MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, US — Ceres Global Ag Corp.’s wholly owned subsidiary, Riverland Ag Corp., has completed the formation of a grain merchandising joint venture with Farmer’s Co-op Grain and Seed Association (FCGS). The new joint venture, which is known as Farmers Grain, LLC, includes a grain merchandising facility based in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, US.

The companies said they will begin an expansion project later this spring that will allow the facility to accommodate loading unit trains within 18 months. The facility will be serviced by Canadian Pacific, and FCGS will continue to operate its non-grain merchandising businesses independent of the operation of the joint venture.

“Completion of the joint venture with FCGS in Thief River Falls continues the meaningful progress we’ve made around our goal to add strategic origination of our core products while also expanding our geographic footprint in the upper Midwest region of the US,” said Robert Day, president and chief executive officer at Ceres. “We welcome the FCGS employees who will staff the joint venture and sincerely look forward to working with the hundreds of grower-members of FCGS and other growers in Northwest Minnesota to connect with Ceres and Riverland’s end–use customers.”

Ceres Global is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, and, together with its affiliated companies, operates 13 locations across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota. These facilities have an aggregate grain and oilseed storage capacity of approximately 30.8 million bushels.

Ceres Global has a 50% interest in Savage Riverport, LLC, a joint venture with Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., a 50% stake in Gateway Energy Terminal, a joint venture with Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp., a 25% interest in Stewart Southern Railway Inc., a short-line railway located in southeast Saskatchewan with a range of 130 kilometers, and a 17% interest in Canterra Seed Holdings Ltd, a Canada-based seed development company.

Established in 1940, FCGS provides a broad range of agricultural products and services, including grain merchandising and storage, agronomy services, seed products and trucking services. FCGS' patron base consists of over 400 growers across a three-county area.