All Points and Country Partners Cooperatives’ Member-Owners Approve Unification

The Boards of Directors of All Points Cooperative (APC), Gothenburg, Neb., and Country Partners Cooperative (CPC), Spalding, Neb., met to ratify the votes cast by their respective memberships and have approved the merger of the two companies effective February 1, 2016.  The unified cooperative will retain the name of Country Partners. Tod Clark will serve as CEO.

Members received their ballots in late October and the final member meetings were held on November 17. Nebraska law requires 2/3 of the votes cast by each cooperative to favor the proposal in order for it to be ratified.  The accounting firm of Gardiner Thomsen certified that the members’ votes from the two cooperatives overwhelmingly approved the unification with a voter turnout of nearly 40%.  All Points membership voted 88% and Country Partners voted 89% for the approval of the unification.

“The Board of Directors and Management of Country Partners Cooperative would like to thank our forward thinking stockholders for their overwhelming support of a yes vote to unify with All Points Cooperative.  This is one of our many steps forward in making this great cooperative stronger and building for the future. Thank you, and we truly appreciate your support,” said Country Partners Cooperative Board Chair John Frey. 

“We are pleased with the number of members that have cast their vote for our proposed merger with Country Partners Cooperative,” added All Points Board Chair Tim Rowe. “We appreciate our members’ confidence that they have placed in our two cooperative boards by showing an overwhelming positive vote for this merger to move forward. Both boards now look forward to working together to combine our cooperatives and build for future generations.”

Country Partners Cooperative will span a trade territory of 3.3 million acres.  The newly formed cooperative will have 26 combined locations, including 19 agronomy facilities with the capacity for 137k tons of liquid fertilizer storage and 45.5k tons of dry storage.  In addition, Country Partners will have nine grain facilities that provide producers access to 18.8m bushels of grain storage as well as 13 bulk fuel locations to serve their needs.  Country Partners will employ approximately 250 full-time employees.