By P.J. Huffstutter
CHICAGO, Aug 6 (Reuters) – A Nebraska regulator said on Thursday it filed a complaint against Ohio-based agribusiness The Andersons over allegations the company did not make timely payments to a grain producer, and urged any farmers who have experienced similar payment delays to come forward.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission, which licenses commercial grain dealers in the state, said its Grain Warehouses and Dealers Department filed the complaint after investigating an allegation by a grain producer that The Andersons had not paid for 17 grain deliveries made between November 2023 and January 2024.
The company later told regulators it had withheld payment in one instance because it could not verify ownership of the grain.
The producer and The Andersons have since resolved the matter, according to the complaint, but an agency spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing.
The state licensing department, alleging that The Andersons is not in compliance with state laws regulating grain dealing, is asking the commission to order the Ohio firm to explain the delays. The complaint alleges some grain deliveries remained unpaid for more than 900 days and says the department could seek civil penalties, revoke the company’s license and bar it from operating in the state.
The agency, which did not name the grain producer who made the initial complaint, declined to comment further.
THE ANDERSONS SAYS IT PAID FOR GRAIN
In a statement, The Andersons said it had notified both the commission and the producer that the matter had been resolved prior to the complaint being filed, and that it has paid for the grain.
“The Andersons takes its commitments to producers seriously,” said spokesperson Cheryl Vion-Hasenaur. She added the company would continue to cooperate with the commission.
Though the department’s complaint stems from a single report that has been resolved, the regulator said it was seeking information from any other Nebraska grain producers or sellers who have experienced delayed payments involving The Andersons or other licensed grain dealers.
“Our priority is protecting Nebraska’s grain producers and ensuring buyers meet their obligations under state law,” Grain Department Director Terri Fritz said in a statement. “If producers are not being paid in a timely manner, we want to hear from them.”
The Andersons, based in Maumee, Ohio, is licensed as a grain dealer in Nebraska. The agribusiness firm, one of the largest U.S. ethanol producers, merchandises bulk grain commodities and operates a network of grain elevators.
The complaint follows the collapse last year of Omaha-based grain dealer Hansen-Mueller Co., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November after Nebraska regulators suspended its grain dealer license over unpaid grain contracts.
That bankruptcy left farmers, trucking companies and other agricultural businesses seeking to recover more than $200 million, while the company’s $1 million state grain dealer bond covered only a portion of approved claims from Nebraska farmers.
Industry groups and regulators have said the Hansen-Mueller case underscored the financial risks producers face when grain dealers become insolvent, particularly during periods of economic stress in the farm sector.
(Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter. Editing by Liz Hampton, Aurora Ellis, Rod Nickel)
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