AGRONOMY

LIVESTOCK

RURAL LIFESTYLE

LOCATION

Who is Tennessee Farmers Cooperative?

Co-op, recognized as one of the strongest federated farm supply cooperative systems in the nation, includes Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (TFC) and the 52 member Co-ops and 11 associate members in neighboring states that own TFC. At the very foundation are the roughly 70,000 farmers who are member-owners of the local Co-ops in their home counties.


Of course, you don’t have to be a member of the Co-op to shop there. Co-op offers quality products for everyone! Some 164 Co-op retail outlets, which operate in 84 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, and across the border in five neighboring states, serve more than half a million customers.

Co-op is a cornerstone in the communities where our retail stores and facilities are located. Co-op is truly your hometown store, locally owned and operated with a well-trained, dedicated staff ready to serve the needs of each and every customer. Because its roots reach back into the soil farmed by its organizers, Co-op always has the best interests of its patrons at heart. And that heritage generates a spirit of cooperation that has molded our system into a closely knit network of individuals and organizations working together for the benefit of the farmers and our other Co-op customers. Co-op is more than a store — it’s a way of life.

How Our Co-op System Works

The Co-op system in Tennessee is a federated system with a circle of ownership. Each member Co-op is an independent business owned by its farmer-members; those local Co-ops, in turn, own TFC. This gives the farmer true ownership of his or her own farm supply and service organization.

Each farmer-member owns one share of voting stock. Those members elect a local board of directors, which establishes that Co-op’s policies and employs the general manager. The daily operation of the business is under the supervision of the general manager, who answers to the board. Savings above the cost of doing business are returned to the member-patron on a patronage basis.

On a state level, the cooperative system in Tennessee is divided into three zones roughly reflecting the three grand divisions of the state — East, Middle, and West Tennessee. Three directors are elected to represent each zone on TFC’s board of directors, each for a three-year term. TFC operates facilities in LaVergne in Middle Tennessee, Tenco at Rockford near Knoxville in East Tennessee, and at Jackson in West Tennessee. Each has its own distribution center, fertilizer plant, and feed mill. In addition, TFC’s offices, metal fabrication plant, and farm equipment facility are located in LaVergne, and a seed-conditioning and vegetable/lawn seed packaging facility at Halls in West Tennessee.

Our Heritage is Our Standard

When Tennessee Farmers Cooperative was officially chartered on September 27, 1945, a whole new era in Tennessee agriculture began. In the spring of 1944, the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation’s board of directors had authorized a committee to study farm supply cooperatives in other states to recommend what structure would best serve the needs of Tennessee farmers. After a whirlwind tour of cooperatives in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana, the committee, headed by Al Jerdan, marketing specialist with the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service, recommended a federated system, similar to those operating in Indiana and Ohio.

After its board accepted the recommendation, the delegate body of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation authorized the organization of the cooperative in November of 1944. Each of TFC’s 33 charter members, which were Farm Bureau supply associations, had an incorporating director to serve until a permanent board could be elected to direct the new regional cooperative. On the afternoon of September 27, 1945, during the first meeting of TFC’s members, a director to represent each of the state’s seven designated districts was elected to the board. With that election — at 1:05 p.m. — TFC was born.

Our Board Of Directors


Keith Fowler
Zone 1
Amos Huey
Zone 1
Tim Luckey
Zone 1
Benjie Daniel
Zone 2
Donald Jernigan
Zone 2
Stephen Philpott
Zone 2
David Sarten
Zone 3
George Smart
Zone 3
Mark Thompson
Zone 3

Our Subsidiaries and Partnerships

TFC has established subsidiary companies and joint ventures with other cooperatives to provide additional services, extend its reach into other markets, and grow its business. Though these companies are not operated as cooperatives, the revenue they generate and the services they provide strengthen the entire Co‑op system.

Faithway Alliance, LLC

Farm and Rural Lifestyle Products are provided through Faithway Alliance, a joint venture between Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (TFC), Alabama Farmers Cooperative (AFC), Alliance Farm and Ranch, and Faithway Feeds.
 
This company was established Aug. 1, 2020 and focuses on sales, marketing, customer service, procurement, inventory management, warehousing, and distribution for farm supplies at TFC, AFC, and Faithway Feeds. Faithway Alliance provides member Co-ops with products from categories such as lawn and garden, farm hardware and fencing, automotive, horticulture, and home goods.

Stockdale's

Stockdale’s is TFC’s retail initiative established in 2006 as a way to better serve the rural lifestyle market. Currently, TFC has Stockdale’s stores in Hixson, Covington, Bowling Green, Ky., Oakland, Bolivar, and Selmer.

These attractive, conveniently designed stores provide a comfortable, welcoming environment and a large selection of quality products for the home, farm, and family. Product lines include clothing and footwear, pet and horse supplies, lawn and garden items, feed, fencing, tools, outdoor equipment for hunting and camping, gifts and home décor items and much more.

GO TO SITE

GreenPoint Ag

GreenPoint Ag was established Sept. 1, 2020, and encompasses $1 billion in wholesale and retail sales, making it among the top seven largest agronomy distribution companies in the nation. It operates 99 retail and wholesale agronomy locations in 10 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee, servicing 11 crops across 28 million acres.

Alliance Animal Care

Alliance Animal Care Is a wholesale animal health distribution company focused exclusively on procuring products from manufacturers and suppliers and delivering them to wholesale and retail locations through a just-in-time logistics network. Alliance is a joint venture equally owned between TFC and MFA Incorporated and is based at TFC’s La Vergne offices.

Ag Distributors, Inc.

Ag Distributors, Inc. (ADI) is a provider of bulk and bagged crop nutrients across the Southeast. ADI operates river terminals at Caruthersville, Mo., and Nashville, and Lenoir City in Tennessee.

They serve a diverse network of both small and large wholesale customers that, in turn, serve farm communities across the South. In addition, the Fort Loudoun terminal in Lenoir City operates as a commercial distribution service to various customers and commodities.

Allied Seed, LLC

Allied Seed, LLC enhances TFC’s ability to provide quality forages, legumes, cover crops, trap crops and turf grasses. TFC is an equal partner with two other regional farm supply cooperatives — Southern States and GROWMARK.

Commitment To Community

Co-op was organized on the idea that together we can make a difference. That’s why Co-op is committed to championing important causes through sponsorship, scholarship, partnership, and fellowship.

Through Co-op’s ongoing support of agricultural organizations, colleges and universities, youth education, conferences, field days, fairs, and other events, we are shaping the future of farming and ensuring continued growth and prosperity for our cooperative system. In total, we give more than $250,000 yearly in financial contributions alone, not to mention volunteer time, product donations, and in-kind sponsorships.

Statewide, the most consistent support is given to 4-H and FFA as well as Farm Bureau's Ag in the Classroom. We’re heavily involved with junior livestock projects, horse shows, leadership development, and many other youth activities at the local, regional, and state levels.

Our Latest News:


TFC

Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Becomes a Leadership Circle Sponsor of Nutrients for Life Foundation

Tennessee Farmers Cooperative has increased its support of the Nutrients for Life Foundation (NFLF) and has become a Leadership Circle sponsor. NFLF Leadership Circle sponsors play a ke...

Nov 29, 2021
TFC

The Fourth Annual Co-op Auction Barn

The fourth annual Co-op Auction Barn benefitting Tennessee 4-H Foundation, Inc. and Tennessee FFA Foundation is live! 

Nov 22, 2021
TFC

Financial assistance available to Tennessee streamside landowners

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced on November 5 the formation of the Tennessee Riparian Incentive Program (TRIP) a 10-year...

Nov 15, 2021

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