Landus Cooperative

Kinch

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Wonder what is really going on with Landus Cooperative and get your prospective.
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
Wonder what is really going on with Landus Cooperative and get your prospective.
Well, first Matt Carstens would be PO’d at you for calling it a cooperative because he doesn’t like that term and has ordered it erased from everything and employees can’t wear the old clothes with that name on it. That should tell you a lot, that they are not focused on their core.

The CEO before Matt was also totally incompetent and the board in their wisdom kept him. A lot of issues at that place.
 
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NWICY

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They seem to suck as a coop and don't pay dividends then run ads on WHO radio pretending it's a good thing.
Wonder how many people got let go from their office in Des Moines?
I dont know anyone that works or deals with them so I can't give any insights.
 

Kinch

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What I would like to know is aren’t they in the state’s indemnity fund? How can they do this and not affect it?
 

Die4Cy

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Jan 2, 2010
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Is there a quick refresher someone can give on what's happened, to someone like myself outside of the service area?

I gather they didn't open for business at any of their locations on Friday.
 

ISUAgronomist

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On the farm, IA
Is there a quick refresher someone can give on what's happened, to someone like myself outside of the service area?

I gather they didn't open for business at any of their locations on Friday.
They laid off 50-60 people that didn't fit with their business going forward (sub in HR buzzwords).

They've bought out a couple independent chemical dealers this winter and "built" an FBN-like business (cash and carry chemicals) from their operation.

They're big, have a lot of grain storage, and lot of employee turnover. Good salesmen tend to move to more stable (supportive) companies.
 

FarmerCy1

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What I would like to know is aren’t they in the state’s indemnity fund? How can they do this and not affect it?
The indemnity fund is funded based on grain sold by farmers. When the fund is fully funded, there isn’t a fee (for lack of a better term) paid by farmers. There’s been a fee for the last couple of years now due to a couple of elevators in Eastern Iowa going under. Landus’s layoffs don’t affect the fluidity of the indemnity fund.
 

Kinch

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The indemnity fund is funded based on grain sold by farmers. When the fund is fully funded, there isn’t a fee (for lack of a better term) paid by farmers. There’s been a fee for the last couple of years now due to a couple of elevators in Eastern Iowa going under. Landus’s layoffs don’t affect the fluidity of the indemnity fund.
But they also temporarily closed their locations except Ralston.
 

Die4Cy

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They laid off 50-60 people that didn't fit with their business going forward (sub in HR buzzwords).

They've bought out a couple independent chemical dealers this winter and "built" an FBN-like business (cash and carry chemicals) from their operation.

They're big, have a lot of grain storage, and lot of employee turnover. Good salesmen tend to move to more stable (supportive) companies.
The transition to Cash and Carry has been happening everywhere for quite a while. But without feed services it's one of the few ways outside of grain storage that most customers will access the co-op. Are they losing money elsewhere? Given the time of year one wonders if they thought they had grain in inventory that they didn't.
 
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BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
I will admit, I do some business with them, used to be most but just some grain now and I don’t care for their ISU advertising like the headset thing. I don’t know anyone you does business with a coop because of something like that. It’s a waste.
 
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BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
The transition to Cash and Carry has been happening everywhere for quite a while. But without feed services it's one of the few ways outside of grain storage that most customers will access the co-op. Are they losing money elsewhere? Given the time of year one wonders if they thought they had grain in inventory that they didn't.
Their prepays were usually due 1/15. So they may have had the salesmen lock stuff down and then bounce them.
 
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Kinch

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Chuck Offenburger’s substack claimed that one of the elevators (Ralston) farmers had to unload soybeans themselves this fall.
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
Chuck Offenburger’s substack claimed that one of the elevators (Ralston?) farmers had to unload soybeans themselves this fall.
Lol, that’s good. There are too many lazy ones and we all should do that to save money. I have never had someone unload me at an ethanol plant or feed mill that I’ve been to. I unloaded all my trucks this fall also, but I usually wave them off if they come out because I’ve had some bad ones nearly break stuff on the hoppers.
 

Kinch

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Lol, that’s good. There are too many lazy ones and we all should do that to save money. I have never had someone unload me at an ethanol plant or feed mill that I’ve been to. I unloaded all my trucks this fall also, but I usually wave them off if they come out because I’ve had some bad ones nearly break stuff on the hoppers.
Thanks for the info.
 
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cyfan4St8

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All I will say is the "member-owners" because it is still actually a cooperative as much as Carstens doesn't want it to be.... But also the board should be looking into how all the money has been spent especially in the last two years. And I mean all the money..... Not just the money they will let you know they spent. I would guess that somehow a lot of those funds have gotten hidden in the financials so the annual audit probably doesn't show it all that much. Carstens and his people which now most are now gone and "retired" early will live very well for a long time let's put it that way.... I think the board ignored so much because they were finally showing that they were profitable ... Well at least on paper. The next few years look to be tough in the ag world and now I think they will only continue to be more exposed and go through some very hard times. Which in the big picture it's very sad for all the employees who show up every day to do their best for the company and the farmers who do business there, but also for the farmers who have supported them over the years and depend on them. He may say it's all about them but I can promise you this it hardly is about the farmers and the employees when it comes to the top and what they want to do....
 
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