In looking at where we are going, there is no way we can not look at where we came from. We came from a group of people who were strong, determined and full of hope. They saw a future through drought, hail and dust storms, and continued to believe that there would be rain. More times than not, they were not disappointed. The rain came, the crops grew and there was strength in the survival. Since it’s founding in 1919, The Garden City Co-op, Inc. has also hoped for the rain, and when it came, celebrated with its member owners, now over 2,000 strong.
What does a grain originator do? What happens to grain once it's stored in an elevator? What's the difference between a basis price and a futures price? What's the difference between and old crop price and a new crop price? In this episode of "Inside the Co-op" we answer those questions by talking to Lindy McMillen, a grain originator here at GCC at our Dighton office....
Weather shouldn't add to your market volatility stress. GCC's Alpine Pro Contract is unique in offering a provision that allows a farmer to be released from the contract in cases of verified crop failure....
Mike Karst from Sustainable Oils, GCC staff, and area farmers gathered for a tour of Camelina fields being grown at Triangle H and Schmeeckle Farms. The crop is being grown as a trial, to ultimately be purchased by ExxonMobil as a renewable diesel source. For more information about Camelina visit: https://www.gccoop.com/News/Garden-City-News/New-Grain-Offering-Camelina...
Through the generosity of Otis & Mary Lee Molz - the Garden City Community College is offering up to 6 FULL RIDE scholarships to students if you are a Co-op member or employee or an immediate family member of either. To apply, fill out the application here: https://gcccks.edu/tuition_cost/schol... Answer the questions given on a separate word document and send them to: stephanie.janda@gcccks.edu...
The Garden City Co-op, Inc. believes in the Cooperative model and the important role it plays in creating value for its members. The farmers of The Garden City Co-op, Inc. are critical because they are also the owners. To ensure we continue to create value, we follow our mission and vision statement and execute them within our core values. Our mission statement describes what we do as a company, while our vision statement describes who we want to become.
Our Mission:
We help farmers be successful by creating value for their farm through our people, assets, and technology.
Our Vision:
To be the most valued partner in our farmer's business through committed Cooperative teamwork.
Each of these statements are designed to help guide our Board and Employees in their strategic decisions that they make while serving our member owners. The Garden City Co-op, Inc. has a strong history of trying new things to create value. It was started by farmers over 100 years ago to fill a need in infrastructure, services, technology and innovation, where few other companies were interested in investing. Today we believe that it is our people and assets enabling technology that helps us create differentiated value. Our core values that we believe in have a strong history as well.
Our Core Values:
These values keep us moving forward to strive for new ideas and innovations to help farmers be more successful. We also believe that we have to conduct our business in an honest and trustworthy manner that allows us to be stable and depended on by our members. We want to create value for our farmers beyond a simple transaction. Rather, we want to be a trusted advisor, earning their operation’s business for generations to come. We are proud and fortunate to not only be a part of a cooperative tradition but a family tradition as well, having many multi-generational family farmers as our member owners. We look forward to creating value for our farmers into the future.
Moving Forward Together - For Future Generations from Garden City Co-op on Vimeo.
With a Board of Directors comprised of 7 Directors and 3 Associate Directors, and an employee group of approximately 150, we continue to look for the rain and when it comes, we continue to celebrate.
Tyler Hands was raised in the Plymell community just South of Garden City. After graduating from Garden City High School, Tyler attended Kansas State University where he majored in Milling Science and Management and minored in Leadership Studies. After graduation, Tyler worked for three years at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is now back helping out on the family farm south of Garden City and south of Deerfield. They raise irrigated wheat, milo, corn and soybeans and also dryland wheat and milo. Tyler is the fifth generation to help farm the family farm and the fourth generation to serve on the board, starting with his great-grandfather, V.V. Hands, then his grandfather, Fielding Hands, followed by his father, Greg Hands.
Tyler and his wife, Amanda, have three daughters - Macy, Gentry and Lainey. They attend the First United Methodist Church. Tyler also enjoys hunting and fishing.
Tyler became an Associate Director of the Garden City Co-op in December 2010. He became a Director in December 2012 and Chairman in December 2017.
Gordon Drees was raised North East of Garden City. He attended Garden City High School and Kansas State University where he majored in Agricultural Technology Management and minored in Business. He worked in the grain industry after college and is now back helping with the family farm north east of Garden City. They raise wheat, corn and milo.
Gordon is a fifth generation farmer. Gordon and his wife, Kelly have three children: Cooper, Cody and Catie. They belong to the Trinity Lutheran Church.
Gordon served as an Associate Director of the Garden City Co-op between December 2011 and December 2013, and was elected to the Board of Directors, December 2014.
