IN THIS ISSUE:
GRANGE CO-OP
DON’T TREAT YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AS PROPHECY Founder and Principal Brent Morrison
Grange Cooperative Supply Association,
as well as creating a vertically integrated
addresses a common and painful mistake:
or “Grange Co-op,” is a member owned
supply chain for the Rogue Feed brand.
expecting
agricultural supply cooperative based in
your
business
plan
not
to
Oregon’s Rogue Valley. Grange Co-op traces
change.
its roots to 1934 when 99 local farmers made individual investments of $10 to form a fuel delivery service in the Central Point area. From these modest beginnings,
MORRISON SNAPSHOTS Check out some of our highlights from this past season.
As the mill grew, Grange Co-op saw an opportunity to offer bulk feed to dairies, entering that market in 1958. That resulted in the need to expand their grain storage capacity to 1,000 tons in 1959.
Grange Co-op has grown to include a feed
The
mill, fertilizer plant, and seven retail stores
was dynamic and growing when tragedy
throughout Oregon and California.
struck. Late in the night on October 12, 1961
Grange
Co-op
owes
its
success
to
generations of forward-thinking member farmers as well as decades of dedicated staff, who in spite of adversity in the early years, saw continuing opportunities to innovate, grow, and pivot to the needs of its members and the communities it has
cooperative’s
bulk
feed
business
the Central Point grain elevator caught fire and nearly burned to the ground. Undaunted, the members and dedicated staff rallied and rebuilt in time for the summer harvest of 1962. The Central Point feed mill continues to operate today, packaging the popular Rogue Feed brand
served over the decades. The cooperative was founded during the peak of the Great Depression. In 1941,
GETTING TO KNOW JESSICA LAZDINS VUK Learn
more
about
Morrison
Grants
Consultant Jessica Lazdins Vuk.
just as America entered World War II, an early member supplied the funds for the cooperative to enter the feed business with the opening of a feed warehouse; this also resulted in the founding of Grange Coop’s landmark brand, Rogue Feeds. Just two years later, the cooperative purchased Ashland Mills in Ashland, Oregon, further expanding their presence in the feed business and increasing their geographical reach. Then, just 12 years after its founding, 95 out of the 110 members voted in favor of
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WWW.MORRISONCO.NET
building a grain elevator to serve, what was at the time, a large commodity-grain based agricultural economy in Southern Oregon,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2021