ANNUAL MEETING SUCCESS!

Our 2023 Annual Meeting is in the books. Thanks to all who joined us on 4/11/24 and those who voted via absentee.  It was also great to show case our new Service Center in Ogilvie. This new facility will help us reduce our cost to serve by taking expenses out of vehicle and equipment repair.  Feedback was very positive, and it was great to see the interaction amongst the patrons, the board, and the employees. 

Federated had another very solid year.  Based on our results, the board approve a patronage rate of 10.2% on agronomy products and propane purchases. For fuel patrons,  the coop will return 6 cent a gallon if the patrons bought a minimum of 1800 gallons. As we have done the last 4 years, we will payout 100% cash. At this rate and payout, we will return over $5 million back to our patrons in the month of April. The patrons also elected three Board members, Glenn Lood, George Gimpl and Matt Wayrynen. Glenn Lood was then elected by the board members to remain as President, Mike Wayrynen was elected first Vice President and Ross Gerth was elected Secretary of the board for 2024. Congratulations to all three board members. We appreciate all the board members for their guidance and support.

As part of the management report out,  the patrons were asked to make sure their personal information is up to date, legal name, address, birthdate, and beneficiary for their patronage. It was also covered that to be a voting member, you must purchase a minimum of $1,000 in the calendar year. In 2024, the coop is committed to capturing up to date information on all patrons with equity.  At the end of 2024, the board will review patrons ‘equity to ensure we have the up-to-date addresses. If we cannot secure the addresses, we will move forward with re-allocating the equity to the unallocated surplus based on Article X from our updated bylaws for 2023 annual meeting. See below article from our bylaws.

Our ARTICLE X. No Addresses

The Board of Directors shall establish a policy for periodically reviewing the sufficiency of addresses of members and patrons. Whenever the association determines that it does not have a current address for the member or patron who was previously allocated equity of the association, or whenever a member or patron fails to maintain a current address at the association, then, in that case and before the previously allocated equity ever becomes payable, that allocated equity will be deemed to be contributed to the association’s unallocated surplus and in the case of a dissolution of the association, the total surplus remaining, including these contributed amounts, if any, will be distributed to the members and patrons as determined by the Board of Directors and in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of this association.

If you have questions about your equity or know someone that you believe might have equity in the co-op, please call our Finance Department at our Princeton Office ( 800-671-9759) to update your/their information before the end of 2024. This process is critical to help the co-op continue to maximize the return to our patrons.

Thanks to all for your patronage. Federated has never been stronger thanks to all our patron’s support. Every year has it challenges but by working together we will be stronger…POWER OF ONE!