October 23, 2003

Cargill To Acquire Ferndale Grain Feed Plant in Granger

Ferndale Grain feed plant in Granger is now under new ownership, but operations should remain unchanged.

Minnesota-based Cargill Animal Nutrition announced on October 21 it has finalized the acquisition of the Granger plant, said Roger Eytzen, general manager of Ferndale Grain.

Ferndale Grain had been previously owned by J.D. Heiskell & Co., a Tulare, Calif., firm that purchased the feed plant three years ago.

The Granger plant employs 21 workers. No layoffs are expected and management should remain the same, said Mark Klein, spokesman for Cargill Animal Nutrition.

"It will be business as usual," he said. "It's a good business to begin with, so there's really not the need to make major changes."

Klein said services now offered by Cargill would soon be offered at the Granger plant. These services include determining daily allowance of amino acids for cows and preservation treatments for feed.

The Minnesota-based firm also bought the Ferndale Grain facility in Ferndale, Wash., Klein said. However, terms of the sale were not disclosed.