville

LuVerne

Mallard

Mapleton

Meservey

Milford

Moville

Onawa

Otho

Palmer

Pierson

Pomeroy

Port of Blencoe

Rands

Roelyn

Rowan

Sloan

Spencer

Superior

Ute

Ventura

Vincent

Washta

West Bend

Whiting

Whittemore

Woolstock

CONGRATULATIONS

Dan Dix Reflects on 27-Year Career with NEW Cooperative

If you could turn the clock back 27 years to 1996, it was clear that big changes were transforming Iowa agriculture. New technologies like Roundup® Ready soybeans were transforming crop production in Iowa, the Farm Crisis years of the 1980s were in the rearview mirror, and farmer-owned cooperatives were entering an era of tremendous transition.

Dan Dix experienced it all when he joined NEW Cooperative’s agronomy department in 1996. “There’s been so much rapid consolidation across the country in agribusiness,” said Dix, who now serves as CEO/general manager of NEW. “Today, large, multi-national corporations control much of the grain business and the ag input business. NEW Cooperative is a very small company in the scope of agribusiness today.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the need for the locally-owned ag cooperative. “It’s just as important, if not more important, today to have a cooperative option for farmers in Iowa,” Dix said. “Our front door is still the location you come to when you choose to do business with NEW. But as a cooperative, we have the size and scale to compete in the realm of extremely large ag organizations.”

Dix credits this success to the visionary leadership of NEW board members through the years, loyal farmers who have supported NEW for decades and the dedicated employees who are proud to serve NEW’s farmer-members and customers. “Our employees devote endless hours to meeting customers’ needs. NEW’s leaders and managers also understand the importance of investing in the co-op’s facilities and equipment to offer the level of service farmers need today.”

Dix could see this from the time he joined NEW’s agronomy department in 1996. “Our agronomy employees don’t like to lose. They want to be the best input provider in Iowa and the Midwest, and they’re willing to do what it takes.”

This same spirit extends throughout the company today, including agronomy, grain, feed, energy, transportation, software development, office support staff and more.

“What’s built NEW’s business? Our people,” Dix said. “While I’ve worked for other organizations during my career and learned a lot, I’m most proud of working for NEW, which has been so successful for so many years. NEW’s people, and NEW’s values of being farmer-focused and member-driven, are the things I appreciate most about my career in agriculture.”

A Minute with Brian Wagner, chairman of the board of directors, NEW Cooperative

As a business owned by its members, NEW Cooperative is guided by a 15-member board comprised of the farmers who do business with the co-op. Board President Brian Wagner farms east of Fort Dodge near Woolstock and has been proud to help guide NEW for a number of years.

Q: How long has your family farmed in north-central Iowa?

I grew up on a farm south of Clarion, and I’m a sixth-generation farmer in Freemont Township in Hamilton County. My son farms with me, and the center of our farming operation is Woolstock.

Q: How long has your family done business with the local co-op?

A: My great-grandpa worked at the Judd location, back when there was a Judd location. I have pictures of my grandpa at the Duncombe elevator back in 1914. I used to go into the Duncombe elevator with my dad when I was a kid. I was so young I couldn’t even see over the counter back then. NEW Cooperative has been a partner with our farm since NEW started in 1973. I have pictures from the 1970s of my dad wearing his NEW Cooperative hat.

Q: How long have you served on the co-op board?

A: I’ve served on the NEW board since 2005, when the Woolstock Cooperative merged with NEW Cooperative. I was a director on the Woolstock Cooperative board prior to the merger. The best thing we ever did as a board was to join NEW Cooperative.

Q: What do you like about NEW?

A: I attribute NEW’s success to paying attention to the small details and always trying to improve. Everyone from the employees at NEW to the top management focuses on this. There are a lot of choices of who you can do business with in farming, but NEW is by far the best choice.

Q: What sets the cooperative system apart from other businesses?

A: I believe in the cooperative system, because there’s no better business model to serve farmers. Cooperatives were developed to help farmers do things they couldn’t do on their own. We still need cooperatives today to accomplish things that individual farmers couldn’t achieve on their own.

