Gold-Eagle Cooperative

Wright County, Iowa -- A History

https://www.goldeaglecoop.com/history/

Recalling the Day We Struck Gold

Our roots run deep in north central Iowa, where local farmers banded together in 1908 to form the Farmers Elevator Company of Goldfield. From those humble beginnings, Gold-Eagle Cooperative has been united for more than 30 years to serve area growers’ needs. On September 1, 1983, the merger of the Farmers Elevator Company of Goldfield and Farmers Cooperative Company of Eagle Grove unleashed the power of partnerships. Creating value has long been an inherently cooperative process at Gold-Eagle, which expanded to include:

·        Renwick Farmers Cooperative, 1991

·        Livermore Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company, 1992

·        Corwith Community Cooperative, 1996

Expansion allowed us to invest in modern facilities for improved service. As our customers found ways to grow more corn and soybeans, we increased grain storage by 3 million bushels.

Our largest growth year occurred in 2002. In March of 2002, we consolidated the membership and facilities of the

·        Farmers Cooperative Society of Wesley and Titonka.

·        In August of 2002, we welcomed the Hardy Cooperative Elevator of Hardy and Thor into our organization.

In July of 2004, we moved in a new direction when we launched an equity drive to build an ethanol plant in Goldfield. After raising the necessary equity, CORN, LP broke ground October 2004. December 2005, ethanol production began at the plant, which consumes roughly 60,000 bushels (400 acres) of corn per day and has 40 full-time employees.

Thanks to the corn requirements of CORN, LP and our feed operations, Gold-Eagle consumes all of the corn our members produce. In today’s agricultural world, adding value to our members’ grain creates a golden relationship.

 

 

 

Historic Photographs:

Those Pictured:

Bob Bjornson (1934 - 2009)

Clarence Cooper (1906 - 1995)

Glen Darland (1913 - 1970)

Chester Edwards (1908 - 1983)

Howard Harvey (1911 - 1988)

William E. Hefti (1904 - 1988)

Don Helgevold (1934 - 2017)

Clarence Larson (1905 - 2002)

Bill Madison (1933 - )

Leonard Madison (1908 - 1993)

Curtis Nelson (1918 - 1997)

Earl Prettyman (1898 - 1986)

Wesley Rasmussen (1912 - 1991)

Donald Slakieu (1904 - 1994)

Fred B. Smith (1900 - 1974)

Herb Walker (1903 - 1978)