Green Plains acquires grain elevator in Missouri

In Hopkins, Missouri, US, the nation's fourth largest ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy has acquired 2 million bushels of federally-licensed grain storage.

The acquisition of the grain storage, which was previously owned by Horizon Grain and GS Grain, was completed through the company's wholly owned subsidiary Green Plains Grain Company.

The grain elevator is located approximately 45 miles from Green Plains' Shenandoah, Iowa-based ethanol production plant.

'Expanding our agribusiness operations to further diversify our revenues and cash flows remains a priority for us in 2011,' says the company's president and CEO Todd Becker. 'The close proximity to our ethanol production grain facilities in southwest Iowa makes this elevator a solid fit within our business platform.'

He continues: 'Combining this acquisition with our existing storage capacity and the announced expansion of our Tennessee grain assets, we will have 35 million bushels of grain storage capacity within our agribusiness segment by this fall's harvest.'