The Gloucester Service of Southern States Co-operative, Inc., has announced its sales volume for the past year was up.

Gloucester store manager Desmond Owens reported sales volume of $9,903,535 for the 12 months ending June 30, 2012, up $460,516 over the previous year. The annual meeting was held on Oct. 14 at the farm of Richard “Bubba” and Angela Leigh on New Quarter Farm Lane in Gloucester.

Owens said that the local sales volume was paced by agricultural supplies, which he described as its core business. In some other areas, Southern States has a large petroleum business, but that is not offered here.

Besides in-store sales of many types of farm, lawn, garden and home items, Owens said, the local store delivers fertilizer and lime to customers’ fields, as well as crop protection including fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

At the meeting, attended by about 100 people, Owens said that district manager Lloyd Van Sickle spoke about overall Southern States operations during this tight economy.

Also, Clem Horsley of Hayes, and Charles Rich of Saluda, were elected to the local Southern States advisory board, while retiring board members Robert Bland of West Point, and Wayne Bray of Urbanna, were thanked for their service.

The local board elected Gregory Jenkins of Bena, as its new chairman and Keith Horsley of Hayes, as vice chairman.

“The annual meeting is the best single opportunity to outline our plans for the future to our membership and discuss our progress in meeting our financial goals,” Owens said.

Founded in 1923, Southern States now has more than 300,000 farmer-members, a corporate release said. As one of the nation’s largest agricultural cooperatives, the Richmond, Va.-based firm provides a wide range of products, including fertilizer, seed, livestock feed, pet food, animal health supplies, and petroleum products, through 1,200 retail outlets.