CHS Expands To St. Louis Region
CHS Inc., a global agribusiness and the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, is significantly expanding its presence on the Mississippi River in Illinois.
On January 31, CHS will assume operations of a grain facility owned by COFCO International Ltd. in Cahokia, Ill, reinforcing a CHS commitment to enabling efficient supply chains and global market access for its United States owners, the company said in a news release.
“We’re focused on strengthening the cooperative system’s capabilities in this important region connected by barge, truck and rail,” said John Griffith, CHS executive vice president for ag business and CHS Hedging. “This expansion deepens our connections with local growers, supports our U.S. center Gulf export strategy and provides our owners with competitive market access.”
The facility offers year-round access to the St. Louis Harbor and direct connections to all six of North America’s Class I railroads. With more than 7 miles of private on-site rail track and capacity for four unit trains (110 cars each) simultaneously, the site is optimized for high-speed rail and truck-to-barge loading of grain and grain byproducts.
“Adding this facility strengthens our already robust grain network and enhances our ability to serve our owners, domestic buyers and international markets through the CHS export terminal in Myrtle Grove, La.,” Griffith said.
CHS is leasing the facility from COFCO. COFCO International is the overseas agriculture business platform for COFCO Corporation, China’s largest food and agriculture company.
CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, seed, crop protection products, grain marketing services, production and agricultural services, animal nutrition products, foods and food ingredients and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries and pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.
The Cahokia terminal will become part of the CHS footprint in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, which includes about 20 grain and agronomy locations.
