Who Are the Core Customers in CHS Company's Target Market?

The main customer group is individual agricultural producers and farm cooperatives and members – about 600,000 farmers plus 900 cooperatives – who drive sales of fertilizers, seed, crop inputs, and farm energy under CHS company target customers and CHS core customers.

Secondary segments include commercial energy retailers and industrial manufacturers buying renewable fuels and refined petroleum products under the Cenex network, plus agribusiness partners such as commercial food processors and grain marketing customers of CHS cooperative.

CHS serves a mixed customer base: primarily business-to-business (farmers, cooperatives, food processors, grain importers) with consumer-facing energy retail through Cenex; this hybrid model supports broad CHS target market coverage for crop inputs and supplies and CHS fuel and energy customers for rural businesses.

By scale and strategic relevance, the cooperative and farmer segment is most important – crop inputs, grain origination, and energy sales to that base generate the bulk of margins and volume; CHS's grain origination network supplies global food manufacturers and importers, supporting merchandising revenue streams. Read more on Ownership and Control of CHS Company Ownership and Control of CHS Company.

CHS company target customers cluster among agricultural producers, farm cooperatives and members in North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, driving the bulk of grain marketing customers of CHS cooperative and crop inputs and supplies demand due to dense elevator and agronomy networks.

Export channels through the Pacific Northwest and Gulf Coast show the fastest growth, supporting CHS core customers in grain marketing and fertilizer export; volumes to Asia-Pacific rose sharply in 2024 – 2025 as global feed and biofuel demand expanded.

CHS is strongest in reach and revenue mix where its cooperative membership model and fuel terminals serve rural businesses – CHS fuel and energy customers for rural businesses and livestock and dairy producers rely on integrated supply, logistics and local delivery for energy security.

Renewable fuels (sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel) are the fastest-growing product lines in 2025 as federal mandates accelerate capacity investments; refined products still see robust pull from rural commercial sectors prioritizing reliable delivery and energy security.

CHS company target customers broaden via fertilizer network expansion and grain infrastructure that attracts larger commercial food processors and agricultural retailers; fleet and fuel services pull in rural businesses and livestock and dairy producers. The 2025 rollout of enhanced digital agronomy platforms also draws precision-agriculture users seeking yield and pricing transparency. See Growth Outlook of CHS Company for more context: Growth Outlook of CHS Company

Retention rises from integrated service bundles: seed, fertilizer, fuel, grain marketing, and real-time agronomy. High-speed grain shuttle loaders cut turnaround times, raising grain marketing customers' satisfaction; expanded fertilizer distribution increases repeat purchases from CHS fertilizer and seed buyers. Digital tools improved customer stickiness in 2025 by delivering real-time yield and market-pricing data.

CHS core customers – farm cooperatives and members, agricultural producers, and agribusiness partners – see ecosystem value through bundled purchasing and loyalty from contract supply and feed programs. Repeat demand is driven by seasonal crop input cycles; member services and margin incentives deepen relationships with long-tail customers, including livestock and dairy producers and commercial processors.

The primary growth lever is combined asset optimization and digital integration: faster grain handling and broader fertilizer distribution plus digital agronomy. Financially, management targets a net income margin of 2 to 3 percent in 2026 while pivoting toward domestic renewable energy production, which provides higher-margin exposure versus commodity cycles and supports stable audience growth across CHS target market segments.