Q: What does NEW’s 50th anniversary mean to you?

A: Reaching the 50-year mark is significant, because not many cooperatives transition successfully through various general managers. NEW has done a good job of growing talent and promoting from within. I’d also like to thank all of NEW Cooperative’s employees for all your hard work, dedication and long hours you put in to help NEW succeed. I’d also like to thank all of NEW’s members for all their support during the last 50 years.

NEW Coop,

From all of us at AssuredPartners, we are so thrilled to extend a huge congratulations on your 50th anniversary. From the start of your company in 1973, the goal was to share resources, build relationships, and maximize efficiency, and we are honored to have had the opportunity to insure you for the past 20 years and expand, deepen, and grow our own relationship with you as well. We are grateful for your unwavering dedication in helping farmers and non-stop effort of innovation in the agriculture industry, and we look forward to our continued partnership with you in the years to come.

Sincerely,

AssuredPartners

4 Ways NEW Creates Opportunity

Today is the opportunity to build the tomorrow you want. Perhaps no one knows this better than Frank Huseman, project manager for NEW Cooperative.

“NEW Cooperative is unique in the ag cooperative world,” said Huseman, who has worked with NEW since 2001. “To me, NEW means opportunity.”

When Huseman joined NEW 22 years ago, he had previously managed a small, farmer-owned cooperative in northwest Iowa. He was originally hired at NEW to manage the Roelyn location. Through the years, he became a regional manager and an operations manager before serving as NEW’s project manager.

“NEW has always had a vision for the future,” Huseman said. “There are opportunities coming our direction every day. It gives you a good feeling to know you’re part of something special.”

1. Opportunities for member-owners and customers. NEW provides grain markets and innovative ag services to 8,000 members throughout 60 locations in Iowa. Throughout the co-op’s 50-year history, it has adapted to the needs of local farmers. “When NEW was formed in 1973, farms were much smaller, and most farms had livestock and crops,” Huseman said. “While farms have grown larger and livestock production has evolved through large integrators, NEW continues to offer opportunities to serve all these producers.”

2. Opportunities for employees: NEW is a great place to work, Huseman said. “I depend on, trust and learn from my fellow employees. I also like how provides a stable work environment with a family atmosphere.” This extends from colleagues to the farmers NEW serves. “You get the opportunity to work with great people, state-of-the-art equipment, the latest innovations, and great member-owners and customers,” Huseman said.

3. Opportunities for other cooperatives. Since NEW was formed in 1973, it has provided an attractive opportunity to help other farmer-owned cooperatives gain economies of scale and other advantages. The members of various cooperatives have voted through the years to unify with NEW. The most recent is United Farmers Cooperative, whose members voted in June 2023 to merge with NEW.

4. Opportunities for rural communities. NEW operates locations in roughly a fourth of Iowa’s 99 counties. “NEW means opportunity for the small communities we serve,” Huseman said. “Not only do we serve farmers, but we provide job opportunities and charitable support for local organizations through the NEW Foundation. We’re also one of the largest property taxpayers in many of these communities. All this creates a big boost to the local economy.” NEW will continue to create more opportunities going forward, Huseman said. “We’re located in an ag-based state in a region with rich, fertile soil and talented people who love agriculture. How does it get any better than this?”

Meeting Challenges Head-On:

How NEW Continues to Reinvent the Farmer-Owned Cooperative

In the midst of challenges lies opportunity, according to a piece of timehonored wisdom. NEW Cooperative has embraced these pivot points throughout its 50-year history to propel the company into the future.

“Find a need and fill it” reflects NEW’s farmer-focused, member-driven philosophy, said Frank Huseman, project leader at NEW. “We’re driven by what’s in our members’ best interest. That’s why NEW’s history is a story of reinventing ourselves.”

Consider the custom application business in the agronomy sector. “I remember the first floater NEW purchased—a Big A,” said Huseman, referring to a high-clearance applicator. “This led to NEW’s involvement with precision farming and variable-rate application.”

