ZEELAND — Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. has been named the 2023 Michigan Ag Exporter of the Year, making the company the first to win the award a second time.
The award, presented by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, recognizes the company’s commitment to building and maintaining global trade relationships and its contributions to the state’s agricultural sector.
ZFS also won the award in 2009, the first year it was handed out.
"Being named the 2023 Michigan Ag Exporter of the Year is a tremendous honor for our entire team at Zeeland Farm Services," said Cliff Meeuwsen of ZFS. "Nothing happens without a lot of people making it happen as a team. If it wasn’t for everyone involved, we wouldn’t have the success that (we've) had.”
ZFS began exporting soybean meal to Japan in 1999 and has since played a large role in promoting the state’s agricultural products worldwide.
The company has been family-owned in Zeeland since its start in 1950. It was Michigan's first soy processor and vegetable oil refiner, and also does business in grain storage and merchandising, feed ingredients and seed.
While the company has multiple offerings, their primary export is non-GMO soybean meal, which largely comes from Michigan-grown soybeans. The majority of their exports are shipped to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, along with Canada, Europe and South and Central America.
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“It’s rewarding to work with people around the world, from different cultures, to help meet their needs with products made right here in Michigan and the USA,” Meeuwsen said.
The company has several other affiliates in the soy processing, transportation, grain processing, and convenience store and fuel station industries and collectively employs about 600 people.
— Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland Farm Services again named Michigan Ag Exporter of the Year