BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, US — Agricultural cooperative GROWMARK has invested in Big River Resources LLC, an ethanol production company in West Burlington, Iowa, US, effective Sept. 18. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Mark Orr, chief executive officer of GROWMARK, said his company believes ethanol will continue to be an agriculture industry driver with potential for new and innovative uses such as feed stock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

“Our investment in Big River Resources aligns with GROWMARK’s strategic goals to diversify and strengthen our operations,” Orr said in the Sept. 19 announcement. “This investment will enable us to capture new revenue streams and provide added value to our farmer members.”

Big River Resources is a locally owned producer of high-quality agriculture feed and energy products. With its combined annual grind of 150 million bushels of US-produced corn, the company produces 435 million gallons of fuel grade bioethanol. Additionally, from that corn, more than 1 million tons of high-protein distiller grain and 60,000 tons of corn oil is returned to the feed and products stream.

“We are pleased to welcome GROWMARK to the Big River team as a new investor,” said David Zimmerman, CEO of Big River Resources. “GROWMARK’s cooperative nature and focus of returning value to its member-owners and farmer customers aligns strongly with our goals. 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. GROWMARK will be a strong partner for us in realizing these goals.” 

Based in Bloomington, Illinois, US, GROWMARK serves almost 400,000 customers across North America, providing agronomy, energy, facility engineering and construction, and logistics products and services, as well as grain marketing and risk management services.

In addition to being the sixth largest ethanol producer in the United States, Big River’s operational footprint in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa aligns with the GROWMARK System, the cooperative said, providing greater access to the upstream value added to the corn produced by GROWMARK’s farmer customers.