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Golden Valley, Inc. is a farmer-owned grain and supply cooperative formed December 1, 2001 through the consolidation of Golden Plains Cooperative of Rozel and Sanford, Farmers Coop Grain and Supply of Burdett, and Tri-Ag Coop of Sanford.
Located in Pawnee County, Kansas, Golden Valley handles wheat, corn, milo, and soybeans across three locations with about 5.2 million bushels of grain storage. Their crop production team in Sanford supports farmers with a full range of agronomy services, including fertilizer and chemical sales, custom application, soil testing, blending, and NH3.
Like most co-ops, harvest puts pressure on the office. Farmers call in to check moisture, ticket details, or grain balances—often throughout the day.
“We always get a lot of phone calls, especially during wheat harvest,” said Katie Hammeke, Office Manager. “Is it dry? What’s the moisture? What are my tickets showing?”
Golden Valley needed a way to give farmers answers faster—without adding more calls to an already busy team.
With Bushel’s Customer Portal, website, and payments, farmers can see tickets, moisture levels, and balances in real time.
“They absolutely love the Bushel app,” Katie said. “They like being able to see their tickets come through while they’re in the field.”
That visibility changes how the team works. Farmers don’t wait until the end of the week—or after dozens of tickets—to fix an issue.
“They’ll call right away and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t the right field,’ and we can fix it immediately,” Katie said.
Golden Valley also uses Bushel to keep communication moving without adding more work.
Golden Valley sees steady use of Bushel Payments—especially among farmers who want more flexibility in how money moves.
Some use it to split payments across multiple bank accounts.
“We have several that like it because they have multiple accounts,” Katie said. “They like being able to decide where the money goes.”
Others use it to manage timing. Many farmers move money quickly to cover expenses, but some take a different approach—using the Bushel Business Account to hold funds and earn interest before paying bills.
“I have one that keeps the money in Bushel, takes the interest, and then pays us,” Katie said.
That flexibility gives farmers options. They can move funds right away—or let them sit and work for them. For Golden Valley, it also improves how payments come back into the business.
“It’s faster payment for us also,” Katie said.
During harvest, timing matters. When something changes at the elevator, the team sends a notification instead of making a long list of calls.
“If we have an issue at an elevator, that notification system is huge,” Katie said. “It’s a lot faster than trying to call everyone.”
They also use notifications beyond grain. The team shares fertilizer pricing and fuel updates directly with farmers.
“We send out fertilizer prices and fuel updates so farmers can see when markets are moving,” Katie said. “It helps them decide when to lock things in.”
Mail delays created real friction for Golden Valley. Documents took days to arrive—and longer to return.
“We’ve sent statements on the second, and people didn’t get them until the tenth,” Katie said.
eSign removes that delay and reduces the risk of missing paperwork.
“It’s more about the time—and actually getting them back,” she said.
Golden Valley sees the biggest impact where it matters most—time, communication, and farmer experience.
Farmers track grain, pricing, and invoices in one place, which helps them act sooner. “They love being able to look at their tickets and grain balances,” Katie said.
