Lansing Trade Group Expands Idaho Grain Operations
Kansas-based commodity trader, Lansing Trade Group, has expanded its operations opening a new 2 million-bushel facility in American Falls, Idaho, and is also updating its 1.4 million-bushel grain facility in Lincoln that had previously been leased by Thresher Artisan Wheat.
The new American Falls facility will provide Eastern Idaho wheat farmers with a new option for selling their grain, and will increase unloading ability in the region where capacity has not kept pace with improving yields and more advanced harvesting equipment.
“There was a huge need for additional capacity and competition in this area,” said Jim Rooney, merchandizer for the Lansing facility. “Growers will certainly see the benefit of having additional competition in the area from both the price and the service level.”
Competition is indeed building within the grain sector in the region – The Scoular Co. recently opened its new 10-acre grain handling site on the Union Pacific line in Aberdeen, and Thresher is currently completing improvements to its five facilities in Eastern Idaho, including its new 1.5 million-bushel dump facility in American Falls, which has a 40,000 bushel-per-hour unloading capacity.
The Lansing Trade Group facility will accept soft white and hard white wheat, but will also be accepting all other classes of wheat grown in the region -an ability made possible by a handling agreement with Driscoll Brothers Farms, where Lansing will segregate and store additional classes, and from where the group can ship to end users.