Ceres and CGB’s joint venture may reduce grain cost

Ceres Global Ag (Ceres) and Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB) announced an agreement to jointly own and operate a new company called Savage Riverport, LLC.

“Partnering with CGB at the Savage location is a strategic move for Ceres,” said Robert Day, president and chief executive officer of Ceres in a press release. “The formation of this company maintains critical access to river, rail and truck logistics in the upper Mississippi River region while also generating capital that we will deploy for growth in other areas of our business. By maximizing total volume from all the products each of our companies provide our customers with, we will significantly lower cost per unit handled.”

Previously owned and operated by Riverland Ag (a fully-owned and integrated subsidiary of Ceres,) the new terminal will now be owned and operated as a joint venture between the two companies and will buy, store and ship wheat, corn, soybeans, oats, rye and other products loaded on the TCWR, BNSF, UP and CP railroads, as well as receive truck grain. The facility has 9.2 million bushels of grain storage with high-speed truck and rail receiving capacity, as well as rail and barge shipping capabilities.

Steve Burbink, director of business development for CGB also state in the same release, “CGB is looking forward to continued expansion into new markets with producers, cooperatives and commercial grain elevators. We’ve successfully worked with Riverland for the past five years and that relationship has built a solid foundation for creating this business.”

Ceres operates six locations, Northgate, Saskatchewan and Port Colborne, Ontario, and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. Its wholly-owned facilities throughout North America have an aggregate grain and oilseed storage capacity of approximately 34.4 million bushels. 

Ceres also has a 25 per cent interest in a short-line railway located in southeast Saskatchewan with a range of 130 kilometers, and a 17 per cent interest in Canterra Seed Holdings Ltd, a Canadian-based seed development company.