Our History
Chartered as the Farmers Cooperative Association of Hays in 1915, Midland Marketing Cooperative has had a rich history in its journey to become a leading cooperative in north central Kansas. Working together to help each other has long been an important focus of our organization. We were tested only five years later, when a neighboring business’s gasoline tank exploded, causing a fire that destroyed all of our facilities. Area farmers came together by raising $25,000 to rebuild the facilities and purchase another elevator in Yocemento.
Our bulk fuel business started in the early 1930s when farmers began switching from horsepower to tractor power. We survived the Great Depression with the help of the Wichita Bank for Cooperatives in 1933, and added a new profitable layer to our business in 1935 when we built a feed mill. We added to our grain storage numerous times in the 1940s and 50s, and had a total capacity of about 3.6 million bushels by 1960.
Mergers with the Plainville Oil Cooperative (1957), Zurich (1966), Natoma Cooperative Association (1982) and Farmers Union Cooperative of La Crosse (1992) helped further shape us into what we are today. In 1993, we adopted the Midland Marketing Cooperative name.
Today we serve nearly 1,000 member-owners and more than 4,100 customers. With a combined storage capacity of nearly 12.6 million bushels, we have elevators located in Hays, Brownell, Hargrave, La Crosse, McCracken, Natoma, Palco, Plainville, Toulon, Yocemento and Zurich to meet the needs of area producers. Our agronomy, grain, petroleum, feed and farm supplies departments each play an important role in the driving the overall success of our operation, and that of our members and customers.
