New Horizons Ag Services --
94 years of cooperation
by Olivia Richards,
Herman Review
Loyalty and perseverance from its patrons has prevailed since 1909, when 180 farmers purchased stock to finance a farmers' elevator. The first annual meeting of the The Herman Market Company was held July 9, 1910. In 1930 the Herman Market Company reorganized under cooperative laws governing at that time.
From this humble beginning, the Herman Market Company, renamed New Horizons Ag Services in 1998 after regionalization, generated net operating earnings of $1,174,139 for the period ending August 31, 2002.
Kelly Longtin, general manager is proud of the cooperative structure, whereby patrons receive a return for patronage, and that's beneficial to the community. He related that from the end of 1998 through the middle of 2002, cash returns totaled $2,504,482.
In 1925, the co-op built a new 40,000 bushel cribbed, steel-sided elevator at a cost of $13,227. It served the purpose until 1974 when the board began to discuss whether to remodel the old elevator or to build a new one. The patrons decided to build a new concrete elevator at an estimated cost of one million dollars. The 1925 elevator became obsolete over the years, and was finally torn down in mid-November, 2001.
The new concrete elevator construction began in April 1975. Upon completion, an open house was held on June 19, 1976. The elevator cost $1.4 million, paid for with a combination of elevator savings, loans from patrons, and the St. Paul Bank for Cooperatives. Farmers wrote checks and gave pledges for approximately $257,700.
About 1993 the Herman Market Company became known as The Herman-Norcross Ag Services. Petroleum products were sold at the Norcross Co-op Oil station in Norcross.
In early 1998 patrons were told at informational meetings of "regionalization" plans to merge assets with Harvest States and become part of a Harvest States region that would include the Morris-Donnelly operation, The L.P. in Wendell, and the fertilizer operation in Wendell.
As a result of the merger, the existing 54-car loading facility in Herman would be upgraded to a 108-car train loading facility for the purpose of establishing a "shuttle system" between here and the West Coast with the Burlington Northern railroad system. The patrons of H-N Ag Services supported the board and management when they voted 128-27 to merge with Harvest States Co-op.
The co-op has remained strong since the merger, operating facilities in Morris, Donnelly, and Herman. The divisions include the grain department in Herman, Mike LeClair, manager; Morris-Donnelly grain department, Doug Wilson, manager; agronomy department, Lowell Christians, manager, and the petroleum department, Terry Christians, manager. There are 26 full-time employees, with 10-15 part-time employees during the busy season.
Ending August 31, 2002, just over 15 million bushels of grain were handled by New Horizons. At the end of January, 2003, 71 shuttle trains had been loaded out since the facility was built in 1998. This past year 10 shuttle trains, consisting of 110 cars were loaded, along with twelve 54-car units co-loaded with corn from Morris, three 27-car trains from Herman, and one 108-car train.
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