Growmark, Inc. (stylized as GROWMARK), is a regional agricultural supply cooperative operating in more than 40 states and one operation in

Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Its local member cooperatives commonly use the trademark FS. Growmark ranks 74th on the ICA Global 300 2008 list of mutuals and cooperatives (ranked by revenue).ICA Global
, ICA Global retrieved on 10 August 2009.

History

The organization now known as Growmark started in 1927 when nine of the local agricultural supply cooperatives in Illinois, which had started early in the 1920s, formed Illinois Farm Supply Company. In 1955, the company adopted the FS trademark, which has remained in use by its member cooperatives since then. In the 1960s, the company moved from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...

, merged with Farm Bureau Service Company of Iowa to form FS Services, Inc., then merged Wisconsin Farmco Service Cooperative and Producers Seed Company into itself as well. FS Services and Illinois Grain Corporation merged in 1980 to form Growmark. Growmark gained the 37 member cooperatives in Ontario when it acquired United Co-operatives of Ontario in 1994. It entered the northeastern U.S. market in 2002 by purchasing Agway's seed and agronomy businesses, including Seedway. FAST_STOP_logo

Growmark cooperative members also operate the FAST STOP regional chain of convenience stores and fueling sites. The retail emphasis evolved due to reduced farmer fuel usage due to adoption of

no-till No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certa ...

and minimum-till farming methods that require fewer trips over crop fields.

References

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External links

Growmark
— official site Companies based in Bloomington–Normal Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Northeastern United States Agricultural cooperatives in the United States Cooperatives based in Illinois Agricultural cooperatives in Canada Business services companies established in 1927 Agricultural supply cooperatives 1927 establishments in Illinois