Once upon a time in the early 1960s at the tail end of the Baby Boom, commercial agriculture was a competitive industry adjusting to market demand and new technologies. Agway, Inc. was one of the largest agricultural cooperatives (a cooperative is an organization consisting of many small farmers that work together to strengthen their market power) in the U.S., with 85,000 members populating 12 Northeastern states.
Like most major co-ops, Agway was divided into several different operations:
- Agway Energy Products supplied heating oil and propane to both farmers and nonfarmers in the Northeast
- Agway Agricultural Products provided farm services and supplies, including fertilizer and bulk feed
- Agway Insurance Group furnished a broad line of insurance, including property, automotive, liability and health
- Agway Retail Services sold yard and garden equipment, pet food and supplies, farm-related equipment and farm products
In 1997, Agway Energy Products started providing natural gas and electricity to select residential, commercial and farm customers through a supply agreement with a subsidiary of the company now known as National Grid. By 2002, Agway started offering a free home heating equipment repair service to its natural gas customers.
Then in 2003 during bankruptcy proceedings, the bid of Suburban Propane, L.P. to acquire the assets of Agway Energy was approved. While the heating oil and propane book of business was folded into Suburban Propane headquartered in New Jersey, the natural gas and electricity business remained in Syracuse, New York and retained the Agway name.
Agway Energy Services was born, providing energy to many utility service areas in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland with the goal to add unique value to the fuels being sold and make Agway an energy one-stop shop. In 2013, Agway added repair service to electricity customers for their central A/C units and indoor wiring, which is now known as EnergyGuard™️.
While no longer operating as a co-op, the foundation of being part of a community that helps is still at the core of Agway’s existence. In addition to EnergyGuard ™, Agway looks for ways to help its customers throughout the year. They have provided free replacement batteries for smoke detectors, reusable shopping bags when the plastic bag ban went into effect in NY, emergency nightlights to use in a power loss situation and special promotions for Veteran’s, school teachers and first responders.
Steeped in the resource-dense history of American agriculture and backed by one of the largest energy marketers and distributors in the nation, for over 15 years our three priorities remain: value, quality and customer satisfaction. Learn more about us here.
