Feed and food supplier The Wenger Group Inc., Rheems, Penn., reports that it has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Risser Grain LLC, a grain and agronomy company based in Holtwood, Penn. The transaction includes the acquisition of seven grain operating locations as well as the Martinsburg, Penn., mill, which Wenger recently began operating under a leasing arrangement with an affiliate of Risser. In addition, the deal includes Risser’s fertilizer production capacity, which Wenger says is among the largest in the state.
“We have enjoyed a strategic relationship with Risser for many years as one of our key ingredient suppliers that is critical to sustaining our operations,” said Phil Rohrbaugh, Wenger President and CEO. “Expanding into grain operations further strengthens our reliability and sustainability as a manufacturer of feed for protein producers. The acquisition will also enable us to better support our agronomy partners, who play a critical role in the food supply chain and how we meet our customer needs.”
Risser will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wenger, with the Risser Grain name and brand continuing. It will operate separately with Brent Risser remaining as President and all of the Risser employees staying in place. Risser Grain has 40 employees, according to Lancaster, Penn.-based newspaper LNP.
“We are extremely excited about this strategic combination,” said Brent Risser. “With the support of the Wenger organization, we will be able to offer even more attention to regional grain producers and to our end-user customer base. Ensuring sustainability is crucial to maintaining a strong and growing agricultural sector in our region and beyond.”
Risser Grain is a 45-year-old family-owned grain dealer of corn, wheat, soybeans, and barley as well as an exclusive distributer of custom mixed fertilizer. According to its website, it supplies grain seed and multiple kinds of fertilizers (N, P, K, micronutrients), including both dry, liquid (UAN and APP) and nitrification inhibitors. It lists a state-of-the-art fertilizer blend plant and warehouse at Red Lion, Penn., which also has a grain receiving facility. The company also has fertilizer blending and grain receiving at its Turbotville, Penn., location, where it also offers fertilizer and lime spreading, a rail siding with shipping and receiving capabilities. Grain receiving facilities are located at Holtwood, Mainville, Chambersburg and Milton as well as Martinsburg which has over 600,000 bushel capacity. The company says it works with Snyder’s Crop Care to provide precision fertilizer application. It is also a Snyder tank dealer.
Along with other companies, Risser Grain recently commented to the U.S. Trade Representative against duties on nitrogen fertilizer imports from the European Union (GM Aug. 23, p. 1), which could have also snared specialty fertilizers made by companies such as Yara International ASA, Oslo.
Wenger is a 75-year-old family-owned agricultural products and services organization, specializing in the regional supply of feed (poultry and swine), soybean processing, transportation, food products (eggs, poultry and pork) and allied services. Its units include Wenger Feeds LLC, Nutrify LLC and Dutchland Farms LLC. It has over 350 team employees and nine feed milling locations in two states.