This, in turn, inspired the cooperative to create MAPS (Midwest Agronomic Professional Services™), which equips producers to make the best use of soil fertility resources to help achieve their yield goals, right down to the acre. NEW launched a software development division to support these efforts. The resources available through NEW’s precision ag services have grown right along with NEW’s software business.

“Precision ag started allowing producers to ‘farm by the foot,” and now it’s almost down to ‘farm by the inch,” Huseman said. “Our software development division shows the adaptability of NEW. There aren’t many farmer-owned cooperatives that could do this.”

Another big challenge emerged when the ethanol industry started to boom in the early 2000s. NEW’s leaders were concerned when an ethanol plant was built right in the heart of the cooperative’s trade territory. What would this mean to NEW’s grain business? Would those bushels still come to NEW, or would they go direct to the ethanol plant?”

“Instead of saying, ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about it, and we’ll lose X bushels,’ we looked for options to utilize our facilities and enhance grain origination at NEW,” Huseman said. “How could we find new markets for our members’ grain? How could we work with the ethanol plants? This led us to invest in shuttle train loaders.”

Examples like this show how NEW has never been afraid to meet big challenges headon. “We look for ways to solve these issues and turn them into opportunities for NEW and the farmers we serve,” Huseman said.

Growing with NEW Agronomy

Success in crop farming all starts with the seed, but it doesn’t stop there. It also requires a strategic plan tailored for each farmer’s acres to provide the right fertilizer, crop protection products, application services and more.

Not only does NEW Cooperative offer farmers the latest in seed technology and crop protection products from a range of leading suppliers, but NEW also offers precision ag services, from grid soil sampling to data management. For 25 years, NEW has supported its own software development division. A big part of this involves MAPS (Midwest Agronomic Professional Services™), which equips producers to make the best use of soil fertility resources to help achieve their yield goals, right down to the acre.

NEW’s focus on precision ag began to take root in 1995, when NEW became one of the first cooperatives in the region to purchase equipment for the variable-rate application of nutrients across the field. “Today, the vast majority of our members utilize this technology, which has evolved through the years,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW.

Today, technology in NEW’s agronomy division also provides realtime data from the field, including application coverage maps. “These are like a ‘report card’ on how good of a job we did on that producer’s field,” Dix said. “This data is delivered to the farmer’s mobile device as soon as we complete a job and pull out of the farmer’s field.”

Tools like this help the NEW agronomy team stay in close communication with the producers they serve. NEW also works one-on-one with farmers through SciMax precision ag services, including:

• SciMax Foliar. While macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are vital to crop production, micronutrients like zinc, boron, sulfur, manganese, iron and copper are also essential. Tissue testing of corn and soybean plants can help determine if the crop is taking up proper levels of key nutrients during the growing season.

• SciMax Nitrogen. While nitrogen is required to grow healthy, high-yielding crops, applying excess nitrogen can create water quality challenges. SciMax Nitrogen offers an effective to finetune nitrogen management and be a good steward of the land.

• SciMax Learning Group. This unique resource allows farmers to benchmark their data with aggregated, confidential data from other forward-thinking growers in the Learning Group. This synergy helps farmers make more informed decisions to boost their profit potential.

Going with the Grain: NEW Links Local Farms with Global Markets

Providing a market for farmers’ grain has always been an essential role of NEW Cooperative. While NEW has traditionally built its grain facilities with a focus on speed and space, these factors have become even more important to serve farmers effectively today.

“The markets we provide have changed dramatically through the years,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW Cooperative. “We’re here to create a market for our members’ grain, and we do this through a variety of ways.”

This farm-to-market network is comprised of nine rail loaders across Iowa that deliver to every rail market in the country. “Our grain division is also linked to NEW’s large feed-manufacturing business that consumes 50 million bushels of corn a year,” Dix said.

In addition, NEW’s grain division supplies an ethanol plant, a large truck market, and soy processors and grain processors across the state. “In the past few years, NEW

has also become a river market, thanks to the Port of Blencoe, where we ship barges of grain down the Missouri River to the Gulf of Mexico,” Dix said.

