New FS Member Strengthens Services in Virginia

Aug 28, 2025
By Farms.com

Farmers' Cooperative joins GROWMARK network

Farmers' Cooperative, Inc., a farm supply cooperative based in Farmville, Virginia, has officially joined GROWMARK, Inc. as the newest FS Member, according to an announcement from the GROWMARK board of directors.

Founded in 1947, Farmers Cooperative has supported the agricultural community across Central and Southern Virginia for nearly eight decades. The cooperative employs 32 full-time workers and continues to provide a reliable supply of quality products and services to its members.

“Farmers Cooperative is proud and excited to partner with GROWMARK in strengthening our capabilities to serve our members and customers,” said Alfie Parker, General Manager of Farmers Cooperative.

GROWMARK leaders echoed this excitement. “We’re excited to welcome Farmers Cooperative into the GROWMARK System as a new FS Member. This aligns with GROWMARK’s commitment to expanding and strengthening the FS presence in the Eastern U.S.,” said Mark Weilbacher, GROWMARK Executive Vice President, Member Resources.

Headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, GROWMARK is a major agricultural cooperative serving nearly 400,000 customers across North America. It provides services and products in agronomy, energy, grain marketing, logistics, and facility engineering. GROWMARK also owns the FS trademark, which is used by its member cooperatives.

This new membership strengthens the network of cooperatives working under the FS brand and ensures farmers in Virginia have greater access to resources and reliable farm supply services.

Photo Credit: pexels-fauxels

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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