PRESS RELEASE
May 27, 2022
NAMPA, IDAHO and GRANDVIEW, WASHINGTON, – This week, both the Bleyhl Farm Service and Valley Wide Cooperative Board of Directors voted unanimously to sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) to pursue a merger with and into Valley Wide Cooperative.
Joel Marcott, CEO of Bleyhl Farm Service, said, “By merging with Valley Wide Cooperative, we are positioning our cooperative and its farmer-owners to take advantage of the leverage, scale, and resources of a combined $750M farm supply organization. This alignment will empower our cooperative with the supply chain, capital, and the network to remain competitive against other agribusinesses while protecting the values associated with the cooperative model. Joining forces creates additional buying power, the diversification of seasonal risk across greater geography, and access to resources to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive industry.”
Bleyhl Farm Service has over 800 member-owners and over 4,000 customers in south-central Washington State, with locations in Grandview, Sunnyside, and Zillah. With $75M in annual revenue, Bleyhl is a diversified, farmer-owned cooperative providing growers with agronomy, orchard & vineyard, energy, and retail services and supplies.
Valley Wide Cooperative, also a locally owned farm cooperative, has experienced growth and success through several mergers over the past 25 years. They pride themselves in the level of service they offer, the quality of their facilities, and the employees on the Valley Wide team. Valley Wide serves its patrons in six states (Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming) at over 80 locations.
“Our mergers are not about becoming part of a big organization that throws its weight around. It’s about local cooperatives in communities across the PNW working together under one brand, leveraging that brand and unified volume to take the advantage back to all the communities and customers we serve”, says Dave Holtom, CEO of Valley Wide. “Let’s face it, agriculture and energy are global enterprises – it will take all of us working together to not only compete but to flourish – we intend to do both, and we look forward to the Bleyhl Co-op being a part of it.”
Both cooperatives will continue the robust due diligence process in the proposed merger. Each cooperative will call a meeting of the members to vote on the proposed merger in summer 2022.
About Valley Wide Cooperative:
Since 1920 Valley Wide Cooperative has empowered agricultural members to increase their bargaining power and gain market share to achieve economies of scale through its four divisions of business: Agronomy, Energy, Feed, and Farm Supply Stores.
Media contact: Erica Louder, 208-731-3863 erica.louder@valleywidecoop.com
