Brookside Agra acquires Freeburg-based Cardinal Agriculture Services
From Illinois Business Journal news services
O’FALLON, Ill. — Brookside Agra has acquired Freeburg-based Cardinal Agriculture Services and is now offering comprehensive agronomy and agricultural risk management services.
For the past 30 years, Brookside Agra has developed and manufactured all-natural specialty feed additives and products focused on animal health, agriculture and the environment.
“Brookside Agra has always been committed to finding the most cost-effective, research-proven and all-natural solutions to fit our customers’ needs,” said Chad Vaninger, Brookside Agra executive vice president and general manager. “Combined with our expertise in all-natural agricultural products, acquiring Cardinal Agriculture Services allows us to provide comprehensive solutions between farms and soil experts to create crop management programs that help growers reach the full genetic potential of their crops in a sustainable and all-natural manner.”
Brookside’s new Agronomy Division is led by Plant and Soil Nutrition Specialist Ben Elliott, former president and CEO of Cardinal Agriculture Services. Elliott has worked in the chemical formulating and research for the past 10 years and partnered with growers in 40 states and six international locations, covering more than 50 crops for commercial production. He specializes in intensive management for growers adopting new practices based on biological aspects of decision-making, data management and systems integration. He has also served as an advisor to chemical distributors, retailers and agronomists where soil microbiology is the main focus of his research and services.
Andy Rynski, former co-owner of Cardinal Agriculture Services, now heads Brookside’s new Risk Management Division. Rynski attended Rend Lake College and was an independent pork producer before he transitioned to working as a site manager for Maschoff Pork Farms. He spent 10 years as a manager for a sow unit and finisher, then spent the next three years with John Deere as a service manager where he was educated on precision-ag and equipment for a six-store dealer network. It was then that Rynski transitioned into crop and livestock insurance where he specializes in livestock operations, precision policies and risk management.
About Brookside Agra
Brookside Agra is a global fifth-generation, family-owned business based in O’Fallon that manufactures and distributes a variety of research-proven, all-natural products for specialty feeds; animal health and production; agriculture and the environment; and commercial, industrial and household use. Brookside also provides agronomy and risk management services for the agricultural industry.
