Co-Alliance CEO Kevin Still says its swine/animal nutrition division is an area for growth not only in their co-op business but also for farmer members.
The co-op assists Indiana farmers in contract raising hogs for a large pork production company. With the recent creation of Legacy Feed, Co-Alliance will now manage over 2.1 million pigs each year.
“We know we have to help our farmers manage risk,” Still says. “We’ve done this with our farmers as we contract raise pigs. We pay them to own the building and space per pig–this gives them an automatic cash flow. If there’s a way to help a farmer manage risk, it’s something we will look at.”
To support its pig farming in the past seven years, Co-Alliance has invested in two feed mills in northern Indiana. One feed mill is wholly owned by Co-Alliance in Reynolds, IN and the other is a partnership with Alliance Feed in Columbia City. Each has been a 300,000 ton pelleted facility with 1.5 million bushels of grain storage.
A third feed mill will be completed in the next 18 months via Legacy Feed, a newly launched partnership with Signature Farms. Located in Millville, Indiana, this will expand the Co-Alliance pig farming footprint eastward. Its feed mill will follow the template of the other two facilities: 300,000 ton pelleted capacity and 1.5 million bu. of grain storage. At its opening, the feed mill will run at half of capacity, but Still expects it to quickly be at full capacity and serve contract pig farming demand new to the area.
“As the population grows, we are excited to be a major protein production company,” Still says. “It’s a vital role we need to play as a co-op to support our producers.”
He adds how the swine business provides new revenue streams, stronger basis and diversification for the family-owned farms that are the foundation of Co-Alliance.
“Co-Alliance knows that the pork industry is a major industry in Indiana and we are passionate about continuing to help our farmers feed the world.”
“We have watched the pork industry consolidate and vertically integrate at a high rate over the past couple decades. Co-Alliance is committed to providing our farmer-owners an aligned opportunity in that integrated channel. The risk of not being aligned with a processor is becoming too great for many family farms.”