Clayton farms with his family North of Deerfield Kansas. Maddux Farms is a fifth generation multi-crop operation, on both irrigated and dryland acres. After graduating valedictorian from Deerfield High School, Clayton attended Kansas State University where he earned a degree in Aeronautical Technology with a minor in Safety Studies. After college, Clayton worked for a short time as a flight instructor for Kansas State, and as a regional airline pilot, before returning home to farm. Clayton and his wife Sarah live in Garden City Kansas.They have two sons, Carter and Roland. Clayton became an Associate Director of the Garden City Co-op in December 2015 and Director in December 2017.
Christopher Fullmer farms in southern Gove County where he raises dryland wheat and milo. He attended Kansas State University where he majored in Math and Psychology.
Christopher became an Associate Director of the Garden City Co-op in January 2014 and was elected to the Board of Directors December 2016.
Max Engler III farms in northern Kearny County and northwest Finney County where he raises dryland wheat and milo. Max and his wife, Cathy, have two adult children, Zeke and Zoe. The Engler’s are members of the Bible Christian Church in Garden City. Max served several years on the Finney County Farm Bureau board and County Extension board.
Max is the third generation to farm in America. In the year 1912, at age 24, Max’s granddad, Max Sr., left Köndringen, Germany and homesteaded in the sandhills south of Garden City. Max’s dad, Max Jr., returned from WWII in 1944 and started custom farming, breaking out native sod in northern Kearny and Finney County and eventually establishing the unit farmed by the family today. Max III graduated from KSU in 1981 with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He was employed with the Federal Land Bank in Guyman, Oklahoma for 2 years and then in the Garden City office for 5 years. Max returned to the family farm in 1988.
Max joined the board in December 2017.
Joanna Schmeeckle is a 5th generation farmer that grew up in the Plymell area south of Garden City. Joanna was a 11 year 4H member and attended Garden City High School. After high school, Joanna graduated from Kansas State University majoring in Animal Science. Joanna is married to Brian Schmeeckle and together with their three children they farm Joanna’s family’s farm consisting of corn, milo, wheat, soybeans, camelina as well as custom farming and harvesting. Joanna and her daughters also breed and sell reining and cowhorses. The Schmeeckle’s are members of Pierceville Church. Their children are Brady, Anna, and Jillian. Joanna served as an associate in 2020 and joined the board in March 2021. (Board selections were delayed due to Covid-19.)
Kyle Deaver was raised in the Plymell area just south of Garden City. He attended Garden City High School and then furthered his education at Garden City Community College where he earned a certificate in agriculture in 2015. Kyle has been very active in agriculture since a young age, being involved in 4-H, FFA, Farm Bureau and is currently serving on the Finney Co. Fair board and has been an associate director on the GCC Board of Directors since 2018. He is the third generation to serve on the Garden City Coop Board, following in the footsteps of his grandfather (Harvey Richards; 1984-1995) and his father (Mike Deaver; 2004-2015). Kyle is a third generation farmer on his family’s farm south of Garden City, where he farms alongside his dad. Together they raise both irrigated and dryland wheat, corn, soybeans, milo, triticale and alfalfa in Finney, Gray and Haskell counties. Kyle married Aleasha (Krehbiel) in June of 2015. They have two children together, Harper (4) and Jace (2). Kyle served as an associate from Dec 2018 - Dec 2021 and joined the board December 2022.
Bio Coming Soon!
Dylan was raised in the Dighton area with a strong passion for agriculture. He now farms in Lane and Northern Finney County with his Father In-law and Brother In-law. It is a dryland operation that primarily raises wheat, corn, and milo. Dylan and his wife Sarah have one son, Sage, and they are members of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Dighton.
Zion is a fourth generation farmer that grew up north of Holcomb and attended Holcomb High School. After graduating, he attended Fort Hays State University where he majored in Agronomy. After receiving his degree, he returned to the family farm located in the Garden city area. It is an irrigated and dry land operation that raises corn, milo, wheat, and sunflowers. He and his wife, Hannah, have one daughter, Nina.
Shane Browning graduated from Deerfield High School. He moved to Garden City and attended Garden City Community College where he studied Science and business management.
Shane is married to Kay Lynn Browning and they have two children: Parker and Hailee.
Shane is a first generation farmer who moved his family to Ulysses in 2008 to help his father-in-law on their fourth Generation farm. They farm dryland and irrigated acres of wheat, corn and milo and run a cow/calf herd.
Shane enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, camping and fishing.
