MFA Incorporated Annual Report

President's / Chairman's Letter

President's & Chairman's Letter

Written by Don Mills and Bill Streeter

MFA Incorporated experienced another very successful year, ending the fiscal year with net income exceeding $22 million. That success is one result of an interested and supportive membership of farmers and ranchers as well as local affiliates. In addition, MFA enjoys the support of an engaged and well-informed board of directors.

Once again, MFA’s trade territory was impacted by adverse weather. Drought affected large swaths of the territory, reducing yields and livestock numbers. Despite that adversity, the attitude and spirit of the MFA customer base remain very positive. MFA enjoys strong customer confidence for many reasons. The strength of that confidence is the knowledge that the cooperative is nearing its 100th anniversary in 2014. Another source is the fact that MFA’s customer base identifies MFA as a business partner, not just another input supplier or grain buyer.

The cooperative’s management and corporate board have developed detailed strategic plans establishing overall direction, setting guidelines and achieving specific results. The overall plan covers products, markets, financial targets, material resources, organizational structure and human resources development.

In this past fiscal year, MFA acquired retail locations in Madison, Kan.; Osage City, Kan.; and Coin, Iowa. In addition, the company purchased a feed mill and grain elevator in Emporia, Kan.

According to strategic plans, all acquisitions must complement or supplement MFA’s core business and traditional product lines, must meet targeted financial returns and must create value for the general membership. In addition, MFA will continue to update and modernize current facilities. MFA will also continue to analyze and dissect the trade area to identify opportunities.

MFA has established targets for working capital, earnings, member ownership, bank covenants, and returns on sales, assets and owners’ equity. These targets stretch into 2015 and have sub-targets by each operating quarter. Management monitors operating results by division and location. Corrective action is taken when results are not adequate. The cooperative’s performance is also benchmarked against like-sized agribusiness companies.

The company has developed comprehensive training programs for employee development. These programs will take three years to be fully implemented. MFA will devote the necessary resources to insure future leaders are in place and ready to assume leadership roles.

Additionally, MFA will insure the corporate board has the necessary training to make wise decisions in today’s complex marketplace. All MFA plans and initiatives are shared with senior members of the management team so that all individuals are operating with the same goals in mind.

MFA will continue to improve upon its core business, employee training and excellent corporate image.


	Bill Streeter President and CEO		Don Mills Chairman of the Board

Download the 2012 Annual Report HERE.