Speed and space remain top priorities. “We know farmers don’t like to wait in line,” Dix said. “They need to keep those combines rolling when Mother Nature allows. With the size of today’s equipment and today’s farms, one combine today can bury an elevator that was built in the 1970s. Staying ahead of that has been a key to NEW’s growth.”

Adapting to changing times has also helped NEW expand its grain division. When ethanol plants started to boom in the early 2000s, NEW decided to enhance its grain origination services and invest in shuttle loaders to connect with new markets for members’ grain.

“We look for ways to adapt and create more marketing opportunities for farmers’ grain,” Dix said. “We’re driven by what’s in our members’ best interest.”

Port of Blencoe Provides On-Ramp to the Global Market

When NEW Cooperative held a ribbon-cutting at the Port of Blencoe on the Missouri River in June 2021, a whole new world of opportunities opened up for the farmer-owned cooperative. “Seeing all this come together has been exciting,” said Frank Huseman, project manager at NEW. “This port offers us new ways to market our members’ grain and source inputs at a more affordable price.”

Located half-way between Council Bluffs and Sioux City on the Missouri River, the Port of Blencoe is the farthest stop north on the Missouri River. It serves as a gateway to an array of global markets.

The idea for the Port of Blencoe began to take shape in 2018. “We needed to way a way to operate more efficiently,” Huseman said. “We wanted to take some links out of the supply chain to benefit our members.”

A facility like the Port of Blencoe could help meet these goals. “We could source inputs from fertilizer to lysine for livestock feed from ports in the Gulf of Mexico and transport these products efficiently to NEW locations,” Huseman said.

NEW’s board of directors approved an $11 million investment in the Port of Blencoe. By early spring 2021, barges began transporting grain and fertilizer to and from the port. “The Port of Blencoe is an onramp to the global marketplace and an off-ramp for products like fertilizer that are purchased on the global market,” Huseman said.

On June 2, 2021, NEW held a ribbon-cutting event at the Port of Blencoe, with guest speakers including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

“With the addition of this port here on the Missouri River, as an innovator in moving grain to international markets, you’ll be instrumental in opening up an untapped world of opportunities for business and industries in this region,” Reynolds said.

Today, a dry fertilizer shed located at the Port of Blencoe stores fertilizer for both wholesale and retail distribution. The 170-foot by 340-foot shed has the capacity to hold 20,000 tons of product. The Port of Blencoe also allows NEW to ship corn, soybeans, soymeal, ethanol co-products, scrap iron and other products down the Missouri River.

“Not every farmerowned cooperative can complete a major project like this,” Huseman said. “The Port of Blencoe is a key asset that’s taking us into new areas.”

Technology Moves NEW into the Future

Modern agriculture relies on sophisticated technology to handle an array of tasks, from precision applications of fertilizer and crop protection products to protecting the quality of stored grain. NEW Cooperative has been an early adopter of technology for decades.

“NEW focuses on software development to operate efficiently, and we’ve been in that sector 25 years now,” said Dan Dix, CEO/ general manager of NEW Cooperative. “We got into software development as a way to operate efficiently across multiple locations. Today, it has grown into so much more.”

When precision ag technology started emerging in agriculture in the 1990s, the leadership at NEW saw great potential. “NEW’s forward-thinking board members and managers allowed the co-op to dip a toe into this area and grow our own software development systems through the years,” Dix said.

This led to MAPS (Midwest Agronomic Professional Services™), which equips producers to make the best use of soil fertility resources to help achieve their yield goals, right down to the acre.

“Today, 12 million acres utilize our software, including 40% of the acres in Iowa,” said Dix, who noted that NEW markets this software to other ag retailers across the Midwest.

In recent years, NEW has also debuted the NEW Connect Mobile App, which lets users review their statements, sign grain contracts, submit grain-marketing offers, view patronage and equity information, utilize direct deposit services, make automatic online payments and more from their mobile device.

“Taking advantage of technology and investing in software development help us control our own destiny and be prepared for the next change in our industry,” Dix said.

