The Growmark Foundation is once again offering a $1,500 scholarship program for students in the United States and Ontario, Canada, pursuing two- or four-year degrees or trade school certification in an agriculture-related field.

“As our business has grown and evolved, we saw a need to provide a scholarship to students throughout the United States and Ontario, in addition to the scholarship programs already established in our core geography. Growmark and the FS member cooperatives are strong supporters of youth leadership education and this is one more way we can contribute to the future of agriculture.”

said Amy Bradford, Growmark corporate communications manager, and Growmark Foundation manager.

Applicants must complete an online application that includes academic information, community service and leadership activities, and essay questions regarding agriculture and cooperatives. Applications will be judged by a panel of agribusiness professionals.

Applications are due by midnight Central Time on April 15, 2021, and recipients will be notified by July 1, 2021.

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As ag retailers are increasingly adopting digital solutions to improve their operational efficiencies and enhance customers’ overall service experience, Growmark is expanding its partnership with Solinftec.

Solinftec is a Brazilian company with 13 years of experience developing digital ag solutions for the largest agricultural operations in the world on more than 22 million acres of row crops, sugarcane, coffee and citrus. By marrying logistics, analytics and real time weather data with algorithms, Solinftec significantly increases partners’ machinery and input use efficiency, improving crop yields and reducing environmental impacts.

“When I learned of the efficiency gains that the Brazilian sugarcane industry achieved through Solinftec’s digital and artificial intelligence solutions, I knew this could be game-changing. It could take our operations to a whole new level of efficiency. When we look at any new technology, we are looking for two things. One, to be more efficient with our people, our equipment and resources. And two, to bring a higher level of customer service that makes growers want to keep doing business with us.”

says Lance Ruppert, Growmark’s director of agronomy marketing technology.

Solinftec established its U.S. headquarters at Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, Indiana in 2019 and began researching the needs of U.S. ag retailers and growers. Initial research in the U.S. found ag retailers’ machines were idle 30% of the time, traveling 35% of the time and generating revenue 35% of the time. Solinftec saw the potential to more than double the average acreage covered by one sprayer in a season.

Over the past year and a half, Growmark and several of its FS cooperatives have collaborated with Solinftec to develop a software solution that significantly enhances the operational efficiency of its custom application business. The Solinftec sprayer/spreader solution for crop protection products, anhydrous ammonia and other fertilizers will be available to all of Growmark’s FS cooperatives across the U.S. and Canada for the 2021 growing season.

“From day one, the Solinftec team dug in and collected a lot of data to understand how an FS retail location was doing business and find areas we could be better. With Solinftec technology, we are getting more acres applied in a day and more acres through each machine.”

says Ruppert.

Britaldo Hernandez, Solinftec’s chief executive officer says,

“We are very proud and excited to be Growmark’s partner in this bold leap towards digitalization.”

Solinftec delivers solutions that optimize the timing and application of pesticides, anhydrous ammonia and fertilizers to help assure timely, effective and regulatory-compliant applications with immediate connectivity and full visibility of services being provided.

“We organize the whole supply chain to keep the machines working. Our clients can expect at least a 70% increase in operational efficiency.”

says Daniel Padrão, Solinftec’s chief operating officer.

The Solinftec web-based software uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create the most efficient daily schedules and routes for a fleet by integrating information from many sources including work orders, weather forecast, real time equipment and weather data, agronomic data and more. This information is communicated in real time to the custom applicator, the tender truck driver, the dispatch office and the sales agronomist through a Solinftec app.

“Timing of applications is very important. Farmers plant crops extremely fast, our weather seems to be more volatile and label restrictions are increasing, so our window for applying inputs is shrinking. We need to be smarter about how we apply products and Solinftec is helping us do that,”

concludes Ruppert.

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Growmark, Inc. held its annual meeting in a virtual online event. Hundreds of people from across North America, including shareholders, boards of directors, and friends of the Growmark System all participated in the interactive live broadcast.

Normally the Growmark Annual Meeting happens every August at the Hilton Chicago, but in an effort to keep everyone safe and comply with Illinois mitigation measures, the decision was made to hold it virtually after the fiscal year closed on August 31^st.

“With mitigation measures evolving every week in Illinois, we had to continually adapt to keep our team members safe while also delivering an informative and interactive meeting for Growmark System stakeholders. The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive and allowed a broader audience to participate that may not have been able to travel to Chicago in past years.”

said Cliff Dolbeare, manager of corporate programming.

Holding the meeting in December allowed for audited financial results to be presented in full, and also bring an update after the acquisition of certain Southern States Cooperative agronomy and energy assets.

“We grow not just to get bigger but to get better. The recent partnership with the Southern States is an opportunity for us to do both. Growmark pursues expansion opportunities if they allow us to serve more farmers and benefit the current farmer-owners of the Growmark System. We are especially open to partnerships with farmers who value the cooperative business model. That’s why the Southern States agreement is such a good fit. I’m very excited about this partnership and want to welcome the Southern States and 46 local cooperatives to the System.”

said Growmark Chairman of the Board and President John Reifsteck.

“Since we closed over two months ago, we have made great strides in synchronizing operations. As John mentioned, all forty-six Southern States’ members signed special membership agreements. Growmark ’s Energy and Agronomy employees are engaged with our new Growmark members, seeking to earn their business every day. I’m pleased to say the partnership is designed to help each other succeed.”

added Growmark CEO, Jim Spradlin.

Despite the challenges from COVID-19, a devastating derecho storm in key Midwest markets, and energy volatility in the markets, Growmark Chief Financial Officer Wade Mittelstadt said the financial performance was very respectable with strong earnings from operations. Growmark was able to distribute nearly $66 million in patronage distributions to shareholders this year.

“Growmark continues to maintain our strong financial position, excellent liquidity and we are well-positioned for long-term growth. We continue to focus on delivering solid financial results and maintaining a strong and efficient distribution network. We are committed to executing on our GROW enterprise strategy, and to delivering an unsurpassed customer experience. Our balanced approach to prioritizing capital positions us for growth which creates value for shareholders rewards shareholders with solid returns and provides financial flexibility for Growmark to take advantage of marketplace opportunities.”

added Mittelstadt.

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