Southern States Cooperative was founded in 1923 as Virginia Seed Service (VSS) when Virginia farmers were unable to buy seed guaranteed to grow in the Commonwealth and soon expanded to include feed, agronomy inputs, energy and farm supplies. In the early 1930s, the cooperative became known as Southern States. In 2020, Southern States joined GROWMARK to leverage the advantages a broader cooperative system would bring to its members, Southern States continues to operate 84 company-owned retail locations and maintains a working relationship with locally-owned Southern States-branded cooperatives.