Des Moines, IA- Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says Iowa farmers who sold grain to an Omaha dealer with facilities in Council Bluffs and Sioux City have until mid-March to file a claim if they haven’t been paid.
“We’re tracking that really closely,” Naig said. “Of course, our Grain Warehouse team is on top of that.”
Radio Iowa reports that the Hansen-Mueller company filed for bankruptcy in late November. Nebraska officials suspended its grain dealers license in October after the company was accused of failing to make payments.
Iowa farmers who file a claim after selling grain for cash to Hanson-Mueller may be reimbursed through a state fund, but Naig says it’s too early to tell how many Iowa operations may be affected.
The Iowa Grain Dealers and Sellers Indemnity Fund was created during the Farm Crisis to compensate farmers when grain dealers fail to pay for corn, soybeans and other grain.
“We don’t think there’s significant exposure there,” Naig said, “…but, of course, that’ll all come into focus here as the bankruptcy proceedings go ahead and then we’ll get a better look at what is the situation.”
Hansen-Mueller has operated grain elevators in Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as in Iowa and Nebraska.
It is likely to owe hundreds of millions of dollars to farmers and creditors. Court records indicate it owes Minnesota-based Cargill over two-and-a-half million dollars.
In early November, before Hansen-Mueller filed for bankruptcy, the company paid 38 Nebraska farmers over two million dollars under an agreement reached with Nebraska regulators.
