Effective Date: July 15, 2026
Last Updated: July 28, 2026
Version: 1.1
Cooperative Farmers Elevator (“CFE,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) respects the privacy of our customers, patrons, website visitors, vendors, and business contacts. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and safeguard information through our website at www.coopfe.com, our business operations, customer communications, and SMS/text messaging programs.
CFE is an agriculture retail cooperative serving customers with our locations in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. We do not sell customer information, rent customer lists, resell customer data, or use customer information to build behavioral profiles for sale to third parties.
1. Scope of This Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through CFE’s website, customer communications, business interactions, SMS/text messaging programs, and related services. It also describes how information may be handled by service providers that support CFE’s website, communications, analytics, hosting, security, and operational systems.
This Policy does not apply to third-party websites, product platforms, portals, or services that are linked from CFE’s website but are not owned or controlled by CFE. Those third-party websites and services are governed by their own privacy policies and terms.
2. Information We Collect
We may collect the following categories of information depending on how you interact with CFE:
- Contact information, such as name, mailing address, email address, phone number, and mobile phone number.
- Customer and account information, such as customer number, account details, transaction history, delivery information, and service preferences.
- Agricultural business and transaction information, such as scale ticket information, delivery records, purchase records, product/service records, and other information needed to provide cooperative services.
- Communications information, such as inquiries submitted through website forms, emails, phone calls, SMS/text messages, customer service requests, or other communications with CFE.
- Website and technical information, such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, time spent on pages, general location derived from IP address, website search terms, and other interaction data.
- SMS program information, such as mobile phone number, SMS opt-in status, opt-out status, consent records, message delivery status, HELP/STOP responses, and message-related metadata.
We collect only information that is reasonably necessary to operate our business, provide services, communicate with customers, maintain security, improve website performance, and comply with legal or regulatory obligations.
3. Sources of Information
We may collect information directly from you when you visit our website, submit forms, communicate with CFE, opt in to SMS/text messages, conduct business with us, or otherwise provide information to us. We may also collect information through routine website technologies and from vendors or service providers that support our website, communications, hosting, analytics, security, and business operations.
4. How We Use Information
CFE may use information regarding your website use and information you provide to us for lawful business, operational, security, compliance, customer service, and other purposes described in this Privacy Policy. We may use information for the following business and operational purposes:
- To provide, support, and improve CFE’s services and business operations.
- To process transactions, maintain customer accounts, and administer cooperative services.
- To communicate with customers regarding accounts, transactions, scale tickets, delivery updates, operational notices, service issues, and customer support.
- To respond to inquiries and requests submitted through our website or other communication channels.
- To operate, maintain, troubleshoot, secure, and improve our website and related systems.
- To analyze website usage and improve user experience, performance, and reliability.
- To maintain records, manage compliance, prevent fraud, protect security, and enforce rights.
- To comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, tax, audit, insurance, and business obligations.
CFE does not use customer information to sell personal information, rent customer lists, or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
5. Cookies, Analytics, and Website Technologies
CFE uses cookies, analytics tools, server logs, and related website technologies to operate and secure the website, understand usage, troubleshoot issues, and improve performance.
These technologies may collect technical and usage information such as IP address, browser type, device details, pages viewed, time spent on the site, referring URLs, and search terms entered on our website.
CFE uses this information for operational, security, and performance purposes. CFE does not use website technology data for targeted advertising, cross-context behavioral advertising, or the sale of personal information, and does not use it to build behavioral profiles for those purposes.
Website technologies may be configured, implemented, or managed by third-party providers acting on CFE’s behalf. CFE expects such providers to support website operations in a manner reasonably consistent with CFE’s business purposes, contractual requirements, and applicable law. Where applicable law requires recognition of browser-based privacy signals, CFE will address those requirements through its website practices, service provider arrangements, or other compliance measures.
6. Third-Party Service Providers
CFE may disclose information collected from you to vendors, contractors, and service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as website hosting, analytics, security, software support, customer communications, email delivery, SMS delivery, telecommunications, payment or business systems support, and other operational services.
These providers are authorized to use information only as necessary to provide services to CFE, maintain security, comply with legal obligations, or as otherwise permitted by applicable law and contract. CFE does not authorize service providers to sell customer information or use customer information for their own unrelated marketing purposes.
Where third-party tools process technical website information on CFE’s behalf, CFE expects such tools and providers to support website operations in a manner reasonably consistent with CFE’s business purposes, contractual requirements, and applicable law. CFE does not authorize third-party tools or providers to use website visitor data for independent marketing, advertising, or profiling purposes unrelated to CFE’s operations.
