Big Horn Co-op shareholders elect Horton to join board

Big Horn Cooperative Marketing Association will enter 2026 with a new board member as a result of its annual shareholder meeting held Nov. 19 at the Greybull Elks Lodge.

Garrett Horton of Otto was elected to replace Chris Bullinger of Burlington while Luke Foss of Basin and Brett Stutzman of Powell were both re-elected to new terms.

They join holdovers Peter Kukowski of Powell, Tyler Foxworthy of Riverton, Jimmy Seckman of Powell, Tim Flitner of Greybull and Angie Wambeke of Deaver.

Kukowski, the chairman, wasted no time, telling the approximately 40 shareholders in attendance that the co-operative was “not in a position to return to equity retirement that we came from.

“I know a lot of you came today because you have a state in this cooperative that was built up over generations.  It didn’t just fall out of the sky. You are patrons whose fathers, grandfathers and so on started it. Nobody up here has forgotten that.”

An the co-op’s financial statements for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025 showed incremental improvement compared to the audit that was done for FY 2024 .

“Two years ago, there were over 40 audit adjustments, but this last year, there were only two and they were minor,” said Mike Misheski, with Widmer Roel CPAs. He issued an unqualified or clean opinion, which is the most positive outcome.

The co-op’s balance sheet showed a net cash position of $1.2 million, a slight improvement from FY 2024.  

Total assets were $42.6 million, down from $47.8 million in FY24.

On the liabilities side, the co-op paid down long-term debt, from $10.5 million to $6.6 million.

Total liabilities were set at $23 million.

Patron equity figures were mostly unchanged, with preferred stock, common stock, local patronage, regional patronage and allocated reserve totaling approximately $19 million, just as they did at the end of FY 24.  The only change was in the unallocated capital reserve which dropped to $552,000 from $1.7 million, with the difference being used to cover losses.

The co-op cut operational expenses to $10.7 million, compared to $16.6 million for FY 24. And while the net loss was $1.2 million, it was an improvement from the $3.9 million loss reflected at the end of FY 24.

The statement of cash flows showed a sizeable increase in proceeds from the disposal of property, plant and equipment — $2 million from approximately $70,000.

In the agronomy report, Christian Asay said the co-op should benefit from the lifting of tariffs. “We’re excited about that,” he said. “It’ll give us purchasing power to buy cheaper product.

“One product we’re excited about is phosphorus; with the tariff removed, we should see a decrease in cost.”

Neal Murphy provided highlights from an energy standpoint, telling shareholders that the co-op has done a better job getting the best fuel prices from vendors, which led to more competitive prices at the pump.  Before the change, the co-op tried to sell fuel at higher margins, which he likened to “shooting ourselves in the foot” because its customers just turned to its competitors to meet their needs.

Murphy said the co-op has refocused on customer retention, particular on the bulk fuel side, but acknowledged that it will take some time.  “It’s a long term, committed strategy,” he said. “Actions speak louder than words ... the best way to do it is by consistent service and on-time deliveries.”

Jim Gauker, the CFO and CEO, offered the final words before the election of officers. He spoke of the difficult road that everyone has travelled.  The closure of the retail stores resulted in a loss of 25 to 30% of the co-op’s business. In turn, the co-op cut its workforce from 23 a year ago to eight, losing many quality employees along the way.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team members,” Gauker said. “They were willing to help in any way they could so we could turn this thing around.”

He later added, “We’re very confident we’ve got the cost structure now to break even or make money with our current level of business.”