Name remains unchanged

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Countryside Feed LLC, Hillsboro, and Midwest Ag Service LLC, Seneca, will merge operations and begin serving customers as one company effective Nov. 1.

The new company will operate as Countryside Feed LLC from its headquarters in Seneca, a town in northeast Kansas. Midwest Ag chief operations officer David Rethman will be the company’s chief executive officer.

Lyman Adams, part-time CEO at Countryside Feed, deferred to Rethman for comments. Rethman said Adams, who retired as manager of Cooperative Grain and Supply several years ago, was ready to fully retire.

Operating out of Seneca made sense for Rethman because that is where he lives, he said.

He is ready to take on leadership of the new company. “I will have been in the feed business for 30 years in January,” he said.

Rethman believes the history of both companies provides a strong foundation for the future.

“We will continue to deliver value to our customers through expanded and aligned resources,” he said. “Our companies are culturally identical, and combining operations will allow volume purchases and employment of more talent to make the company competitive into the future. We will continue to evaluate new locations, products, and services we can bring to livestock producers.”

The combined service area includes most of Kansas and parts of Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

Manufacturing facilities will remain at Seneca, Hillsboro, and Moundridge, employing 55 people including nine sales nutritionists.

Branded products will include Midwest Ag Service, Countryside Feed, Purina, and Provimi. Customized formulations tailored to a producer’s needs will continue to be available.

Members will include Cooperative Grain and Supply, Hillsboro; Mid-Kansas Co-op, Moundridge; Ag Partners Co-op, Seneca; Farmers Cooperative Elevator, Halstead; Kanza Cooperative, Iuka; Agri Trails Co-op, Hope; and Purina Animal Nutrition.