The Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company, of Ruthven, IA., was established in 1902. The company’s growth has been based on the same fundamentals as were those of the initial founders; working together to provide services and products to its members at a fair and honest price. Rural Co-ops also purchase products for resale from the member producers with the same principals in mind. 

In recent years FCEC has been looking for opportunities for our company to better supply the needs of our members in the shipping and handling of our bagged products and merchandise. Our initial efforts have been in the seed corn and seed bean areas. Torn bags, cumbersome pallets and loss of revenue have always been a concern. Due to these problems we started using corrugated pallets for shipping these materials and quickly realized the benefits we gained in improved fuel savings due to weight reduction and improved safety for our members in reducing lifting injuries.

We are members of a national association of 1,300 Co-ops across the United States. This gives us the opportunity to expand our locations for manufacturing capacity and reclamation. We feel it is very important that our products be constructed of renewable and /or reusable materials to lessen the impact on landfills. We have documentation from our suppliers that their products are 100% recyclable. 

The interest in these renewable materials from such entities as seed companies and wholesale shippers has certainly cemented our belief that this is the proper way to advance not only our Co-op but as a means to serve other businesses across the nation.