November 21, 2013

Cargill, Concord Grain enter joint venture for grain elevator in Aberdeen

Cargill and Concord Grain Inc. have formed a 50-50 joint venture to own and operate a 110-car BNSF shuttle-loading grain elevator in Aberdeen, where Concord Grain will operate the newly built grain elevator.

The said grain elevator 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 4-6 additional employees will operate the business.

Todd Ochsner, an Aberdeen area farmer and sole owner of Concord Grain Inc., said that the joint venture 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 soy. 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," he said.

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.

In addition to the existing storage capacity, the joint venture intends to add two-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.