NEW: Feed-Focused to Serve Livestock Producers’ Needs

Crop and livestock production have been a natural fit in Iowa for generations. NEW Cooperative’s feed department is a value-added resource for all NEW customers. NEW uses locally-grown grain to produce livestock rations at NEW’s feed mills. We also add soybean meal, as well as distillers dried grains (DDGs), a co-product of local ethanol production.

“Our feed business is unique, because we have half a dozen feed customers and produce 2 million tons of feed,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW. “With the consolidation in the livestock industry in the past 25 years, having a tight relationship with those integrators is important to us. They depend on us to deliver feed 365 days a year, rain or shine.”

While hindsight is always 20/20, it wasn’t clear what direction NEW should go in the 1990s. “We saw how the pork industry and the poultry industry were integrating, and we tried to assess where the feed industry was headed,” said Frank Huseman, a project manager

with NEW. “At times, we wondered whether we should be in the feed business.”

In 1998, NEW opted to form a partnership with Land O’Lakes feeds to create NEW Cooperative Feed LLC.

Every year, NEW manufactures feed rations using approximately 42 million bushels of corn and an additional 612,000 tons of grain by-products. That means the grain from 632,000+ acres of Iowa farmland is processed through an end-user close to home.

“Those relationships we have with livestock integrators has allowed NEW to grow our feed business,” Dix said. “With the cost of construction today, you can’t build a feed mill currently without these relationships.”

Producing safe feed remains a key focus of NEW’s feed business. NEW was an early adopter of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) standards to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act.

“Adaptability has been essential to our growth in the feed industry,” Huseman said. “We continue to look for ways to serve our feed customers effectively.”

NEW Cooperative’s Energy Division Fuels Your Power Base

Whether you have a farm, an acreage or a business that requires diesel, propane, gasoline, or lubricants, NEW Cooperative is ready to meet those needs.

“NEW has been in the energy business for decades to varying levels,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW. “Today, we have the largest focus on the energy division than at any point in our history. This is extremely important, because it allows us to provide a cooperative alternative for our members.”

All NEW Cooperative bulk plants and cardtrol locations offer Cenex® premium diesel. Roadmaster™ and Fieldmaster™ offer a critical difference in modern diesel engine performance. NEW’s premium line of Cenex fuels and lubricants have been shown to boost fuel economy by up to 5% and help avoid unnecessary downtime caused by plugged filters. “Today’s farmers invest a lot in their equipment,” Dix said. “We want to supply our customers with the best energy products.”

That’s why NEW is putting a renewed focus on energy products and services, from improved technology to more efficient delivery. “This is important to our members, so it’s important to us,” Dix said. “We’ll continue to look for ways to grow NEW’s energy business.”

Transportation Division Helps Drive NEW’s Success

When you see NEW Cooperative trucks on the road, you’re looking at a vital part of the cooperative’s farm-to-market connections. The transportation department’s growth at NEW has been nothing short of remarkable during the cooperative’s 50-year history.

“We learned that if we control our freight, we control our destiny,” said Frank Huseman, project manager for NEW Cooperative. “Today, we operate about 130 grain semi-trucks and another 40 feed delivery trucks, as well as trucks through our energy department.”

It’s quite a change from decades ago, when NEW only owned eight semi-trucks. Now, trucks of all types are vital to help NEW grow its grain, feed and energy divisions. “Last year, we marketed nearly 70,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia, of which 90% to 95% of that was moved with our own anhydrous transports,” Huseman said. “Also, we market about 9 million gallons of petroleum products, including diesel, gasoline, and propane, a year. About 80% to 85% of that is handled with our own transportation.”

No matter what NEW trucks are hauling, safety is key. NEW works closely with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. NEW also uses computerized telematics, which have become an essential tool in the transportation and trucking industry. Telematics collect data via sensors, GPS technology, and onboard diagnostic codes.

NEW and its drivers use the telematics system to improve fleet safety, minimize fuel waste and operating expenses, and increase productivity and efficiency. “We operate telematics on all our over-the-road engines to monitor how each truck is operating and help improve safety for our drivers,” Huseman said.