7. Links to Third-Party Websites and Product Sites
Our website may include links to third-party websites, customer portals, product platforms, partner sites, vendor sites, embedded content, maps, forms, or other online services that are not owned or controlled by CFE. If you click a third-party link or interact with a third-party platform, the information you provide or that is collected by that third party is governed by that third party’s privacy policy and terms, not this Privacy Policy.
CFE is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content, or terms of third-party websites or services. CFE does not use linked third-party product sites to resell customer information or build behavioral profiles of customers across unrelated websites.
8. No Sale or Cross-Context Behavioral Advertising
CFE does not sell personal information. CFE does not rent, resell, or disclose customer lists to third parties for their independent marketing purposes. CFE does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
If CFE’s practices materially change in the future, CFE will update this Privacy Policy and provide any notices or choices required by applicable law.
9. SMS/Text Messaging Communications
CFE may offer SMS/text messaging for customers who opt in. Messages may include scale ticket notifications, business hours updates, account alerts, operational notices, and customer service communications.
CFE uses mobile phone numbers, SMS opt-in information, consent records, delivery status, and related message metadata only as reasonably necessary to deliver, support, secure, and administer SMS/text messaging. Consent to receive SMS/text messages is not a condition of purchase or doing business with CFE.
CFE does not share mobile phone numbers, SMS opt-in data, SMS consent records, or text messaging originator data with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes. Message frequency varies based on customer, account, transaction, delivery, and business activity. Message and data rates may apply. You may reply STOP to any CFE text message to opt out at any time, or reply HELP for help. Full program terms are available in CFE’s separate SMS Terms of Use at: https://www.coopfe.com/sms-terms/
10. Data Security
CFE uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, use, or loss. However, no website, system, transmission, or storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Information submitted to CFE through the website or electronic communications is transmitted at the user’s own risk, and CFE cannot guarantee that information will not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed due to a breach or circumvention of safeguards or security measures.
11. Data Retention
CFE retains information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, provide services, maintain business records, comply with legal, tax, accounting, audit, regulatory, insurance, and operational requirements, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.
Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information, the purpose for which it was collected, legal requirements, and CFE’s legitimate business needs.
12. Your Privacy Choices and Rights
Depending on your state of residence and to the extent applicable to CFE under state law, you may have certain rights to request confirmation of whether we process your personal information, access your personal information, correct inaccuracies, delete personal information, obtain a portable copy of certain personal information, opt out of certain processing activities, or appeal the denial of a privacy request. The availability of these rights varies by state law.
To submit a privacy request, contact CFE at privacy@coopfe.com and include “Privacy Request” in the subject line. CFE may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. Certain information may be exempt from deletion or correction when retention is required or permitted for business, legal, regulatory, accounting, security, or dispute-resolution purposes.
Iowa Residents
To the extent applicable to CFE under Iowa law, the Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act (ICDPA), effective January 1, 2025, provides certain rights to Iowa consumers, including the right to confirm whether CFE is processing personal data, access personal data, delete personal data provided by the consumer, obtain a portable copy of personal data provided by the consumer, and opt out of the sale of personal data and targeted advertising. The ICDPA does not provide a right to correct inaccurate personal data or a separate opt-out right for profiling. CFE does not sell personal data and does not use personal data for targeted advertising. To exercise rights under the ICDPA or to submit a privacy request, contact CFE at privacy@coopfe.com.
Minnesota Residents
To the extent applicable to CFE under Minnesota law, the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act (MCDPA), effective July 31, 2025, provides Minnesota consumers certain rights, including the right to confirm whether CFE is processing personal data, access personal data, correct inaccuracies, delete personal data, obtain a portable copy of personal data, opt out of the sale of personal data, targeted advertising, and certain profiling, and appeal a denial of a privacy request. Minnesota law also provides consumers with the right to question the results of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal effects or similarly significant effects. CFE does not sell personal data and does not use personal data for targeted advertising or profiling. To exercise rights under the MCDPA or to submit a privacy request, contact CFE at privacy@coopfe.com.
South Dakota Residents
South Dakota does not currently have a comprehensive consumer data privacy law. CFE will update this Privacy Policy if South Dakota enacts such a law in the future.
If you reside in a state that provides privacy rights not specifically described in this Policy, you may contact CFE at privacy@coopfe.com, and CFE will respond in accordance with applicable law.
13. Updates to This Privacy Policy
CFE may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or business operations. The “Last Updated” date above indicates when this Policy was last revised. Changes are effective when posted unless otherwise stated.
14. Contact Information
For questions about this Privacy Policy or CFE’s data practices, contact:
Cooperative Farmers Elevator
Email: privacy@coopfe.com
Website: www.coopfe.com
Mailing Address:
920 Main Street
Ocheyedan, IA 51354
