On July 6, the cooperative formed by the March 1 merger of Countryside Cooperative and Landmark Services Cooperative became Alcivia (pronounced ALL-siv-ia).

“We feel the new brand energizes and empowers our team to make the future even brighter for our members, customers and employees,” according to Jim Lange, chairman of the board of Alcivia. “Our new tagline, ‘All Together Now,’ speaks to the shared excitement we all feel about how the merger represents the very best of both cooperatives. Embodying the cooperative spirit, Alcivia exists to succeed together.”

“The brand development process involved extensive customer research, as well as close collaboration between the board of directors and a wide cross-section of employees over many months,” Dell said. “Our mission, vision and values were foundational to the effort, which led to a distinctive, meaningful name that’s true to who we are and the value our customers can expect to get both now and in the future.

Dell said the cooperative has 833 employees, including 490 employees who work full time and serve more than 25,000 members. The cooperative has $625 million in annual sales and extends across Wisconsin from northwest of Chicago to St. Paul, Minn., and includes parts of northern Illinois, eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota.

Annually, Alcivia handles 39 million bushels of corn, soybeans and wheat combined. It also sells 82 million gallons of energy, including propane, diesel fuel and gasoline. The animal nutrition division sells 250,000 tons of protein for dairy and livestock. The agronomy division sells 240,000 tons of crop nutrients, $30 million in chemicals and $20 million in seed.

“Combined, we exceed $50 million in direct financing to our customers through Verity Business Solutions,” Dell said. “That was part of Landmark Services, and it has been available since March 1 to our customers who were Countryside Co-op members.”

Dell started working as president and CEO of Landmark Services Cooperative in March 2018.

“Before that, I was in Nebraska, and I spent most of my career in Minnesota,” he said.

Dell said the merger took place primarily because “we want to make sure we can stay relevant in the marketplace. We want to continue meeting the needs of our customers.”