Honoring Heritage and Advancing Together: River Valley Grain Terminal Update

By Michael Wisner, Vice President of Grain

I am excited to update you on the construction progress of our new grain facility just west of Holcomb, KS.  We have named this facility River Valley in homage to the Herb Clutter farm name as this facility was planned to go on the old River Valley Farms ground.  In the end we moved the facility across the railroad tracks just northwest for better highway access and to reduce traffic through Holcomb.

Here's what you can expect from the River Valley Grain Terminal:

• Capacity: 1.2 million bushels
• Loop Track: 1.5 miles long
• Automation: Highly automated with RFID Technology
• Efficiency: Load or unload a train in less than 8 hours (115 cars)
• Traffic Flow: Inbound and outbound scale with one-way traffic flow
• Dump Pits: Two pits, each capable of 20,000 bushels per hour

This facility is classified as a terminal because most of the grain will come from transfers from our current facilities, off farm purchases, and purchases from other grain companies.  To best capture market opportunities, grain will need to move in and out of the facility quickly.  Grain flows will be directed by market conditions. For example, we could be shipping corn in at wheat harvest and shipping wheat out during corn harvest, so direct farm harvest bushel delivery may not always be available.

Due to these factors, we are not able to offer open storage or patronage for grain handled through the River Valley Terminal, and any bushels delivered will need to be contracted before delivery.

We are excited about the additional marketing opportunities this facility will provide. We hope to complete construction over the next few months and begin marketing through the facility soon.