LEAWOOD, KANSAS, U.S. — Agspring announced on March 16 that it has acquired Moreland Grain and Seed, and it will merge those operations with Thresher Artisan Wheat. Thresher Artisan Wheat is a milling-quality grain storage and merchandising subsidiary of Agspring with facilities throughout Southeastern Idaho.

Moreland Grain and Seed operations, including grain handling, storage, merchandising and seed sales will be integrated into the Thresher operations. President Ray Carlson will continue to participate in the business as an adviser and most Moreland employees will be retained.

“Joining the Agspring network as part of Thresher Artisan Wheat is the right move for everyone involved,” said Carlson. “We’ve built great relationships with our growers since 1997 and we knew Agspring was prepared to build on that legacy benefiting our community for the long term.”

“Adding Moreland Grain and Seed to our network makes sense to provide continuity and increased scale for our growers, partners and customers,” said Don Wille, chief executive officer of Thresher Artisan Wheat. “Growers can stand confident in our reliable, competitive demand for their crop due to our integrated supply chain with key milling partners.”

Moreland Grain and Seed was founded by Carlson, an agribusiness veteran with more than three decades of experience in grain. Moreland has a storage capacity of approximately 1.8 million bushels including a marque 600,000-bushel bin that was added in 2011. The facility also benefits from a 25-car rail spur with Union Pacific. Thresher plans to make additional upgrades to the facility prior to the 2015 harvest.

Moreland growers and customers will also benefit from the strong seed and identity preservation programs operated by Thresher as well as opportunities to participate in yield improvement and sustainability programs as part of the Agspring EverYield initiative.