CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Farmers Exchange is celebrating 95 years of service. The Exchange held a customer appreciation day on Friday, October 13. President and CEO Gilbert Barrett said the Exchange, founded in 1928 by farmers in and around White County, now covers 14 counties in Northeast Georgia.
“The Northeast Georgia Area really supports us very well,” Barrett said. “Of course, our focus is agriculture, but [we] have a lot of walk-in business of the lawn and garden folks, and that is a big part of our business as well.”
From remote to regional
According to its website, farmers in the once remote region of northern Georgia founded the White County Farmers Exchange because they needed a place to buy bulk goods at competitive prices.
E.J. Huff, the county extension agent at the time, guided and promoted the agricultural cooperative. The co-op did not have employees and was overseen by the extension office. Initially, the White County Farmers Exchange (WCFE) was set up to handle TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) fertilizer demonstration farms.
During the Great Depression, Huff, virtually alone, kept the organization going. He had an old truck which he loaded with potatoes from farmers in the area. Once the truck was full, Huff would take the potatoes to Atlanta, sell them, and return to give the farmers their share of sales.
In 1969, the Exchange purchased land one mile south of the city square in Cleveland and built its present store.
The Farmers Exchange diversified its offerings in the 1970s and ’80s. The cooperative added custom fertilizer and lime application services and custom spray services. They also added a hardware line.
In the ’90s, the White County Farmer Exchange built a fertilizer storage warehouse. In 1999, it became an independent Southern States dealer.
A new approach
In October 2002, the WCFE board implemented a new management approach. They hired Barrett as manager and the management team administered a new marketing and customer service plan.
Over the last nine years, sales volumes have “significantly increased,” the group says.
“The cooperative has expanded its product lines to offer one of the most complete one-stop shops for agricultural supplies in Northeast Georgia,” the WCFE website states.
In addition, the co-op has added crop consulting, soil testing, nutrient management planning assistance, customer purchasing reports, delivery service, rental equipment, and farmer educational and networking events to its line of services.
At Friday’s celebration, Barrett pledged the cooperative would continually look for better ways “to serve our members’ needs.”
