Farmers of North America

Farmers of North America ("FNA"), incorporated as Farms and Families of North America Inc., has been characterized as a volume-buyer group, but that function is only one of its strategies for meeting its mission, "Maximizing Farm Profitability."

Farmers of North America
IndustryAgriculture
Founded1998
Headquarters
Saskatoon, Canada
Websitefna.ca

Recent examples unrelated to "volume buying" widely reported in agriculture media include:

  • addressing farm profitability "by lowering transportation and transaction costs"[1]
  • working to effect regulatory change that contributes to farm profitability[2]
  • testifying before Parliament[3]
  • working with the CWB, the new private grain company replacing the Canadian Wheat Board[4]
  • creating programs to help farmers hire foreign temporary workers[5]
  • organizing farmers to create an opportunity for an equity stake in the fertilizer industry[6]
  • creating a unique international sales insurance program, "MarketPower Assurance Program" with Atradius[7]

Incorporated in March 1998 by a rural Saskatchewan farm family, with the mission of maximizing farm profitability, the organization has now grown over 10,000 producers representing more than 20,000,000 acres (81,000 km2) across Canada. In October 2014, Farmers of North America expanded into the United States.**

The programs FNA negotiates with suppliers include fertilizers, animal health products, grain storage and handling equipment, fencing, agricultural leasing, oils and lubricants, and tires and management services.

The company is noted for bringing in the first import into the Port of Churchill from Russia, as a demonstration of the ability to cheaply import fertilizers to compete with domestic suppliers which they see as overpriced by predatory sellers.[8] Another example is the port of Wallaceburg, Ontario revived by FNA's suppliers to import competitive fertilizer for Eastern Canada.

FNA is not a cooperative. Nor is it a retailer, manufacturer or distributor. It is a privately owned for-profit company organized as a business alliance of individual farmers.[9] It describes itself as "a farm business alliance with the mission of 'Maximizing Farm Profitability.'"

In 2012, FNA announced it has formed a limited partnership, FNA Fertilizer Limited Partnership or FNA FLP, with the intention of building a new nitrogen fertilizer plant in Western Canada. FNA FLP is an independent partnership composed of the farmers who fund it.[10][11]

Notes
  1. "Farmers of North America", Grainews magazine, Aug. 2, 2013 http://www.grainews.ca/2013/08/02/farmers-of-north-america/
  2. "Farm group fingers agency for slow introduction of generic pesticides", Manitoba Cooperator, Jul. 18, 2013 http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/2013/07/18/farm-group-fingers-agency-for-slow-introduction-of-generic-pesticides/
  3. Parliament Of Canada, House of Commons, Standing Committee on Agriculture, February 19, 2002 http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=518577&Language=E&Mode=1
  4. "CWB and Farmers of North America working together", Top Crop Manager, Jan. 25, 2013 http://www.agannex.com/field-crops/cwb-and-farmers-of-north-america-working-together
  5. "Saskatoon company helping farmers hire temporary foreign workers", Global Television News, October 23, 2013 http://globalnews.ca/news/920783/saskatoon-company-helping-farmers-hire-temporary-foreign-workers/
  6. "FNA gets into nitrogen business", Western Producer, Nov. 14th, 2013 http://www.producer.com/2013/11/fna-gets-into-nitrogen-business/
  7. "Farmer group creates new cash flow tool", Ontario Farmer, January 13, 2012 http://www.ontariofarmer.com/sitepages/?aid=4945&cn=QUICKLINKS&an=Farmer%20group%20creates%20new%20cash%20flow%20tool
  8. CBC News, Oct 17, 2007 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/churchill-port-welcomes-first-ever-russian-shipment-1.658756
  9. Member Handbook, Farmers of North America, 2013
  10. http://www.projectn.ca/news-release-fna-moves-forward-with-fertilizer-plant/
  11. http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1046091/fna-fertilizer-limited-partnership-retains-bmo-capital-markets
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