CHS  in Kasson named  in closure list

After news of the potential closing of CHS Inc. in Kasson leaked, an official released a statement about a plan to “optimize its assets.”
The Kasson location, along with the grain elevators in Ostrander and Wykoff, were named in an internal email to employees as the sites that will close.
The sale of the facilities was also a possibility, the email said, though the locations will continue to accept grain through the 2026 harvest, with a complete phase-out expected by early 2027.
The local site has a storage capacity of three million bushels of grain, and includes a high-speed grain handling system that dumps 40,000 bushels per hour, and a dryer that can process up to 12,000 bushels per hour.
On Monday, Director of Operations Jim Morken provided a brief statement about the future of the southeast Minnesota sites — but not about the number of employees that would be affected.
“While smaller facilities such as these three have served CHS well in the past, the grain supply chain in southern Minnesota has evolved into a market where local corn/soybean processing facilities and river terminals are the primary markets,” he said.
“CHS is committed to operating the right resources to deliver the best value for customers and owners,” Morken said. “CHS will continue to operate in this region, offering agronomy and energy products and services to producers in the area.”
He also cited recent investments in the facilities in Mankato and Fairmont, which he said allowed farmers in the area to deliver grain directly to those elevators.