Cargill and Concord Grain Inc. have formed a 50-50 joint venture to own and operate a 110-car BNSF shuttle-loading grain elevator near Aberdeen, S.D.

Under the joint venture, Concord Grain, LLC will operate the newly built grain elevator that has 2.5 million bushels of storage space, an unload capacity of 60,000 bushels an hour, and load out capability of 80,000 bushels an hour. 

Jeff Handevidt, a 40-year veteran of Cargill's grain business, will join Concord Grain, LLC as the general manager, and Myron Jepson, another industry veteran, will be the grain merchandising manager. Along with Jeff and Myron, a team of four to six additional employees will operate the business.

Cargill, Concord Grain Announce Joint Venture In Aberdeen

Todd Ochsner, an Aberdeen area farmer and sole owner of Concord Grain, Inc., said in a statement announcing the joint venture, that the elevator will be a good market for area crop producers. 

"In recent years the area has seen large increases in production driven by increasing productivity along with acreage shifts to corn and soybeans," he said.  "The Aberdeen facility is in a strategic location to support growing export demand through the Pacific Northwest.  By teaming up with Cargill, we'll have the benefits of local ownership and the global perspective and expertise that Cargill brings"

Dennis Inman, a regional manager for Cargill's grain business, said Cargill has about a half dozen joint ventures, primarily with farmer owned cooperatives, with this being the first with an individual producer.  "Cargill has been working with Todd for many years, even before he started building the elevator," Inman said.  "Todd has had a great vision for serving the area grain producers as he developed and built the facility. We're excited to team with him to deliver on that vision"

Inman added, "Given the strong crop production in the area and strong demand from the Pacific Northwest, we are looking forward to working with this new venture."

In addition to the existing storage capacity, the joint venture intends to add 2-million bushels of temporary storage space. Through a licensing agreement the joint venture will also offer Cargill grain marketing and risk management solutions, Inman said.

Source: Cargill