In the following pages you will find the details of many Membership Benefits.
But we should not lose sight of the big ticket return on investment farmers can have from their Membership. By employing the farmer business alliance, serious dollars are achieved on major input costs from the primary supplier AgraCity Crop and Nutrition. We have already broken the back of monopoly pricing on glyphosate and Horizon-like products, and brought price discipline to the fertilizer market with many ad hoc fertilizer programs.
Your Management Team
Farmers do not “join” FNA like one would join an association or a club. Instead we employ FNA as part of the Management Team of our farms.
Every day FNA Managers are working to find new opportunities to maximize our farm profitability. Whether it is negotiating with new suppliers or causing entire new businesses to be created, the commitment is proven, and it is successful. That is our Membership at work for us and our farms.
Working with governments to get the rules right for things like generic chemical registrations so that there are more competitive products being released is a skill that FNA has taken to new heights — no one in Canada knows more about how that system works and how it needs to be improved. That is our Membership at work for us and our farms.
A BIG Indirect Benefit
Making sure your other suppliers know that you are an FNA Member has a remarkably fast influence on prices they offer. Members routinely save thousands of dollars simply by asking for a quote to “check against FNA pricing.” If the price is suddenly $4/acre lower, one might wonder why that margin wasn’t freed up long ago, but the important thing is that going forward the supplier is likely to off the best price they can rather than the highest price they think you can afford.
Different Types of Suppliers
There are three basic “types” of suppliers to FNA Members: primary, intermediate and preferred. There are also programs that are operated internally by FNA itself.
Always remember one key rule: FNA’s role is to be on the side of the Member regardless the type of supplier.
1. Primary Suppliers
Primary suppliers are those that were created specifically to supply FNA Members with key crop inputs. AgraCity, ProjectN and Genesis are current examples. These businesses were created with Member action with the intended purpose of delivering better prices in more efficient ways. They were created as separate businesses to ensure that FNA, the membership business, never has a direct interest in selling products to its own Members. Doing so can cause mission drift, making FNA into just another retailer trying to get farmers to buy as much as possible. That is not our role.
Members should always get a quote from AgraCity before making any key crop input purchase. If their price is substantially better than other sources, it should be an easy decision. If their price is very close, consider buying from them to sustain the ongoing development of more programs. If their price just is not competitive with other sources, use the other sources. It is always about making the best decision for your farm.
2. Intermediate Suppliers
Intermediate suppliers are those that provide important inputs or services that do not fall into a major category like crop protection or fertilizer or were not created specifically to supply FNA Members. The lubricant program is from an intermediate supplier, Nemco Lubricants & Chemicals.
3. Preferred Suppliers
Preferred suppliers are businesses that have agreed to give FNA Members a deal on their products or services, often similar to the kinds of offers that come with organization “membership benefits.” The difference with FNA is that our preferred suppliers include some that are highly valuable to farmers, like Cummins, DSG, SkyWest and so on.
For most preferred suppliers all that is required is the FNA Membership number. Some do require Members to set up accounts as they are business-to-business operations that do not sell directly to consumers.
Some suppliers have restricted geographic services or may not be able to ship economically across the country. Always ask about shipping costs while getting a quote.
4. FNA Agency
FNA is an official agent for Co-op Hail. Contact a Member Service Manager directly.
Course Corrections
It is absolutely vital that Members keep their FNA Management informed about all suppliers. Are suppliers providing good prices? Are they delivering what they promise? Are they delivering when they promise?
No matter who the supplier is, always remember that FNA is the Membership, and it is committed first and foremost to maximizing farm profitability, not the interests of any supplier. Information on getting good deals is as important as getting information on bad ones. Entire programs have been dropped because Members did not show sufficient interest to justify the use of Membership money on their continuation. Suppliers have been dropped because they have failed to deliver to Members as promised. Call us: 1-877-362-3276
Make sure to call FNA with questions, issues, or suggestions for new suppliers. Stay in touch and keep communications@myfna.com on your email whitelist.
1-877-362-3276