NEW is always looking for skilled truck drivers. “With the amount of products NEW moves each year, we depend greatly on our trucks and our transportation department,” Huseman said.

Foundation Invests in Local Communities

Giving back to the communities we serve is important to NEW Cooperative, Inc. The NEW Cooperative Foundation is committed to investing in organizations that are dedicated to youth and education, human services, and civic purposes that enhance the quality of life in our members’ local communities.

“Many of NEW’s locations are found in some of the smallest communities in Iowa,” said Dan Dix, NEW CEO. “In many cases, we are the largest employer in that community. The NEW Cooperative Foundation is designed to help those communities thrive.”

In 2023, for example, the NEW Cooperative Foundation continued NEW’s commitment to supporting local 4-H youth. By the spring of 2023, the Foundation had donated more than $52,000 to 22 county extension and outreach offices. The funds will support 3,468 individual 4-H members in NEW Cooperative’s trade territory counties, including Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Greene, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth, Monona, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster, Woodbury and Wright.

Also in 2023, the NEW Cooperative Foundation has donated funds to volunteer fire departments and other communityfocused organizations in NEW’s trade territory. “Our employees serve on local, volunteer fire departments,” Dix said. “They are also the EMTs and ambulance crew members, mayors, school board members and more in their communities. We’re proud to help support their efforts.”

NEW Cooperative offers scholarships

The NEW Cooperative Foundation also provides scholarships each year to undergraduate students pursuing college degrees in agriculture. The NEW Cooperative Foundation awards approximately eight $2,000 one-year scholarships annually to local students pursuing a career in agriculture while attending college fulltime. Applicants must be a member of NEW Cooperative or the dependent of a NEW Cooperative member or full-time employee.

NEW Cooperative has also established the Bob Wallentine Memorial Scholarship, awarding one $4,000 scholarship to a full-time student pursuing an agricultural business degree. Bob served as general manager of NEW Cooperative from its inception in 1973 until his retirement in 1996. Bob cared deeply for the farmers and employees he worked with and was inducted into the Iowa Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2006.

“NEW Cooperative is pleased to invest in the next generation of ag leaders,” Dix said.

Ready for a NEW Opportunity?

NEW Cooperative doesn’t just grow opportunities for farmers. It also grows opportunities for employees. NEW welcomes talented, motivated people who love agriculture and value the close-knit relationships of their local communities.

“Many of our employees grew up on farms, and some wish they were farming today, but they can still work in agriculture here at NEW,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager. “You go through each growing season with the farmers. Working at a cooperative is as close to farming as you can get when you can get.”

Working with NEW isn’t just a job. NEW offers employees many ways to contribute and grow. NEW also supports employees’ ambitions to put down rural roots by offering a package of compensation, benefits, and incentives that far exceed the industry norm.

“Any business is only as successful as the employees who do the work and get things done,” said Frank Hausman, a project manager with NEW Cooperative. “Without skilled, trained employees, NEW wouldn’t be what it is. We’re fortunate to have some employees who’ve been with NEW more than 40 years.”

From new hires to long-time employees, NEW’s people share one key trait—a passion to succeed. “You don’t hear winning coaches and athletic teams go into a new season saying, ‘Well, I hope we win one more game than we lose, or ‘We hope to be average this year,’” Huseman said. “NEW employees are always asking, ‘What can we do to succeed?’”

NEW provides the support to make this happen. Employees are encouraged to participate in a variety of training opportunities to help prepare them for success and fine-tune their career path, whether they are interested in agronomy sales, management or other options.

“The culture at NEW is built on a spirit of ‘What’s one more thing I can do to help?’,” Huseman said. “This focus helps our members and customers, as well as our employees, succeed.”

NEW Remains Focused on the Future

It’s no secret the agriculture industry has experienced dramatic changes since local farmers created NEW Cooperative in 1973. While NEW has adapted to these changes and has thrived during the past 50 years, this growth doesn’t guarantee continued success in this dynamic environment.

“There are few agribusinesses from 50 years ago that are still in business today,” said Dan Dix, CEO/general manager of NEW.

