History

New Horizons Supply Cooperative was formed in 1990 as a result of a merger between Fennimore Cooperative Oil Company of Fennimore, Grant Crawford Cooperative Oil Co. of Patch Grove, and Platte River Farmers Cooperative of Platteville. Both the Fennimore and Patch Grove cooperatives had been organized in 1931. The Platteville cooperative started in 1969. The new cooperative was formed to take advantage of the operating efficiencies a larger company would have and to obtain better pricing from wholesalers. All facilities that were owned by the old companies were kept operational; general offices were located in Fennimore. Other facilities were located at Fennimore, Boscobel, Blue River, Patch Grove, Prairie du Chien (Bridgeport), and Platteville.

Although route sales of refined fuels and propane accounted for the largest share of sales, the newly formed company also sold feed, fertilizer, seed, farm chemicals, tires, hardware, and milking equipment. In addition, the co-op operated a plumbing and heating department, convenience stores, and service stations.

Shortly after the merger, the cooperative purchased the feed and agronomy business of the Fennimore Roller Mills at Fennimore and Bloomington. A Boscobel fuel dealer was purchased in the summer of 1992.

Late in 1992, the Bloomington store was sold to a private feed dealer because the much larger Patch Grove facility was less than five miles away. In March of 1993 much of the agronomy business was sold to CENEX/Land 0' Lakes which had been the cooperative's major fertilizer supplier. They purchased the Patch Grove dry fertilizer plant and the Fennimore liquid fertilizer plant. Ownership of all fertilizer rolling stock and inventory was also transferred. The dry fertilizer plant at rural Platteville continued to be owned by the co-op but, was leased to CENEX/LOL. New Horizons Supply Co-op remained involved in the agronomy business by becoming a billing agent for sales made by the CENEX/Land 0' Lakes Agronomy Centers.

The bulk route of a Wauzeka fuel company was purchased in March 1995.

In November of 1995, G-C Farmers Cooperative of Gays Mills merged its operations into those of New Horizons. The merger with G-C Farmers reintroduced the co-op to retail agronomy sales. Petroleum and service station departments at Gays Mills were similar to those at other New Horizons locations.

CENEX/Land O'Lakes purchased a private agronomy dealer in Boscobel in 1996. Sales from that facility were also billed by New Horizons Co-op.

In 1999, operations of the Gays Mills agronomy department were transferred to CENEX/Land O'Lakes.

In early 2000, the plumbing and heating department was discontinued, as were operations at the Fennimore feed mill. Cenex/Land O' Lakes Agronomy (newly named "Agriliance") ceased operating the Platteville fertilizer plant. A nearly new bulk petroleum facility near Bloomington was purchased from a former competitor in March 2000 by Southwest Energy, LLC, a partnership formed for that purpose by New Horizons and Peoples' Community Oil Co-op of Lancaster. New Horizons also purchased propane operations from that competitor in northern Grant County, Crawford County and Vernon County. The Bridgeport convenience store was sold to a private operator in August 2000.