Products and Services
Delivering member value to you
FNA's primary framework for increasing Member profitability contains five broad layers of Member Value: each of which has very practical purposes; all of which provide a vision for Members of genuinely historic changes in agriculture.
Each of these five value streams has its own dedicated and focused team of individuals using FNA's powerful and creative negotiating strategies to bring greater earnings to Members by increasing competition or creating efficiencies in the procurement and distribution of products.
The major programs layer involves very directly taking on oligopolic, "what-the-market-will-bear" pricing by working directly to engage new suppliers or by supporting the development of new products, primarily on big ticket items such as crop protection and nutrition.
FNA takes on a direct role with the supplier, creates competition and efficiency using Member commitments or expectations to negotiate specific volume pricing and quality guarantees. In addition, FNA acts as the aggressive advocate of the Member through its supplier partners, working through logistics and delivery and holding the suppliers to account for quality of product and quality of service.
So, for example, FNA searched the world to find a reliable low cost fertilizer supplier to compete with $1,000 per tonne pricing in the Canadian market. FNA has successfully put a ceiling on fertilizer prices because the industry knows FNA delivers or can deliver competitive choice. Having said that, there is much to do to lower fertilizer costs. FNA will be presenting Members with another far reaching option in the very near future.
FNA has saved farmers hundreds of millions of dollars through major programs, with hundreds of millions more on the way as our corporate development team works with or creates new suppliers.
The intermediate program layer includes items that may not be one of your top three expenses, but can quickly add up to significant value. FNA cultivates competitive supply through formal partnerships and close working relationships with intermediate program suppliers.
A good example is the new Parts Program that connects Members to market-breaking prices on thousands of parts. While the parts suppliers are not in-house, the people who manage the programs work very closely with FNA and are available at any time to FNA Member Service Representatives so they can respond to Members' needs in real time. Specific equipment programs from chemical pumps to grain bins are other examples of intermediate programs.
Preferred Suppliers are businesses that choose to be part of the farmers' business alliance, partners in the mission to improve farm profitability.
Companies give preferential pricing or other benefits to FNA Members through their regular retail or wholesale outlets across the country. In cases such as EMCO, this value layer can give Members better prices on everything from plumbing supplies to pipe, and yes, even the kitchen sink. Often just one or two purchases from Preferred Suppliers completely cover your Membership investment.
4. FNA Foods
FNA Foods is the leading edge of FNA's efforts to develop marketing and logistics alternatives, better market transparency, price discovery, and many more choices for Members, including returns, from moving up the value chain and creating more competition for Members' products. With MPower Cash Rewards, FNA Foods is already directly delivering some of the best prices to lentil growers. Pulses are only the beginning, if Members choose to work with FNA Foods to build their market power.
With greater participation, the vision is to provide marketing premiums for all growers, including one day having Members’ products on retail store shelves, allowing participants to “participate in the profits.”
5. FNA-STAG
FNA-STAG (Strategic Agriculture Institute) is an independent, federally incorporated not-for-profit organization established by FNA to pursue research and programs that support the mission of improving farm profitability, and to work with other farm organizations who share that objective and responsibility. FNA-STAG assists in managing the new FNA Farm Information Services department that will not only acquire and create market information and analysis but also provide tools and training with specialized professionals for Members to expand their technical, technological and business management capacities. FNA-STAG has also developed a practical mechanism for Members to maximize returns from Carbon Credits.