“There are only about 40 farmer-owned cooperatives in existence in Iowa today that were in business 50 years ago.”

NEW is proud to be one of the strong, farmer-owned cooperatives that has endured and continues to prosper. NEW never rests on its laurels, however. Remaining relevant to the farmers of today and the farmers of the future is an ongoing process.

“We look into the future and ask, ‘What is the farmer of tomorrow going to need?’” Dix said. “Then we try to position NEW to act on these insights before the competition does.”

NEW is well-versed in this process. That’s reflected in NEW’s software development division, the co-op’s feed manufacturing business, the growth of company’s transportation sector and more. All this requires forward-thinking leadership. “As long as NEW has a visionary board, we have a very bright future,” said Frank Huseman, a project manager at NEW.

While focusing on the future is essential, it’s also vital to understand and honor the heritage of NEW, Huseman added. “When you think about how and why NEW Cooperative started 50 years ago, it’s clear that the co-op has grown because it has been able to adapt and evolve to meet farmers’ needs.”

A big part of this requires ongoing, strategic investments in people and facilities. “There’s a vision behind every project that NEW undertakes,” Huseman said. “We don’t just build or expand for the sake of getting bigger. Our goal is to set our members up for continued success, far into the future.”

All this is possible when a company remains rooted in a strong foundation and is willing to remain flexible to meet the changes that lie ahead. “We must never forget why NEW started and where we came from,” Huseman said. “By remaining farmer-focused and staying true to NEW’s mission and vision, this cooperative will continue to grow for the next 50 years and beyond.”

Algona Anthon

Badger

Barnum Belmond

Blairsburg

Blencoe

Bode

Britt

Buffalo Center

Clare Coon Rapids Cooper

Correctionville Dickens

Dows Duncombe

Emmetsburg

Everly

Fertile

Forest City

Fostoria

Garner

Glidden Greenville

Gruver Hornick Humboldt

Klemme Knierim

Knoke Langdon

Lanyon

Lanesboro

Lidderdale

Lohrville

LuVerne

Mallard Mapleton Meservey

Milford Moville

Onawa

Otho

Palmer

Pierson Pomeroy

Port of Blencoe Rands Roelyn

Rowan Sloan Spencer

Ventura

Vincent

Washta

Whittemore Woolstock

Thank You

As NEW Cooperative celebrates our 50th anniversary, Dan Dix, CEO/general manager, would like to thank:

• All the thousands of employees who have worked with NEW during the last 50 years. “These employees truly built this company from a two-location business in 1973 to a multi-billion-dollar cooperative today,” Dix said. “The hours you’ve devoted and your love of agriculture have made NEW what it is today.” Many of NEW’s employees have built a career at the cooperative. “When I go to the retirement parties of employees who’ve been here 40 years, I can’t help but think, ‘Wow, think of how much their career has changed during that time, and the tremendous value they’ve brought to this company. Our employees are truly the lifeblood of NEW Cooperative.”

• NEW Cooperative’s board of directors, starting with those in 1973 who had the vision to build a company that would survive 50 years. “Thank you for positioning NEW to be a leader in the field for five decades,” Dix said.

• To the members of NEW Cooperative who have bought agronomy inputs, purchased feed and fuel, and sold grain here during the last 50 years. “NEW would not be what it is today without you,” Dix said. “It’s your consistent belief in the local co-op and your support for what we do that gives us the confidence to build the company we have today and keep it strong for years to come.”

Showing gratitude is one of the simplest, yet most powerful things, people can do for each other.

Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Looking to the Future

An anniversary offers a special time to honor the successes of the past, the joys of today and the hopes of tomorrow. As NEW Cooperative celebrates our 50th anniversary, we must never lose sight of who we serve and why we’re here.

In the past, people might have associated the strength of a co-op with how many concrete grain silos they could see on the horizon.

NEW Cooperative’s success lies not in our grain storage facilities, but our people. They include the employees who work in grain, agronomy, feed, energy, transportation, software development and other roles at NEW. They include our dedicated, loyal farmer-members. They also include our visionary directors. With all this continued support, the potential for NEW Cooperative is unlimited.