Land O’Lakes, Inc. sneaks up on you. Sure, we’re renowned for our best-selling butter – and this is a fact we cherish. But there is a larger story we love to share, one that touches nearly every aspect of agriculture. It’s a story about technology and innovation as much as anything else.
Here it is in a nutshell: As a farmer-owned cooperative, we unlock our member farmers’ and retailers’ greatest potential by leveraging a unique farmer-to-fork view -- one that combines both our global perspective and co-op roots to find innovative solutions that meet agriculture’s toughest challenges.
This is a big and bold story. (It’s why we love to tell it.) Being big, being bold -- well, that’s no coincidence. Our farmers, as the original entrepreneurs and some of the best innovators on the planet, expect it. And we aim to deliver.
Really, the best way to tell a story like this is to show it. So we’ll let some highlights and achievements from 2018 do the talking for us.
If you’re really interested in what the business was up to in 2018, you can read our annual report here.
From farmer...
TRUTERRA: A SUITE OF ON-FARM TOOLS SUPPORTING FARMERLED STEWARDSHIP
The launch of Truterra™ in fall 2018 was a major step forward in our work to drive on-farm conservation solutions at scale, working together with farmers and their ag retailers to help them make a tangible impact on the long-term sustainability of our food system.
ADVANCING BARN-TOBIOGAS IN CALIFORNIA
A new collaboration with California Bioenergy (CalBio) is leading the way to help innovative California dairy farmer-members of Land O’Lakes expand the use of on-farm digesters to create clean, renewable fuel for use in vehicles.
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF ANSWER PLOT INSIGHTS
This year, we celebrated 20 years of crop insights, agronomic research and helping farmers improve yields, profit potential, and efficiency with the Answer Plot® program. WinField United’s Answer Plot® sites are science-backed “living laboratories” where crops, seeds and technologies are tested and observed by agronomists and farmers.
...to business growth...
A DECADE OF ALIGNMENT
Over the past 10 years, WinField United Crop Nutrients has grown its sales volume from 700,000 to 4.2 million tons in part through the Alignment Series® program moves relationships with owners beyond commodity transactions and instead focuses on being the retailer’s trusted market advisor.
SEEING IS BELIEVING
WinField United is taking all the data and insights extracted from our vast seed testing and spray analysis system testing and putting them into an easily digestible and visual demonstration through our clinics program.
MORE THAN JUST AN ONLINE SHOPPING CART
We are helping our retail-owners remain the trusted resource for their growers through an approach to e-business that offers growers agronomic insights and a personalized online experience, including product purchasing, all through our retail-owners websites, while also offering supply chain integration that connects the retailer with WinField United and manufacturers.
INCREASING OUR HORSE POWER
Purina continued to strengthen its innovation power through horse product lines such as OUTLAST®, a gastric support supplement, and IMPACT®, a line of performance feed. The business also successfully relaunched its STRATEGY® line of feed with reformulation and refreshed packaging.
...to innovation...
WIND TUNNELS, ROBOT ARMS AND LASERS
At the WinField United Innovation Center in River Falls, Wis., world-class researchers use a massive indoor wind tunnel to study spray dynamics, measuring exactly how and where tiny droplets of crop protection products are dispersed. The goal? To optimize pesticide effectiveness and on-target application and, ultimately, allow farmers to be more efficient as they spray their crops
CELEBRATING PURINA’S 125TH ANNIVERSARY
Innovation has been a key pillar of Purina’s identity for the past 125 years. When it comes to creating advanced solutions to problems that keep animals from reaching their full potential, we’re always challenging the status quo.
CROP NUTRIENTS & NIK COMBINE TO IMPROVE SERVICE & GAIN SYNERGIES
This year, we celebrated our one-year anniversary of the WinField United Crop Nutrients and NIK Marketing merger. The new partnership brought with it an experienced new team and 19 new customers, and helped grow the WinField United fertilizer footprint by 30 percent.
INVESTING FOR FUTURE FEED GROWTH
Large-scale projects are underway at the state-of-the-art feed plant in St. Joseph, Mo. The investments we are making will allow for greater capabilities and production capacity for our Animal Nutrition business, which will ultimately assist in future growth.
...to best-in-class...
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EXPLORES GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES IN EMERGING MARKETS
Our team continues to focus on high potential global markets through partnerships with local, trusted Crop Inputs and Animal Nutrition partners in Kenya, South Africa, Mexico, Canada and China.
LAND O’LAKES NAMED DAIRY FOODS PROCESSOR OF THE YEAR
We were named by Dairy Foods Magazine as the 2018 Dairy Foods Processor of the Year. Our collaborative approach to procurement and processes, among other things, was highlighted in the magazine’s cover story, "2018 Processor of the Year: Land O'Lakes is a cooperative powerhouse."
...to fork.
VERMONT CREAMERY WINS IN WALMART, KROGER
We scaled up our Vermont Creamery business in 2018, which helped us land in Kroger's branded Fresh Goat category in more than 2,000 stores nationwide (making it the No. 1 seller of goat cheese in the U.S.); and we launched Mascarpone cheese in 400 Walmart stores.
HERSHEY’S SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
Land O'Lakes received Hershey's Supplier of the Year award for our sustainability, customer service, cost savings and a deep focus on innovation. Our shared culture of food safety, quality and focus on innovation are among the many reasons why our relationship continues to grow, even after more than 30 years of our companies doing business together.
CONVENIENCE & FLAVOR DRIVING BUTTER INNOVATION
As the branded category leader, our focus is on continuing to drive innovation to meet the changing needs of customers. Our newly launched Land O Lakes Soft Squeeze® spread added a level of convenience to the category and our 82 percent butterfat Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter helped meet consumers’ desire for premium butter.