SOURCE | Fall 2022 5 during the winters to help supplement his income . But that would prove to be short lived as he was already getting involved in agricultural leadership positions .
“ I was just out of college and asked to go on a county Farm Bureau board ,” recalls Reifsteck . “ After a couple years , I was then asked to be an interlocking board member with Illini FS . By the next year , I became the Champaign County Farm Bureau President while also splitting my time with the Illini Board of Directors . It certainly wasn ’ t a grand plan I had , but just naturally evolved over the years .”
In 1993 , Reifsteck was elected to the GROWMARK Board and has since held leadership roles including Vice- Chairman of the Board , Chairman of the Budget / Audit Committee , and then Chairman starting in August of 2013 .
Reifsteck , his father , and his son Matthew , at the Farm Progress Show .
“ Companies talk about reinventing themselves all the time , but it doesn ’ t happen very often ,” says Reifsteck . “ Yet if you look at my career over time , this System really has been reinvented . I tell people our elevator speech was short up until this century : we were an agricultural cooperative in three Midwest states . The majority of our assets in the 1990s were investments in other entities such as CF Industries , NCRA and ADM . When those companies did well financially GROWMARK did well . When they did not , we struggled . Operating income from our own operations was important but it was overshadowed by our passive investments . Over time , and for different reasons , those investments in others went away and we were able to successfully redeploy that capital in a way that has proven even more beneficial to our members . We succeeded by completely building the retail and retail grain portfolio , by investing in technology , and expanding our geographic reach . Our mission and vision remain the same but the way we do it is absolutely different . And that ’ s a testament to the hard work and smart people over the years , and the resiliency of our System .”
Reifsteck says he ’ s more confident in the FS System now than ever due to
Reifsteck in 2001
the culture of succession planning that the board and management team have developed over the last decade , which has expanded throughout the organization .
“ Succession planning is one of the most important strategies you can undertake for your company ,” says Reifsteck . “ When Mark Orr interviewed for the GROWMARK CEO position , we wanted to know what succession planning looked like for him . Executing on succession planning through
Reifsteck ’ s grandson George
all levels of the organization is critical to organizational strength and success . It ’ s not easy work by any means , but it is crucial . Long term , building talent at all levels of our System is the most important thing we can do for our farmer-owners .”
While Reifsteck may be retiring from the boardroom , he certainly isn ’ t retiring from farming or education . In fact , his grain farm in western Champaign County has been called the “ Most Studied Agricultural
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