AMES, Iowa—Landus, a farmer-owned cooperative, and Mid State Milling Inc, an independent feed mill operator, announced today a collaboration agreement. Mid State Milling is the first feed and third company overall to join the Landus optimization model within the span of one month.

“The diversity of the first three businesses joining us on this journey of optimizing ag retail demonstrates the universal applicability of the model,” said Matt Carstens, President and CEO, Landus. “We welcome the addition of Mid State Milling to help maximize feed infrastructure, grain supply, and operational excellence for the benefit of farmers.”

As part of the agreement, Doug Riese, President, Mill State Milling, will maintain his current role while lending his feed operations expertise to the Landus feed team on a part-time basis.

“Joining Landus and this network of ag retail partners provides a powerful platform for generating more growth and value for our business and our customers,” said Riese. “We’re looking forward to getting started and realize the full potential of this new way of working together.”

Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Mid State Milling joins NuWay-K&H Cooperative and Snittjer Grain as the first companies announced to partner within the Landus optimization framework.

About Optimization Model

Landus first announced in April 2021 an innovative alternative to traditional mergers and acquisitions for agriculture retail. Participating companies maintain autonomy, preserve local community presence, and enhance farmer relationships while participating in a shared platform of strength.

This new model is designed for collaboration and optimization on grain, feed, soybean processing, agronomy, data, technology, logistics, and back-office functions. It also provides the opportunity to maximize capital investments, infrastructure capacity, and employee talent.

Agreements are tailored to the strengths of each party and developed on a case-by-case basis.

(contributed press release)