STRONG. STABLE. DEPENDABLE. LOCAL.

BY SADIE VANDER WAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF AGTEGRA

Headquartered in Aberdeen, Agtegra Cooperative may be local to the area, but its definition of “local” stretches far beyond city limits. Operating in over 60 communities across North and South Dakota, Agtegra has become one of the nation’s largest locally owned cooperatives, providing agronomy, energy, feed, grain, and technology products and services to agricultural producers across its trade territory.

While the term “local” is not often associated with a business with multiple locations, Agtegra places a strong emphasis on the value of local and consistently doing what is best for agricultural producers and the communities they live and work in.

“Our goal is to show up differently for our customers, with a collaborative effort to service the whole farm,” said Jason Klootwyk, Agtegra CEO. “Our team members are experts in their respective fields, and we have become the farmer’s trusted adviser on everything from agronomy products and grain marketing to feed ingredients and the latest in ag technology.”

Supporting Local

Showing up for customers means adding value to the communities they live in, which is why Agtegra is committed to enhancing communities by providing the support and resources they need to grow and prosper.

As a member-owned cooperative, Agtegra returns funds to its members through patronage. Additionally, the cooperative sees value in supporting the communities it serves and seeks to apply its resources to sustaining local, small-town service. From supporting food pantries to fire departments and FFA and 4-H programs, Agtegra’s community engagement strategy consists of three main priorities, including food security, agricultural education and health and safety.

Over the past five years, Agtegra has donated $1 million back to its communities.

“There’s a lot of value in doing business with a company that gives back to communities the way Agtegra does,” said Rick Osterday, Agtegra Board President.

But community engagement does not stop with monetary support. Because many Agtegra employees live in the communities they work in, these same individuals are often heavily involved in their communities too, whether this be by serving on the school board or volunteering their time at local nonprofit organizations.

For Klootwyk, it all comes down to the value the cooperative brings to not only its communities, but to the entire world.

“We have a noble mission: we play a role in helping to feed the world,” said Klootwyk.

Feeding the world, keeping communities safe and healthy and continuing to strengthen the future of the agriculture industry is at the core of Agtegra’s commitment to supporting communities.

Ensuring Safe Communities

This commitment to supporting communities is amplified through a focus on safety, which is one of the cooperative’s core values. In fact, Agtegra has an entire team of employees dedicated to creating a culture of safety through various campaigns and employee programs.

However, Agtegra does not stop at providing a safe place for employees to work and for customers to do business. The safety team is also involved in community outreach programs such as farm safety demonstrations and the Brown County Fair Farm Safety Party, which is designed to educate area youth on a variety of safety topics.

While promoting safety is always a priority, being ready for an emergency is key to keeping employees and community members safe. In the farming community, grain bin entrapments are a topic of safety concern. Trained and certified in high angle rope rescue, Agtegra’s Technical Rescue Team (TRT) consists of a group of Agtegra employees who can respond to emergencies that require high angle rescue and other specialized skills, such as a grain bin entrapment. Training throughout the year, the team is equipped to respond to an emergency and has been called on by emergency personnel to respond to rescues at farms in the past. This team has been able to save lives as a result of their extensive trainings.

Additionally, Agtegra supports fire departments and other emergency services by donating equipment and other support to help them in protecting communities across the region.

Providing Rural Emergency Care

Training employees on how to provide emergency medical care is another way Agtegra continues to invest in its communities.

When an emergency strikes rural areas, it can take several minutes for emergency medical service personnel to arrive on scene. To assist with more immediate onscene care, a collaboration between Agtegra, Dr. Matt Owens of Redfield Community Memorial Hospital in Redfield, South Dakota, and the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine became a step towards training more people in providing life-saving measures through the Dakota Responders training curriculum.

Due to its footprint in rural communities, Agtegra and its employees were wellpositioned to help increase the number of individuals in these areas who could provide life-saving measures before EMS personnel can arrive. The training included how to provide emergency care for serious bleeding, opioid overdose, and use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

“Part of Agtegra’s mission is to have a strong presence and be a significant partner in our local communities,” said Beth Locken, Agtegra Director of Safety and Environmental. “We are always looking for ways to help empower and provide training to our employees, and this was an obvious way for us to have an impact in our communities and with our employees.”