CHS Inc. is a
Fortune 500 secondary cooperative A co-operative federation or secondary co-operative is a co-operative in which all members are, in turn, co-operatives.
Historically, co-operative federations have predominantly come in the form of co-operative wholesale societies and co-operative ...
owned by United States
agricultural cooperatives, farmers, ranchers, and thousands of
preferred stock
Preferred stock (also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds) is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt inst ...
holders. Based in
Inver Grove Heights,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, it owns and operates various
food processing and wholesale, farm supply, financial services and retail businesses. It also distributes Cenex brand fuel in 19 Midwestern and Western states, which is one of the largest c-store networks in North America. It is a co-owner (alongside
Mitsui & Co.) of Ventura Foods, a vegetable oil processor.
It is ranked 1st on the
National Cooperative Bank The National Cooperative Bank is a congressionally chartered cooperative bank in the United States created by the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act of 1978 (Pub.L. 95-351). National Cooperative offers banking products and services to cooperat ...
Co-op 100 list of mutuals and cooperatives (ranked by 2012 revenue), and 96th (by 2017 revenue) in the Fortune 500 2018 list of United States corporations.
History
The history of CHS began in 1931 with the founding of the
Farmers Union Central Exchange in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
. Later, the core cooperative company became Cenex, from the combination of the last two words in its previous name.
In 1998, Cenex merged with Harvest States Cooperatives. Harvest States was itself the product of a 1983 merger between North Pacific Grain Growers (formed 1929) and the Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association (formed 1938). The merged cooperative took the name Cenex Harvest States, adopting "CHS" as its brand name. In 2003, it changed its legal name to CHS Inc.
Co-branding with Eagle Stop
Eagle Stop, is a chain of
convenience stores headquartered in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. , the chain has 49 locations, all located in Missouri. All Eagle Stop locations are co-branded with Cenex gas stations.
See also
*
CHS Ukraine
References
External links
*
Historical recordsof the Farmers Union Central Exchange are available for research use at the
Minnesota Historical Society
{{Authority control
Agriculture companies established in 1998
Companies established in 1998
Companies based in Minnesota
Agricultural cooperatives in the United States
Grain companies of the United States
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Convenience stores of the United States