James Dell

COTTAGE GROVE, WISCONSIN, U.S. — James Dell has been named chief executive officer of Landmark Services Cooperative (LSC), effective March 5. He will succeed Larry Swalheim, who has been serving as interim CEO and president since October 2017.

“After an extensive CEO search and interview process, the board is pleased to have found the best individual to assume the leadership of our cooperative,” said John Blaska, chairman of LSC. “The board and I are delighted that Jim will lead Landmark into its next stage of growth.”

Dell grew up on a 500-head cow-calf operation in Conde, South Dakota, U.S., cultivating 3,200 acres of row crops and small grains. After graduating from Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota, U.S., with a degree in agricultural business, he began his career at Harvest States, moving on to regionally owned locations of Land O’Lakes. He later spent 19 years with Central Valley Cooperative, focusing primarily on the cooperative’s grain and feed business. He later joined Cooperative Producers Inc. in Hastings, Nebraska, U.S., as vice-president of grain, managing 82 million bushels of grain storage. He also led the transportation division, which consisted of a 55-vehicle fleet.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to lead this exceptional cooperative that understands the strength of technology, innovation and the ever-changing agricultural environment,” Dell said. “I look forward to working with the board of directors to develop a strong, clear vision that will help the organization be mutually successful with its member-owners. I understand that, as our patrons grow, we need to grow as a cooperative to meet their future needs.”

Landmark Services Cooperative is a member-owned cooperative business providing agronomy, animal nutrition, grain and energy and retail products and services to more than 15,000 members in communities throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.