Since 1997 Town & Country Supply Association merged with two other cooperatives to provide high quality fertilizer products and on-site services at competitive prices to Montana’s farmers and ranchers. The rural community of Lockwood, Montana, is home to Town & Country’s Mega Fertilizer Plant. At this plant, members of the agricultural cooperative can order custom aggregated fertilizer to match their personalized needs. However, the plant’s success quickly outgrew its capacity for raw materials.
In early 2024, Town & Country received a $2.9 million USDA Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) grant to help expand this production facility and soon after, construction began. This project includes a 36,700 square-foot addition as well as two railcar storage tracks. It is projected that in five years, the new and improved facility will have the capacity to produce and distribute 132,000 tons of raw materials. All of this is designed with the goal to serve the co-op’s customers better.
“We need to be able to provide these products in a timely manner and at a cost-effective price too,” said Town and Country Supply Association’s Chief Executive Officer Wes Burley. “That’s something else that the facility gives us, we are able to go out there and contract product with our suppliers and then turn around and contract product to our growers.”
By upgrading the automatic bagging system, they will also be better able to sell bags of fertilizer to cater to the needs of all members and expand their market in a less labor-intensive way. The expansion and improvements made to the fertilizer plant are not only increasing volume, but also allow for the growth of partnerships. Supply partners can ship fertilizer out of this facility and get product delivered to their needed locations, shipping as far as Idaho. This assists partners who struggle to get rail cars into their own facilities.
Long-term sustainability is a mission Town & Country Supply Association is proud of. With the modernization of the facility, the co-op is projected to decrease their CO2 emissions by over 14 million pounds per year. This is equivalent to taking almost 1,400 vehicles off the road. This dramatic decrease is due to the expanded rail delivery capacity, decreasing their need for truck transportation.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, these improvements will allow for expanded services from expert agronomists, helping growers minimize unnecessary fertilizer application. This means farmers are more precise when applying fertilizer, and with Montana’s diverse landscape, that means less waste. Burley notes farming is “expensive enough as it is” without using more inputs than necessary.
Town & Country Supply Association has deep roots within the agricultural community that will continue for generations. Agriculture and fertilizer use have evolved over the years but as Burley said, “We’re always going to have ag producers. As we look into the future, they’re still going to need that fertilizer.”