Gold-Eagle Cooperative
Goldfield, Iowa
Gold-Eagle Cooperative is a founding member of ACWA. The cooperative was formed in 1908 as Farmers Elevator Company of Goldfield, and in 1983, Farmers Elevator merged with Farmers Cooperative Company of Eagle Grove to become Gold-Eagle Cooperative. Since then, they have expanded to include 16 locations in central Iowa. The company serves farmers in Wright, Humboldt, Kossuth and Hancock counties in the heart of the Boone River watershed.
Leaders at Gold-Eagle joined ACWA as they felt that it was important to monitor the waters considered to be highly polluted from agriculture. The ACWA water monitoring program, which began in 2000, established baseline data in the Des Moines, Raccoon, and Boone river watersheds and ACWA continues to monitor these rivers and their tributaries to keep track of nutrient levels.
In addition to serving farmers’ needs for feed, fuel, agronomy and grain, Gold-Eagle Cooperative also helps their customers with conservation practices. The coop is a cover crop seed retailer, selling seed for crop acres as well as blends for waterways, headlands, and CRP land. Gold-Eagle employees encourage their customers to follow the ACWA Code of Practice for fall anhydrous application and to use nitrogen stabilizers, as well as adopting the 4R Plus nutrient strategy. The cooperative is mindful that certain farming practices can affect water quality and make a difference in the amount of nutrients leaving farm fields. Excess nutrients leaving the land and entering rivers and streams is not sustainable for a farmer’s bottom line nor the health of the water body.
The staff at Gold-Eagle know and follow label laws for ag chemical programs and understand the consequences when those laws are not followed. Their agronomists are trusted experts in applying profitable and sustainable solutions for their customers. Gold-Eagle Cooperative has been a leader in environmental stewardship for decades and will continue to serve the farmer as well as support ACWA in these conservation efforts.