“You’re not just a number here,” said Jeff Wiuff, board president of Farmers Co-op Ottosen, who leads a seven-member board. “The co-op provides good service. If you have a concern, it will get heard.”

Farmers Co-op Ottosen includes a main location in Ottosen, a tiny town in Humboldt County southeast of West Bend, as well as a fuel location in Algona. The co-op has served local farmers since the business started in 1920. It continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s farmers.

“It takes dedicated customers and dedicated employees to help a business like this thrive,” said Kevin Walker, 64, general manager. “We’re fortunate to have both.”

The co-op provides a range of products and services, including grain (including storage capacity of 2.8 million bushels), agronomy (which includes a new $5.5 million, 9,000-ton fertilizer facility built in Ottosen in 2022), energy (propane, refined fuels and lubricants), and feed for all species of livestock. A big percent of the feed business is focused on ruminants, including cattle, sheep and goats.

-Messenger photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Kevin Walker, left, general manager of Farmers Co-op Ottosen, visits with Luke Nielsen, assistant manager, and Lori Schmidt, chief financial officer, at the co-op's Ottosen location.

“We run about 2,000 bushels of corn a day through the feed mill,” Walker said. “Our feed business has grown since Pro Cooperative shut down their feed mill in Rolfe.”

Farmers Co-op Ottosen has carved a niche by serving smaller- to mid-sized farmers (including many in the 800- to 1,000-acre range), as well as organic producers.

“We load organic corn for Scoular,” said Walker, who noted that the co-op is in its seventh year of working with Scoular and is paid by the bushel for handling the corn. “That corn is railed to California, Texas, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon, with the bulk of it going to the organic poultry market.”

Farmers Co-op Ottosen, which is located along the Union Pacific rail line, loads about one to five train cars at a time. “The most we’ve ever loaded at one time is 18 cars,” Walker said.

Much of the non-organic corn that Farmers Co-op Ottosen handles goes to area ethanol plants, including Cargill at Fort Dodge, he added.

Making the co-op system a career

Walker, who grew up in Irvington, has appreciated the opportunity to grow his career in agriculture in northern Iowa.

“We farmed a little and had some livestock,” Walker said. “While I wanted to farm, I did find a way to stay in agriculture for my career.”

He has worked in the ag cooperative world since 1990. He served as the location leader at Bode for NEW Cooperative before joining Farmers Co-op Ottosen more than 14 years ago.

“I always liked operating equipment, and I started out as a maintenance guy and applicator operator,” Walker said.

Walker has seen many changes in the ag industry throughout his career, especially when it comes to the size and sophistication of the technology.

“I remember when a 60-foot boom on a sprayer was big,” Walker said. “Now our post-emerge applicator has a 120-foot boom. Also, when I started in the ag co-op business, sprayer tanks held 320 gallons. Now our sprayer tank holds 1,580 gallons.”

The cost of that big, high-tech equipment has also soared. “A new sprayer today costs three-quarters of a million dollars,” Walker said.

So how does a smaller cooperative like Farmers Co-op Ottosen keep up?

“The key to success is that you have to stay current with modern technology and equipment,” Walker said. “Our oldest applicator is a 2019. We recently purchased two new AGCO sprayers.”

The co-op continues to upgrade its technology. “We’re getting our scale set up so we can text customers their scale tickets,” Walker said.

Farmers Co-op Ottosen serves customers from south of Gilmore City to north of Fenton.

The bulk of the co-op’s trade territory covers the area from Livermore to Iowa Highway 15.

While finding good labor is a challenge for many employers, including Farmers Co-op Ottosen, the co-op has 20 employees.

“I try to recruit people from the local area,” Walker said. “Our employees also help recruit new employees.”

To help keep Farmers Co-op Ottosen competitive, Walker was one of the driving forces behind forming and maintaining a group of smaller cooperatives across Iowa that have $100 million to $150 million in annual sales. These co-op’s managers meet in-person a few times a year and also stay in touch throughout the year to bounce ideas off each other.

Some of the co-ops only have one or two locations, while the biggest one has four locations. They are located across the state, from Hull, Craig and Archer in northwest Iowa to Dunkerton and Dysart in eastern Iowa.

“There are about 16 of us,” Walker said. “We get together a few times a year to tour each other’s facilities and discuss issues that affect us all. This group has been really beneficial for everyone.”

Walker is also glad the farmer-owned cooperative system still works, especially for farmers of all sizes. “The customer still has a say in this business.”