The following is an article written on the website Kansas Agland by Amy Bickel.

Special to Sumner Newscow — CHS Inc. and Mid-Kansas Cooperative announced plans Tuesday to officially build and operate a high-speed rail-shuttle grain storage and loading facility in Milan near Wellington.

Site preparation will begin this month. Located in Sumner County, the facility will include a high-speed shuttle loader with access to the BNSF line. Upon completion, on-site storage will be approximately 7 million bushels, the cooperatives announced in a news release.

In addition, the facility will have a receiving capacity of 100,000 bushels per hour by way of trucks, the release stated. Rail load-out capacity will be in excess of 80,000 bushels per hour and will include a circle rail track capable of holding 120 railcars in addition to mainline locomotives with access to the BNSF.

MKC and CHS announced in November they were considering the plan. During the past several months, MKC has presented to both the Sumner County Zoning Board and the Sumner County Commission. The anticipated completion date is May 31, 2017.

“The new assets will give area producers direct access and ownership in the supply and distribution chain, bringing them one step closer to world markets which will add value to our member-owner’s farming operations,” said Dave Christiansen, president and CEO, MKC, in the release. “The new facility fully aligns with our vision to be a financially strong, progressive, locally-owned agri-business for our member-owners.”

The facility would operate as Producer Ag, a limited liability company owned by CHS and MKC. The LLC also operates a high-speed shuttle loading facility in Canton. The LLC is a member of Team Marketing Alliance, which would handle grain marketing services for the Sumner County facility.

Expansion has been ongoing for CHS and MKC for the past few years. In spring 2014, the cooperative groups began construction on the grain terminal that features a 110-car train shuttle to transport grain to the Gulf of Mexico and other markets.

In July, CHS and MKC announced that they would expand that location. With the Canton facility’s current on-site storage of 3 million bushels, the expansion at the Canton terminal will increase storage capacity to more than 7.5 million bushels.

The Milan terminal will be operated by MKC.

Christiansen said Sumner County location stood out as an excellent area to build considering the number of acres in crop production, type of acres planted, grains produced, end users for bushels produced and the future potential for production.

Expansion has been ongoing for CHS and MKC for the past few years. In spring 2014, the cooperative groups began construction on the grain terminal that features a 110-car train shuttle to transport grain to the Gulf of Mexico and other markets.

In July, CHS and MKC announced that they would expand that location. With the Canton facility’s current on-site storage of 3 million bushels, the expansion at the Canton terminal will increase storage capacity to more than 7.5 million bushels.

That project should be completed by May.

Meanwhile, in Marquette, the MKC is building new offices among other upgrades.

“Our alliance with global grain partner, CHS, connects MKC producer-members directly to the end-user through the cooperative system,” Christiansen said. “Our goal is to strategically position our cooperative for the future to add value for our producers.”

MKC currently has more than 9,800 members. The cooperative specializes in grain, agronomy, energy, feed and risk management. Since its founding in 1965, MKC has expanded its footprint through mergers and acquisitions to meet the needs of the producer.

CHS is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, grains and foods, CHS, a Fortune 100 company, supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, animal feed, food and food ingredients. The company also provides business solutions such as insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.