Sustaining Sponsor Spotlight: The Farmers Elevator Grain & Supply Association

The Ohio AgriBusiness Association is pleased to feature our Sustaining Sponsors in the 2025 Spotlight Series. This week, the focus is on Bronze Sponsor: The Farmers Elevator Grain & Supply Association.

Location (Main Headquarters): Pleasant Bend, OH

Year started: 1912

Number of employees: 34

Number of facilities: 3

Type of services offered: Grain, fertilizer chemicals, VRT sampling, custom application dry & liquid, and grain hauling

Company history: Farmers Elevator Grain & Supply Association was first started in New Bavaria, Ohio, in 1912. In 1935, we purchased an elevator in Pleasant Bend, and in 1945 purchased the North Creek Elevator. In 1951, the New Bavaria elevator was destroyed by fire and we did not rebuild. We decided to make Pleasant Bend the main location. New equipment and concrete silos were built from 1963 to 1996. In 1999, we purchased our Standley location from Defiance Landmark. In the same year, we built a railcar site with weigh scales, and in 2000, built two 150,000-bushel grain bins along with a 10,000 bushel hour grain dump.

How has your company changed over the years? Pleasant Bend has expanded since 2004, putting a new office and scales in 2007. In 2008, we added 1.2 million storage and a new grain dump as well as a liquid storage and a chemical loadout building. North Creek had 160,000 bushel in grain capacity.  In  2005, we added 180,000 bushel in storage. In 2013 and 2014, we put up two more bins that were 220,000 bushels each. In 2021, we built a new office and scales at North Creek. In 2022, we put up 320,000 bushel storage and a new grain dryer at North Creek and a 150,000 bushel bin at Standley.

On the agronomic side of our business, we have been doing about 80% VRT soil sampling versus standard soil testing, which has been well supported by our farmers over the years.

How do you see your company growing in the future? Our patrons are very loyal and have stayed with us as we’ve grown over the years. The employees of the elevator have been very good along with great support from the Board of Directors. We want to be nimble as agriculture is an ever-changing industry, but we also want to be mindful of the core elements that have got us to where we are today. We will continue to evolve with the changing agriculture industry to benefit our farmers.

How has OABA helped your business or the agribusiness industry? OABA is a strong advocate for policy changes and challenges that impact Ohio agriculture. They have been a great educational resource for agribusinesses and their employees, whether it be for safety initiatives, policy changes or general agronomy training.

Interested in becoming a Sustaining Sponsor? 

Click here to learn more about the program or contact Lauren Prettyman at lprettyman@oaba.net. Sustaining sponsors will automatically be promoted as such at all OABA events and will not be approached for sponsorship opportunities throughout the year. 

Note that because the OABA Educational Trust is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, sponsorships related to this trust are separate from OABA.