MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. — Pipeline Foods LLC has reached an agreement to acquire a 3.4-million-bushel grain elevator in Atlantic, Iowa, U.S., from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Pipeline Foods said it plans to make capital investments in new equipment at the facility. Additionally, plans call for improvements to upgrade the elevator to test, clean, grade, dry, store and ship organic grains. Pipeline Foods said ADM will continue its conventional soybean origination at the site though segregated operations.

“This acquisition is a key component in Pipeline Foods’ mission to increase organic supply chain efficiency and transparency,” said Eric Jackson, chief executive of Pipeline Foods. “In owning and operating another facility dedicated to organic grains and oilseeds, Pipeline Foods will have a direct relationship with farmers in the region, helping to ensure identity preservation of the product and allowing us to take ownership at the farm gate, thereby increasing transparency and traceability for all stakeholders.”

Pipeline Foods, which claims to be the first U.S.-based supply chain solutions company focused exclusively on organic, non-GMO and regenerative food and feed, said the investment in the Iowa elevator is positioned to support the growing demand from protein producers for U.S.-grown organic grains. The company said Atlantic is “uniquely located in the heart of the western corn belt, at the nexus of major truck and rail routes.”

Access to the grain elevator is expected to allow Pipeline Foods’ merchandising team to originate organic grain from Iowa and the surrounding states and improve logistical efficiencies when serving customers on both coasts via the Iowa Interstate Railroad with connections to all Class I major rail lines, the company said.

“We’re pleased to be able to partner with Pipeline Foods and look forward to continuing to work with our local farmer partners to source conventional soybeans in and around the Atlantic area,” said Pete Goetzmann, regional vice-president, ADM Grain.

The Atlantic elevator will be open for operation in mid-September and will accept its first organic grain deliveries shortly thereafter. With the completion of the acquisition, Pipeline Foods will operate six organic processing facilities in the United States and Canada.