Central Prairie Co-op: How We Came to Be
1911-1951
- 1911 – The Cooperative began functioning as Closed Stock Organization. It functioned as this until 1950 (Nickerson)
- 1938 – There were only 4 people on the payroll in the Closed Stock Organization
- 1950 – The first concrete elevator of 150,000 bushel was built in the Closed Stock Organization
- 1951 – The first meal was served at the stockholder meeting for The Farmers Coop Elevator
1954-1972
- 1954 – Building of 200,000 bushel annex for grain storage at Nickerson.
- 1957 – Building of 200,000 bushel flat storage facility for grain storage at Nickerson.
- 1967 – Building of modern dry fertilizer plant at Nickerson.
- 1972 – Built office building at Nickerson.
1973-1977
- 1973 – Purchase of Reno Consumers Cooperative Company at 70% of asset value
- 1975 – Farmers Cooperative Union purchased Lyons Cooperative Association (February 20)
- 1975 – Farmers Cooperative Union purchased the Rickard Elevator facilities at Pollard for $75,000 (May 12)
- 1976 – 5.74 acres was purchased between Sterling & Lyons for the building of Sterling Crop Production & Fuel (November 13)
- 1977 – Elevator B at Nickerson was built
1979-1985
- 1979 – Farmers Cooperative Union purchased the Saxman facilities from Buhler Mills for $110,000 (June 16)
- 1981 – Purchase of Nickerson Fertilizer Plant at Adams Corner
- 1985 – Purchase of Ramsey Gas and Diesel business
1987-1990
- 1987 – Construction on a 260,000 bushel McPherson grain silo at Nickerson began
- 1988 – Farmers Cooperative Union purchased Bushton Grain & Supply Company, Frederick & Chase (December 8)
- 1989 – Partridge Coop and The Farmers Coop Elevator of Nickerson merged
- 1990 – Expansions to the Feed Mill at Hutchinson was made for a roller mill and more bin storage
1991-1996
- 1991 – Farmers Cooperative Union purchased Claflin (April 2)
- 1992 – The Whiteside Coop and The Farmers Coop Elevator in Nickerson merged
- 1996 – A new building was constructed at Adams Corner, making it the hub of the agronomy department
2000-2001
- 2000 – Agtrax was introduced into The Farmers Coop Elevator business structure
- 2000 – Team Marketing LLC was formed and The Farmers Coop Elevator was one of the four original marketing groups
- 2001 – Farmers Cooperative Union merged with Lorraine & Geneseo (April 20)
2004-2007
- 2004 – Two acres were purchased on the north side of Adams Corner for a bulk fuel plant
- 2007 – The Farmers Coop Elevator upgraded the fuel storage tanks and blender pumps making them the first retailers in Reno County o offer flex fuels such as E85
2009-2011
- 2009 – The Farmers Coop Elevator purchased Griffin Seed House in Nickerson
- 2010 – The Farmers Coop Elevator purchased 12 city lots in Nickerson for future expansion
- 2011 – 1.5 acres were bought on the west side of Adams Corner for further expansion
- 2011 – Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company celebrated 100 years
2014-2015
- 2014 – The Farmers Coop Elevator (Nickerson) & The Farmers Cooperative Union (Sterling) merged to become Central Prairie Co-op (March 1)
- 2014 – Central Prairie Co-op Main Office in Sterling was renovated with new offices (March-July)
- 2014 – The Sterling Hub set new seed bins (December)
- 2014-2015 – Grain Bin was built in Chase (October – May)
2015-2016
- 2015 – Office remodel took place at the Bushton Crop Production (May)
- 2015 – The addition to the Bushton Dry Fertilizer Shed was built (August)
- 2016 – A new grain probe was installed at the Claflin office (April)
- 2016 – The new Dry Fertilizer Shed was built at the Sterling Hub (May – August)
- 2016 – Alden had a shop built (May)
- 2016 – Office remodel took place in Lorraine (July)
2017-2018
- 2017 – A grain probe was installed at the Sterling scale (February)
- 2017 – Adams Corner received an office remodel (February)
- 2017 – Purchased Fry Oil in Little River (July)
- 2017 – Built new NH3 Plant at Sterling Hub (October)
- 2017 – Saxman received a new scale (November)
- 2018 – Updated fuel pumps & canopy at the Sterling Station (January)
- 2018 – Alden received a new grain probe (February)
- 2018 – A new Pit was build & the Leg was repaired at Lorraine (May)
- 2018 – Updated fuel pumps & canopy at the Sterling Station (January)
2018-2019
- 2018 – Purchased Kruse Fertilizer in Little River (August)
- 2018 – New McPherson Tanks were built at Partridge (November)
- 2018-2019 – Built new NH3 Plant at Adams Corner (December – April)
- 2019 – Replaced old phone system with IP Phone System in all CPC offices (April)
2022-2023
- 2022 – Purchased Little River Grain Elevator (August)
- 2023 – Sterling Hub Murray Liquid Fertilizer System installed (July-February)
- 2023 – Sterling Rural Market has its grand opening (November)
