Partnership Spotlight: CountryMark

CountryMark has been a farmer-owned cooperative since its inception in 1919. Based out of Indiana, the company’s relations with Premier goes all the way back to the year Premier was founded in 1927. We recently sat down with CountryMark representative, Mike Riggins, to learn more about the longstanding relationship between the Indiana-based organizations.

Premier: Thanks for sitting down with us to discuss more about the strong working relationship between Premier and CountryMark. To start, could you share more about the collaborative dynamics between the organizations in achieving shared objectives or project milestones?

Mike Riggins: Absolutely, as someone with experience working for both organizations, it is a pleasure to share more about how they operate and the importance of fellow cooperatives supporting one another.

As for these two organizations, CountryMark is a manufacturer of energy products and Premier is a key distributor of those products. But, the relationship goes far beyond this transaction. Like Premier, CountryMark depends on member owners to be the face of its brand to end user customers, uphold brand values, deliver agreed upon customer service and provide CountryMark with indicators as to how markets may be changing. This impacts the products and services CountryMark makes available to its member owners.

Premier counts on CountryMark for quality energy products at a fair price, guaranteed product supply, market leading price risk management tools, sales and marketing tools and a share of the patronage in the years where CountryMark is financially successful.

Premier: From your perspective, what specific strengths or unique contributions does Premier Companies bring to the partnership that differentiate them from other collaborators?

Mike Riggins: Premier is well known for energy product knowledge, stellar customer service, and being able to advise customers on the best price risk management tools to meet customer needs. Additionally, within the communities Premier serves, Premier has an exceptional reputation for getting to know its customers and their needs. These relationships are key to positive memorable customer service experiences. Premier has also done an exceptional job investing in the communities it serves. Those investments are sincerely appreciated by customers and serve to enhance the experience customers have with Premier and CountryMark by association.

Premier: How does the partnership with Premier Companies align with CountryMark’s long-term goals and strategies? Are there areas where you foresee deeper collaboration or potential expansion of joint efforts in the future?

Mike Riggins: CountryMark’s long-term goals include expanding its refining capacity, investing in infrastructure and technologies to improve efficiencies and refining reliability, and reducing costs associated with the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Premier’s partnership in achieving these goals is critical. CountryMark will be counting on Premier to help grow fuel sales to accommodate increased fuel production. CountryMark is also looking to bring to the market new fuels that will support Indiana agriculture, deliver outstanding engine performance and will reduce CountryMark’s financial obligation of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Again, CountryMark will depend on Premier to help introduce this new fuel to the farms, families and fleets Premier serves today.

Premier: How does CountryMark’s business model as a farmer-owned cooperative impact their business?

Mike Riggins: Operating as farmer-owned cooperative impacts CountryMark’s financial goals as well as product quality. As a farmer-owned cooperative, CountryMark is in constant communication with its member owners to understand the membership vision for CountryMark.

While other publicly traded oil companies seek to hit quarterly financial goals, CountryMark members have instead chosen to focus on long term goals, such as refinery capacity and reliability. Product quality is also more closely scrutinized by member owners than by investors. This is because with a cooperative model, the owners are also the consumers of these products. As an example, CountryMark has low winter cloud points and high cetane targets on its premium diesel fuel because it is what its customers and owners need to operate. Other refiners will be more driven by what is the most economical fuel for the refinery to produce.

Premier: Finally, community and local philanthropy is extremely important to Premier. Can you please share 1-2 philanthropic endeavors CountryMark completed in 2023?

Mike Riggins: CountryMark’s philanthropic goals focus on creating in Posey County, where the CountryMark’s refinery is located, a place where people want to live and work. To achieve that goal, CountryMark has invested in local initiatives that reduce food insecurity, provide athletic and educational opportunities for young people, enhance public safety, and provide positive experiences for the public to partake in.

Some of the largest philanthropic endeavors have included sponsoring a new football field for the local high school football team, several donations to local food banks, and building an inclusive playground for the Mt. Vernon, Indiana, community.

A Cooperative for Cooperatives

Thank you to Mike Riggins and CountryMark for sharing more about the organization and what makes the relationships between our two organizations so vital to our local communities and the larger farming community as a whole. To learn more about CountryMark, visit their website at www.countrymark.com. To view Premier energy stations, visit our website at www.premierag.com/energy-station-locations/.