MORGAN/RENVILLE — Harvest Land Cooperative (HLC) and Co-op Country Farmers Elevator (CCFE) announced today that Farmward Cooperative will be the new name of their merged companies. The name Farmward Cooperative was approved by the Board of Directors on Aug. 8, and will take effect on their merger date, Sept. 1.

The merger of the two cooperatives was approved by the membership on April 6, 2017.

“In naming the new company, we tried to look beyond the here and now to project where we would like to be three to five years down the road,” said HLC CEO, Dave Stuk. “Through that process we looked at different ways to position ourselves in the marketplace. We felt the name Farmward spoke well to who we are, as it is our focus and goal to help our growers move their farming operation forward, into the future.”

The name Farmward was formed from two words: Farming and Forward. To help communicate the meaning and purpose behind the name, they will use the tagline: Advancing farming for generations.

“As we look to the future,” said Craig Hebrink, CCFE President & CEO, “we understand that the advancement of data and information tools, modern facilities, and cutting edge equipment presents new opportunities for our growers, while also adding a lot of pressure. We want to be here to support farmers through the challenges of new technology, while also helping them reap the benefits.”