A message from the CEO
A
message
Annual meeting recap including changes
from the CEO
My article in last quarter’s Cover
Crop outlined how Servi-Tech
is seeking to refine and rebuild
relationships with our owner-
cooperatives. The article defined
how direct business by owner-coops
represents a small portion of total
Servi-Tech-member business, while
outlining my interests in taking
a first-hand role in redefining
these relationships. This article is
a continuation of these efforts at
growing our retail business.
Certainly, Servi-Tech will continue
to work directly with growers, as this
has been the core contract business
for our Crop Service division for
decades. As customers become
larger, the role Servi-Tech takes
with growers expands beyond field
scouting to include equipment
calibration, data analysis, irrigation
management, and other precision
ag opportunities. The patronage
generated by this direct business
accrues to the owner-cooperative
the grower is affiliated with, rather
than to the grower themselves.
Servi-Tech was formed in 1975 by
three farmer-owned cooperatives that
saw a need to provide technical services
for agricultural producers in southwest
Kansas. Servi-Tech is organized as a
federated cooperative owned by 60
farmer-cooperatives across six states.
In the 42 years since our founding, we
have expanded into Colorado, Nebraska,
Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota,
The Servi-Tech Sales team, as
well as our Crop Service territory
managers, continue to develop and
expand relationships with retailers
throughout our footprint. Many
discussions represent existing
business, while others include
retailers who are not currently
working with Servi-Tech, but
are interested in establishing a
relationship.
Progress is being made. So far
in 2018, Servi-Tech is seeing an
increase in direct business with
retailers, from traditional pre-season
soil sampling and fertility mapping,
in-season scouting, soil moisture
and imagery offerings, to year-end
data analysis and crop planning for
the coming season. These are great
examples of how Servi-Tech can
support our owner-coops and their
grower-patrons. But more work is
underway.
At the request of Servi-Tech’s
board members, I have made
personal visits with nearly a dozen
owner-coop GM’s this spring.
Texas and South Dakota.
Servi-Tech began with 100,000 acres
under contract in 1976. Today, we
provide consulting on almost 1 million
acres on behalf of both individual
growers and cooperatives of all sizes.
Since our founding, Servi-Tech has
been dedicated to providing growers
and cooperatives with the solutions
they need to make more productive
decisions in the field. Combined
with new technology developed
through Servi-Tech Expanded
The Cover Crop Summer 2018
2
Greg Ruehle
These discussions have been wide-
ranging and insightful, to say the least,
vacillating from a distinct interest
in our range of services to views of
Servi-Tech as a competitor to the coop-
owner. I plan to continue these visits as
the summer unfolds.
In addition to listening to concerns
about Servi-Tech from owner-coops
(some recent and some very historical),
I have utilized these meetings to bring
updates to general managers regarding
how we set ourselves apart from other
service providers with no brand bias
or platform limitations, serving a large
Midwestern geography, and most
importantly, their ownership interest in
the Servi-Tech cooperative.
If we have not yet met, I hope our
paths cross soon!
Premium Services, LLC (STEPS),
our precision ag experts, and the
world-class laboratories in Dodge
City, Kansas, Hastings, Nebraska,
and Amarillo, Texas, Servi-Tech
provides the ultimate in agronomic
knowledge for cooperatives and
growers alike.
To learn more about how Servi-
Tech can help you serve your
growers, visit us online at servitech.
com for the full list of services, or
call us at 1-800-557-7509.