INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. – The giant CHS agri-business confirmed it’s closing three southeast Minnesota grain collection sites that truck their grain to Winona for downriver shipping and export. Being closed are elevators in:

> Kasson: In Dodge County, 55 miles from Winona.

> Ostrander: In Fillmore County, 66 miles.

> Wykoff. In Filmore County, 39 miles.

The company attributed the closings to “changes in the grain supply chain.” The company avoided explicit reference to the massive loss of U.S. foreign grain sales due the global Trump tariff war. The company also didn’t say how many jobs would be lost in Winona or the Kasson, Ostrander and Wykoff units. In the meantime the company promised to continue accepting crops from Dodge County and Fillmore County farmers  through this fall’s harvest.  CHS said that some local farmers likely will shift future crops to CHS collection points in Mankato and Fairmont.

Major Winona harbor presence.  Where barges are filled with grain for shipment to Gulf ports for foreign customers. This has been a shrinking market since the Trump tariff wars. Image: Steve Lunde

Verbatim

CHS: “CHS continues to optimize its assets to best serve our owners while providing market access to the global ag supply chain. We continually evaluate our facilities to determine if they meet the needs of our cooperative system and our customers. While smaller facilities, such as these three, have served CHS well in the past, the grain supply chain in southern Minnesota has evolved into a market where local corn and soybean processing facilities and river terminals are the primary markets. CHS is committed to operating the right resources in the right locations to position our cooperative to deliver the best value for customers and owners. CHS will continue to operate in this region offering agronomy and energy products and services to producers in the area.”

CHS headquarters, Landscaped grounds in Inver Grove Heights.

Corporate profile

CHS is one of the largest farmer-owned cooperatives in Minnesota. Annual revenue: $555 million. Its operations include the consumer brand Cenex. CHS began in 1931 as the Farmers Union Central Exchange in St. Paul. Later the company became Cenex, from the combination of the last two words in its previous name. In 2003, after several mergers, the company changed its name to CHS.  The company has swanky headquarters in the south Minneapolis suburb of Inver Grove Heights. Employees: 9,900. Chief executive Jay Debertin salary: $10 million a year in compensation package of $12 million.