MANILLA, IOWA — Landus Cooperative on May 8 said it has signed an agreement to purchase the Manilla, Iowa, grain facility of Archer Daniels Midland Co.

With the purchase, Landus will gain more than 2.3 million bus of grain storage capacity, including 775,000 bus of upright storage, more than 1.5 million bus of bunker storage and 32,000 bus per hour of receiving capacity.

Ames, Iowa-based Landus is scheduled to take possession of the facility on June 1.

“This Manilla, Iowa, site is a strategic purchase for Landus Cooperative and farmers in western Iowa,” said Milan Kucerak, chief executive officer for Landus. “While this grain asset has been well cared for, we expect to improve efficiency on behalf of the customer by utilizing best practices from our nearly 60 grain locations in Iowa.

 “Our domestic and international grain end-users continue to demand high-quality corn and soybeans, and we know Crawford county, Iowa, farmers can help meet that demand.”

 Under terms of the purchase agreement, ADM and Landus plan to honor all outstanding grain contracts.

 “We are anxious to begin working with growers in and around Crawford county and want to make their transition to Landus Cooperative as seamless as possible,” said Roger Fray, chief commodity marketing officer for Landus. “Our Cooperative Advantage Package of more than a dozen marketing alternatives combined with our patronage opportunities make membership in Landus Cooperative an attractive option for former ADM customers.”

Landus also plans to host a grower meeting shortly after final documents are signed and the facility changes ownership.

According to the Sosland Publishing’s 2018 Grain & Milling Annual, ADM ranks second in North American grain storage capacity with 468,465,850 bus while Landus Cooperative ranks sixth with 174,199,000 bus.

Landus is a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative that has about 600 full-time employees at locations in more than 60 communities in Iowa and Minnesota, and approximately 7,000 member-owners.