Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Agricultural cooperative GROWMARK announced on Thursday that it has acquired an ownership stake in ethanol company Big River Resources, GROWMARK said in a news release. Details about the transaction were not disclosed.

The West Burlington, Iowa,-based Big River Resources is one of the largest ethanol producers in the country, producing about 435 million gallons of ethanol annually at seven plants in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.

The transaction became official on Sept. 18, according to GROWMARK.

GROWMARK CEO Mark Orr said in a news release the company believes ethanol will continue to drive the agriculture industry with the potential to become a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel.

"Our investment in Big River Resources aligns with GROWMARK's strategic goals to diversify and strengthen our operations," he said in the release.

"This investment will enable us to capture new revenue streams and provide added value to our farmer members."

David Zimmerman, CEO of Big River Resources said the partnership with GROWMARK will help Big River in "returning value" to its member owners and farmer customers.

"We are committed to the enhancement of local communities through continuing value-added corn processing as well as maximizing the growing carbon economy for our shareholders and producer-members," Zimmerman said.

"GROWMARK will be a strong partner for us in realizing these goals."

Bloomington, Illinois,-based GROWMARK serves about 400,000 customers across North America, providing agronomy, energy, facility engineering and construction, and logistics products and services, grain marketing and risk management services.

Big River Resources grinds about 150 million bushels of U.S. corn annually and produces more than one million tons of high-protein distiller grain and 60,000 tons of corn oil.

Big River operates ethanol plants in Taylor Ridge, Illinois; Boyceville, Wisconsin; Dyersville, Iowa; Galva, Illinois; Monmouth, Illinois; and West Burlington, Iowa.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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