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Jeff Boyd grew up on a family grain farm north east of Garden City. He joined the Garden City Co-op in April of 2002 after graduating from Kansas State University with a Bachelors in Ag Business. He is the General Manager / CEO, taking over upon John McClelland's retirement in November 2018. Jeff previously held the role of IT Manager as well as operation, sales, and accounting roles in the crop production, petroleum, and grain departments, and most recently was the Chief Financial Officer. This diverse background enables Jeff to understand the needs of the member farmers of the Garden City Co-op. He also represents the Garden City Co-op on the board of Windriver Grain, LLC. Jeff earned his MBA from Colorado State University in May of 2013. Jeff is married to Cassy Boyd and they have one son, Braeden.
Wisner comes to Garden City from Phillipsburg, Kansas where he most recently was the Director of Purchasing for Prairie Horizon Agri-Energy.
He brings a diversified background of buying, selling and hedging a variety of raw materials, including grains and energies. He is familiar with fundamental and technical market drivers and how to apply strategies to maximize current market trends. He is recognized for his skills in negotiation, market consulting and ability to communicate with key stakeholders.
He also brings experience as a GAP Partnerships expert negotiator, education with StoneX - Hedging with Futures and Options and he sat on the Phillipsburg City Council from 2018 to 2020.
Wisner holds a B.S. in Economics and a Master’s in Agribusiness from Kansas State University.
Trevor grew up working on the family farm in Ingalls, KS. He attended Kansas State University, graduating in 2008 with a Degree in Agronomy. Throughout college, he interned with Crop Quest and accepted a full-time job with them upon graduating and worked there from 2008 to 2011. Trevor then took a position with Syngenta as the Western Kansas Area Agronomist working there for just a short time before coming to the Garden City Co-op as a Sales Manager in May 2013 at our Plymell location and assumed the role of Vice President in June 2021.
Peebles comes to Garden City from Greeley, Colorado where he most recently was the Lead Energy Sales Representative for Agfinity, Inc. in Loveland. Prior to his role with Agfinity, he worked for United Cooperative in Wisconsin as a Cenex Lubricant Terminal Manager and Energy Sales Development Specialist. He also has experience as a Certified Energy Specialist for Cenex.
He brings over ten years of dedicated and results-driven experience, providing leadership and influence for the largest cooperatives in Wisconsin and Colorado. This cumulative experience has given him expertise in such areas as program & promotion development, profitable sales growth, pricing & margin management, communication and customer experience. Peebles attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Holly grew up in the town of Fay, Oklahoma, a small town Northwest of Oklahoma City, graduating from Thomas-Fay-Custer High School in Thomas, OK. Holly attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, OK where she graduated with a B.S. degree in Psychology. She began working for Sullivan Inc. in 1999 in Ulysses as scale help during wheat harvest in the summer. Cowan didn't intend to stay but the harvest temp help position turned into a full time job and she became more involved in grain accounting, accounts receivable, and accounts payables. While she was growing up, Cowan's parents had operated a custom harvest crew and the family would travel from Texas to North Dakota every summer; an experience that made an impact on Cowan and would ultimately lead to her staying instead of pursuing other career paths. Sullivan, Inc. was purchased by GCC in 2006 and the GCC Crop Production accounting responsibilities were also added to Cowan's list of assigned tasks. In 2019, Holly took over as the Human Resources and Administrative Services Manager upon the retirement of Caroline Duvall. Her twenty previous years in the accounting department has given her a lot of experience with the co-op, particularly in grain and crop production accounting. Holly married her husband Daron, who also works in the ag industry, in 1998. They live in Ulysses with one daughter, Lily. Holly is a coach for her daughter's Odyssey of the mind team, active in her 4-H projects and volunteers at her church. She also enjoys cooking, shopping and home projects. She will graduate with her Master's Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Kansas State University December 2019. Cowan states that the best part of working for the co-op is "The great people / coworkers and the farmers."
Michael Davis graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. He then attended Texas A&M University's Master in Visualization Sciences program. Michael began working with the Garden City Co-op in 2010 as the IT Developer. In 2016 he became the IT Manager where he and his staff are responsible for the current and future technological needs of the Co-op. Michael resides in Scott City with his wife Alicia and three daughters, Payton, Piper and Preslee.
Grant Geyer has been the safety director at the Garden City Co-op since June of 2016. He previously worked as a Grain Elevator Manager for the Co-op at their Lowe facility.
He currently resides in Garden City, Kansas with his wife Landi and 2 dogs. He is sports fan who loves the Royals and Chiefs and still plays recreationally when time allows. Born in Garden City and raised in Leoti, Kansas he is proud to live close to home and work as the Safety Director for the Garden City Co-op.