Art Duerksen, Farmway Co-op CEO, will begin with Farmway on February 4th. He was in Beloit, Friday, January 4, to visit with Farmway staff and location managers.

New CEO hired
for Farmway Co-op, Inc.

The Farmway Co-op Board of Directors has announced the hiring of a new CEO for the Cooperative.

Art Duerksen, currently CEO of Skyland Grain, LLC, Johnson, KS, will begin with Farmway Co-op the first of February.

Duerksen has been with Skyland Grain since May 2005. He moved to Johnson from Mitchell, South Dakota where he managed and was involved with the merger of several cooperatives. Prior to that, he managed two cooperatives in Minnesota for 19 years.

“Farmway Co-op has an excellent reputation in the state of Kansas and surrounding areas,” Duerksen said. “The organization is thought of very highly as is the staff and employees.

“I am looking forward to working for a company so involved with many different entities such as NorKan and AgMark,” he said. “Farmway Co-op is a progressive company and does an excellent job of marketing grain and supplying its customers with products and services they need to be successful.”

Farmway’s Board of Directors began their search for a new CEO several months ago with the resignation of Bob Fifield.

“I was very impressed with the 12 individual Board members I had the opportunity to interview with,” Duerksen said.  “Farmway Co-op has some class individuals on the Board.”

“I can also say I’m looking forward to moving back to an area that reminds me of the topography I grew up in with trees and hills,” he said.

Art and wife Pat have two married children.
Their son and his family live in Chandler, AZ, He is an independent contractor and they have a three-year-old son. Their daughter and her family live in Queen Creek, AZ. She is in the health care profession and they have two sons ages 13 and 9.

According to Allen Eilert, Beloit, Farmway Co-op Board Chairman, there were several well-qualified candidates.
“It took a lot of thought to select the very best one,” Eilert said. “Art has experience in dealing with cooperatives and multi-national companies which was very important to us.

“His integrity, business management skills, and balance sheet management impressed us immensely,” he said. “When you meet him I think you will find his character and demeanor to be an excellent fit for the employees and members of this cooperative.

“We look forward to getting him on board in February to continue bringing value to our members through our core businesses and exploring the opportunities of the future that will meet our producer’s changing needs,” Eilert said.