ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S. — The boards of CHS Inc. and Mid-Kansas Cooperative (MKC) said on March 6 that they have approved an agreement to form a limited liability company (LLC) to build and operate a high-speed shuttle loading facility in Canton, Kansas, U.S.

Construction on property currently owned by MKC is expected to begin in spring and be completed in about 12 months. Located on the Union Pacific rail line, the grain shuttle will load 110-car trains bound for export facilities in the Pacific Northwest, the Gulf Coast and Mexico. Upon completion, on-site storage will be in excess of 3 million bushels.

The newly formed LLC will become a member of Team Marketing Alliance (TMA) which will handle grain marketing services for the Canton grain shuttle facility.

"We are excited about the opportunity to come together with strong partners like MKC and TMA to expand the global reach for Kansas grain farmers," said John McEnroe, executive vice-president, CHS Country Operations Division. "This is a great example of how we can be greater together."

"MKC has been studying this project for quite some time and part of our due diligence included the selection of the right partner that could bring us an advantage immediately," said David Christensen, chief executive officer, MKC.  "We're very pleased to be able to develop a partnership with our regional cooperative CHS that will bring considerable value to our member owners."

TMA is a limited liability company wholly owned by four central Kansas cooperatives: MKC, Cooperative Grain & Supply, Hillsboro, Kansas, U.S.; Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co., Halstead, Kansas, U.S.; and The Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co., Nickerson, Kansas, U.S.

Collectively, these owners operate 48 country elevator facilities for the handling of bulk grain and TMA is the grain division for these four local cooperatives. All merchandising, logistics, accounting and e-commerce are handled through the TMA office. A team of origination specialists, which TMA keeps on staff, initiates farm-marketing programs.