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Henrico County-based Southern States Cooperative is one of the few enterprises that can legitimately claim to have turned bad seed into good.
Back in the 1920s, “Farmers in Virginia were unable to buy seed guaranteed to grow in the Commonwealth,” the company’s history states. “Despite scientific findings about the correlation between the quality of seeds and the quality of crops they produced, commercial seed handlers were unwilling to stop selling poor-quality seed.”
In 1923, about 150 farmers — tired of this injustice — took matters into their own hands by forming a cooperative based in the Richmond area, then called the Virginia Seed Service. “By pooling their resources, they were able to procure seeds better suited to Virginia’s growing conditions, the history relates.”
From this modest beginning — $11,000 in capital, two employees and a secondhand typewriter — Southern States Cooperative Inc. was born. Today, the farm-supply cooperative has more than 300,000 farmer-members served by 1,100 retail stores in 23 states in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. This includes two retail outlets in Henrico County, plus the company’s expansive headquarters on West Broad Street.
Southern States has 575 full-time employees in Henrico and 3,367 companywide.
Southern States operates from Florida and Alabama to the south, to Maryland and Delaware to the north, and to Kentucky to the west. And despite fluctuating oil and crop commodity prices, the cooperative experienced a record fiscal year in 2008, with $2.1 billion in sales, a 23.4 percent increase of $398.6 million from 2007.
This business boom was driven by improved sales across major sectors — crops, petroleum and retail.
“Agriculture reached beyond its rural roots and into the mainstream media in fiscal 2008 as headlines proclaimed the record prices farmers received for their crops as well as the increased costs consumers paid for food and fuel,” wrote President and CEO Thomas R. Scribner and Board Chairman John B. East in the company’s 2008 annual report.
Southern States remains committed to serving its core customer — the farmer — while expanding “among emerging rural lifestyle populations and within our suburban markets,” such as Henrico County.
In 1978, Southern States moved its headquarters to Henrico County, providing a seven-story workplace for 505 people.
“It was good for our employees, and it was good for us,” Houston Staton, director of marketing and promotions, said of the move. “It’s a convenient location. We’re near the interstate, and Henrico is a great county from the standpoint of industry, business and home ownership.”
The cooperative’s economists and executives remain alert to emerging trends affecting member-farmers. By the early spring of 2008, Staton said, “We could see the economy start to slip.” With the suburban market struggling, Southern States expects to see some downturn.
Farmers, on the other hand, typically have to keep buying feed, seed, fertilizer and equipment needed in the care and tending of their land, crops and livestock. Still, Staton noted, when the nation’s economy declines, agriculture generally heads upward.
“The demand for food remains constant,” he explained. “You might not buy a new shirt, but you’re definitely going to eat.”
Along with its commercial interests, Southern States takes pride in community involvement. This year’s theme is “Let Me Help You,” reflecting the cooperative’s history of community service.
“Community is not just where we work — it is why we work,” said Steve Patterson, vice president of marketing and communication. “Cooperatives are motivated to serve their members, not outside investors. That means we must also serve the communities in which our members live, work and play.”
Nationwide, he noted, cooperatives serve 120 million Americans. “They create jobs, income and opportunity in their communities every day.”
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