MO: Officials Sieze Control of Biodiesel Plant Owing More than $2.4m
The Associated Press reports that Missouri agriculture officials have effectively taken over and suspended the grain dealer license of Prairie Pride biodiesel plant just east of Nevada, Missouri.
The Joplin Globe reported that Prairie Pride owes more than $2.4 million for grain and that the company warned officials it would not be able to pay that.
Prairie Pride said it stopped receiving soybeans on February 16 to protect producers and elevators. The company said an agreement reached last August called for Nebraska-based Tenaska BioFuels to pay for the soybeans going to the plant. In a statement issued by Tenaska and Prairie Pride, the companies said soybeans delivered to the biodiesel plant from February 12 through February 15 had not been paid for.
Missouri Agriculture Department Director Jon Hagler said the state intervened to ensure farmers were paid for the soybeans sold to the plant. He said after farmers have been paid, the next step is for the biodiesel plant to work with new partners to improve its financial footing.
The state Agriculture Department was made a trustee for the plant by a Vernon County court. Agriculture officials have authority to sell off any of Prairie Pride’s grain-related assets, and the suspension bars the plant from any grain-related transactions. State officials also now control company bank accounts related to grain deals.
More on the story here.
