GROWMARK Expands Grain Network with Terminal Deal

Oct 06, 2026
By Farms.com

Company gains full ownership of key Illinois River grain facility

GROWMARK has announced the acquisition of full ownership of Imperial Valley Terminal, a major grain facility located along the Illinois River in Havana, Illinois. The move strengthens the company's grain network and supports future growth opportunities for farmers, grain businesses, and customers across the region.

The terminal has been jointly owned by GROWMARK and CHS for several years. With the latest acquisition, GROWMARK now has complete ownership and control of the facility. Company leaders say the transition will improve operational efficiency and create new opportunities for expansion.

Imperial Valley Terminal serves as an important transportation and marketing hub for grain. Its location along the Illinois River provides valuable access to domestic and international markets. The facility plays a key role in helping grains move efficiently from farms to buyers while also supporting the import and distribution of crop nutrients used in agricultural production.

Following the ownership change, grain operations at the terminal will be managed by Lakeside Grain Trading LLC. The company will oversee grain merchandising and logistics activities to help ensure customers continue to receive reliable service.

At the same time, Sunrise FS will continue managing the facility's agronomy and energy operations. These services are important to local farmers who rely on access to crop inputs, agronomic support, and energy products throughout the year.

Both Lakeside Grain Trading LLC and Sunrise FS are wholly owned subsidiaries of GROWMARK. Their continued involvement is expected to provide a smooth transition for customers while maintaining the range of services currently offered at the facility.

Company officials believe full ownership will make it easier to align operations and maximize the value of the terminal. By having a more direct role in management and decision-making, GROWMARK can better coordinate grain handling activities and respond to changing market demands.

The acquisition also supports the company's long-term growth strategy. Agricultural markets continue to evolve, and efficient transportation infrastructure remains critical for moving grain from production areas to processing plants, feed manufacturers, and export destinations. Industry leaders view facilities like Imperial Valley Terminal as strategic assets that help improve supply chain efficiency.

Another important benefit of the terminal is its connection to export markets. Access to river transportation allows grains to move competitively to customers around the world. This creates additional marketing opportunities for farmers and supports the broader agricultural economy.

The facility also plays a valuable role in the import of crop nutrients. Reliable nutrient distribution helps farmers access the products needed to support crop production and maintain yields. Efficient logistics can reduce delays and improve the availability of essential farm inputs.

GROWMARK officials noted that full ownership will help the company streamline operations and potentially expand the high-volume facility in the future. Increased capacity and improved efficiency could provide benefits to both existing customers and new business partners.

The company says the acquisition reinforces its commitment to serving farmers and supporting agricultural growth. Investments in infrastructure and logistics are becoming increasingly important as producers seek dependable market access and efficient delivery systems.

"Full ownership of Imperial Valley Terminal strengthens GROWMARK's grain network and creates additional value for our member-owners," said Joe Kapraun, Executive Director of Grain Business for GROWMARK. "It also positions us to expand opportunities for customers throughout the region."

Customers with grain merchandising, transportation, or logistics needs are encouraged to connect directly with Lakeside Grain Trading for assistance and information. The company will continue to work with farmers and grain businesses to support marketing opportunities and grain movement throughout the region.

Photo Credit: GROWMARK

Video: The 15-Year Bet Behind Every New Variety!

Canada is trying to decide how much agricultural research capacity it can afford to lose. Brian Rossnagel believes the better question is whether the country can afford to rebuild it.

The longtime barley and oat breeder makes the case with a simple fact about his profession: the consequences of today’s decisions may not become visible for 10 or 15 years.

“Pick the right parents. That’s the biggest thing,” Rossnagel says. “If you pick the wrong parents, you’re not going to get anywhere—and you don’t know that until 10 years, 15 years later.”

That warning carries particular weight as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada moves to reduce spending and streamline parts of its science operations. The department’s 2026–27 plan anticipates the loss of approximately 665 positions by 2028–29 and says some research will be reduced where capacity exists in academia or industry. AAFC says the changes will make its science operations more cost-effective over the long term.

For Canada’s seed industry, Rossnagel’s career illustrates what is at stake.

This fall, the retired University of Saskatchewan breeder will be inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. During his 35-year career at the Crop Development Centre, he helped develop more than 100 barley and oat varieties, including CDC Austenson—one of Western Canada’s most widely grown feed barleys. His induction recognizes not only those varieties, but the collaboration and research system that made them possible.

Rossnagel is quick to emphasize that none of it was the work of one person.

“The first thing I thought about was all the other people who contributed to whatever success I and my program had over the years,” he says. “We know that it’s not an individual who does this. It’s a group—a team.”

That team extends well beyond the breeder whose name appears beside a variety. It includes technicians, pathologists, quality specialists, statisticians, regional testing sites, seed growers and industry partners. It also includes the breeders who came before and those who will carry the germplasm forward.

CDC Fraser barley, for example, moved through three breeding careers. Its parents came from Brian Harvey’s program. Rossnagel advanced the material after Harvey retired, and Aaron Beattie later guided it through registration and release.

That kind of handoff is normal in plant breeding. The person who makes the original cross may never see the resulting variety reach farmers.

It also explains why lost research capacity cannot simply be switched back on when budgets improve.

“If you shut it off, it’s very, very difficult—and particularly costly—to start it up again,” Rossnagel says. “If you have to start from scratch, it’s going to be at least 10 years before anybody notices whether you’re getting anything done or not.”

The concern is not simply how many experimental lines Canada can process. Modern equipment, statistical tools and genetic technologies allow today’s breeding programs to evaluate tens of thousands of lines—far more than Rossnagel could handle when he entered the field in the early 1970s.

But efficiency and automation do not generate every idea.

“If you pare back down, and instead of having six or seven individual scientists concentrating on wheat breeding, you go down and say three people could handle all this, well, that’s half the ideas gone,” he says. “Particularly if you happen to lose the three people who had the really neat and innovative ideas, boy, that’s a problem.”

It is a timely distinction for Canadian agriculture. Consolidating programs may preserve the volume of material moving through a system, at least initially. It may not preserve the diversity of thinking, regional knowledge or willingness to pursue unconventional crosses.

That regional knowledge matters because Canadian agriculture is not one uniform production environment. A variety suited to southern Alberta may face different disease, moisture and maturity pressures than one grown in Manitoba, Ontario or Atlantic Canada.

“Agriculture is applied biology,” Rossnagel says. “Biology, all around the Earth, moves from the poles to the equator. It does not move from Newfoundland to B.C. like politics do.”