Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
This photo from 2017 was taken from the top of Equity Co-op's new elevator, rebuilt after the 2016 fire.
A similar 1976 photo shows the prior structures in place. Photo credit: "Our Heritage."
Front row left to right: Equity Co-op board member Doug Schmid, Fessenden Co-op board member Randy Silliman, Equity Co-op Manager John Rick, Fessenden Co-op board member Linus Allmaras, President Rick Olson, and Manager Mark Hovland. Back row left to right: Equity Co-op Chairman Kent Myhre, Fessenden Co-op board member Alan Heilman, Equity Co-op board members Dan Birkeland and Peter Larson, Fessenden Co-op board member Curt Olson.
Equity Co-op patrons Sven Carlson of Sheyenne and Beau Buehler of Oberon counted the votes.
This stock certificate shared by Nick Thompson was issued to his grandpa Dolphy Ostby in 1920
Change is coming for one of Eddy County's longest operating businesses. Equity Cooperative Elevator Company (Equity Co-op) of Sheyenne and Oberon will become part of Fessenden Cooperative Association as of April 1.
The board of directors for Equity Co-op decided to pursue unification by acquisition for a few reasons. First, they were faced with replacing manager John Rick, who seeks retirement. Rick has been with the co-op since 2007. Second, economic conditions played a factor. They were able to rebuild without debt after a 2016 fire destroyed their Sheyenne elevator, only to be followed by three straight lean years in the ag industry. Equity Co-op board president Kent Myhre said the board wanted the elevators they operate to remain a viable part of the Sheyenne and Oberon communities for many more years, and this was the best solution.
"These small co-ops can go south in a hurry if they're not managed properly," added Peter Larson, who is a third generation patron of the cooperative who currently serves on its board of directors.
Out of 112 total patrons eligible to vote, a whopping 75% either cast ballots in person or sent in absentee ballots. At a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4, two patrons tallied 84 ballots. With 75 yes votes and just nine no's, the fate of the cooperative was definitively determined. There were 40 people in attendance at the special meeting.
"It was gratifying for the vote to come out like that," noted Larson, "We had a good turnout."
Equity Co-op has more than a million bushels of storage capacity, with 700,000 in the new Sheyenne elevator built in 2017. The Oberon facility has 325,000 bushels of capacity. Both are served by the Red River Valley & Western Railroad.
In a letter to patrons sent last week, the Fessenden Co-op Association Board of Directors stated that all employees of both locations will become Fessenden Co-op employees on the effective date, with the exception of John Rick. He will retire this spring when the transaction is complete.
"This unification will bring additional grain and edible bean volume as well as additional agronomy business to Fessenden Co-op," the letter states. In fact, 75% of the Equity Cooperative members are already patrons of Fessenden Co-op, which helped make the decision.
"Fessenden has a strong history," Larson noted.
Fessenden Cooperative members were not required to vote, as their cooperative will assume ownership of all of Equity Coop's assets effective April 15. The two facilities will operate as Fessenden Co-op Association Sheyenne and Oberon respectively.
The board of directors for Equity Coop who led the unification process were Myhre, Larson, Dan Birkeland, Doug Schmid, and Jarvis Hegland. Roger Hansen of RDL & Associates was the consultant to Equity Coop on the process, and Grand Forks attorney Zachary Boettner advised them legally.
The company's roots inthe Sheyenne community go back 110 years. Equity Elevator & Trading Company was established on July 12, 1910. At the first organizational meeting in Stedman's Hall in Sheyenne, a small group of men adopted articles of incorporation and by-laws for the business. The men were S.A. Olsness, E. Seastrand, Wm. G. Milne, C.W. Brolin, H.P. Halvorson, Alvin A. Tomlinson, W.H. Bell, Nels N. Faar and N.W. Nelson.
On Sept. 24, 1910 the stockholders met and collectively pledged $3,000 in capital. They purchased the Farmers Elevator in Sheyenne for the sum of $4,850 and hired E.N. Nelson as manager.
They built a new elevator in 1916, then added three concrete coal storage tanks in 1918. The tanks were converted to grain storage in 1927. Two years later five steel tanks were added.
In 1941, the cooperative expanded again, with 14,000 more bushels of capacity and an office constructed. The office plans included a fireproof vault, which proved to be a good decision.
Equity Co-op has endured three major structural fires throughout its history. The first took place in 1956, when the entire north elevator was destroyed. According to the "Our Heritage" book that recounts Sheyenne's history, "the shareholders did not let a fire discourage them." All the company's records were safe in the vault. They rebuilt the very next year, only to repeat the same thing exactly 60 years later when the north elevator was destroyed again in 2016. As before, they were making plans to rebuild before the smoke cleared.
Other notable changes in the cooperative's history include the purchase of Sheyenne Cooperative Elevator (known as the south elevator) in 1946 for $40,000. That structure was also completely destroyed in a fire, in 1972. In its place they built a certified seed plant in 1974. A fertilizer plant was built in 1965.
Equity Co-op merged with the Farmers Elevator of Oberon in 1982. In the '90s, a new office was built in Sheyenne.
Since 2000, a floating fertilizer spreader, dryer and six tanks have been added in Sheyenne, and a new scale, driveway and office have been built in Oberon. Now, a new chapter will begin under the leadership of Fessenden Co-op Ass'n.
