Co-Alliance and Farmers Grain recently signed a letter of intent for a joint venture to build a state-of-the-art feed mill at the Farmers Grain facility in Columbia City, Indiana.
The joint venture will allow Co-Alliance to expand its pork presence in the area and will give Farmers Grain the opportunity to vertically integrate its grain into feed production. The new feed mill operation will combine the swine and animal nutrition expertise of Co-Alliance and the local grain storage and marketing capabilities of Farmers Grain to create new opportunities for area producers.
“Regionally manufactured feed supports farmers on two levels: it gives grain farmers another market for their crop and gives livestock farmers a consistent, quality, and local source for their feed,” said Kevin Still, CEO of Co-Alliance. “We’re looking forward to working with the Shively family and Farmers Grain on this exciting new venture which we believe will help farming families in the community for generations.”
Terry Shively, president of Farmers Grain, sees the venture as a natural next step for his multigenerational business. “Our family history is rooted in agriculture. We are excited to diversify to our grain operations by producing livestock feed for our local farmers from the grain they store at our facility.”
“We’re seeking to emulate the success of our mill at Reynolds,” said Co-Alliance vice president of swine and animal nutrition, Dewey Bucher. “This new addition strategically locates our modern feed facilities across Northern Indiana, allowing for more partnering opportunities with growers and processors.”