Company Profile: Get to Know Mid West Fertilizer

BY: NICHOLE GOULDIE, MKC COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND MANAGER

Mid-West Fertilizer has been finding ways to help growers and retailers for over 40 years. A full-service agriculture retailer today, Mid-West Fertilizer’s roots expanded far beyond their first home as a fertilizer distributor in Paola, Kansas, to now delivering products, programs and services to their ever-expanding agriculture customer base in a four-state area.

GROWING TOGETHER SINCE 1980

In 1980, Rod Silver, Harold Ackerley and the late John Kern were in the early days of their careers and all in different places in the agricultural industry, but the one thing they did have in common was their desire to start their own business.

Silver is a concrete pillar in Mid-West Fertilizer’s history and was most recently president and CEO of Mid-West Fertilizer. Silver grew up on a farm between Adrian and Drexel, Missouri. He left the farm to attend Missouri State University, but his passion for agriculture was deep.

Silver, Ackerley and Kern started Mid-West Fertilizer as a regional fertilizer distributorship in Paola, Kansas, selling and delivering fertilizer to local fertilizer dealers through the region stretching between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

An industry influencer and leader from Texas provided a lot of guidance and expertise for the team of young entrepreneurs in the early years. Silver also contributed much of their success to the relationship they had with their banker.

“In the ‘80s, we experienced some very tough times in agriculture, so we knew we had to diversify our wholesale fertilizer business with some physical assets,” Silver said. “In 1986, we purchased our first retail location in Drexel, Missouri.”

From that point, Silver began adding on average one retail location a year to their list of locations to build the company to what it is today. The growth was primarily with agronomy assets across Kansas and Missouri, but included several assets with grain handling and storage. Growth continued in the wholesale fertilizer business and the business portfolio for Mid-West Fertilizer. In 1995, the retail business added propane and fuel distribution to complement what they were already doing. “The propane business was very cyclical to farming and complemented agriculture very well,” Silver said.

“We had a really steady path of growth in early 2000,” Silver said. “This success was in large part because of the excellent people we had on our team who have a lot of loyalty and longevity to the company.”

Over 40 years, Mid-West Fertilizer expanded to servicing the farmer with grain handling, custom application, seed, feed, fuels, lubricants, propane and trucking.

“At times, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were really going to make our business work,” Silver said. “We started with three employees and grew to the employees we have today, and that was most exciting when I look at the people impacted.”

JOINING THE MKC FAMILY

On May 12, 2020, MKC finalized the acquisition of Mid-West Fertilizer Inc. and the company would operate as a wholly-owned subsidary of MKC moving forward.

MKC President and CEO Brad Stedman said, “Together, the acquisition strengthens our position in the marketplace and allows both companies to expand our services to create additional value for our owners and customers. We see the growth of our footprint as a key part of our strategy. Mid-West Fertilizer is a strong ag retail organization with a great team and the synergies gained through this acquisition will allow both companies to continue to achieve greater success for the future.”

The acquisition included grain, wholesale and retail agronomy, energy, feed and trucking. MKC and Mid-West Fertilizer have worked beside one another for three years through their relationship with Team Marketing Alliance LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of MKC.

“We chose to partner with an organization that will continue to bring value to producers, provide employees career development opportunities and allow our organization to be successful well into the future,” Silver said. “I look forward to continuing to see the long-term value and new opportunities for our producers, employees and communities.”