FEDERATED REFLECTS ITS PEOPLE, EVEN AS THEY RETIRE

Jim Barthel, Federated’s crop nutrient (CN) purchasing manager, will retire at the end of this year after 40+ years serving the Federated farming community where he grew up. “Farming was in my blood,” he said, “and I’m thankful I could work in my home area.”

Barthel joined Wright County Co-op in Albertville before it wore the Federated name and he gained agronomic expertise right along with Federated’s expansion as a trusted agricultural co-op. Over the course of time, he became a go-to person at Federated, moving from agronomy sales to manager of the co-op’s western division to managing CN purchases and supply coordination. With his retirement, Barthel takes with him a great storehouse of knowledge about the land, the co-op, and the agriculture community -- knowledge gleaned over years of work.

The biggest change in ag over the past four decades has been technology. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the people, he said, adding that the relationships he’s built over the years have been “crucial and critical to my sticking around and enjoying the job.” Some of those relationships will be “friends forever” – and those people will be out fishing with him during retirement!

Barthel surmised that the “growers, patrons, and employees will map out what Federated will be in the future; the organization reflects the people who are involved.” From his standpoint, Federated looks different at each of its multiple locations, and that’s because they reflect the people who work and live in those communities.

As part of both the community and the co-op these many years, Barthel looks forward to enjoying life from a different viewpoint going forward. His “faith, family . . . and fishing” will take center stage.

Federated thanks Barthel for his years of service and wishes him the best -- and the "biggest catch" -- in retirement.