Falkirk Elevator members to vote on liquidation
By Michael Johnson, Editor
In the first informational meeting since the co-op members came together last winter to vote on a merger, the Falkirk Farmers Elevator board members talked about how they came to a state of insolvency. While all indications pointed to a solvent co-op just months ago, it appears balance sheets provided to the board did not show the whole truth. The board including, President Mike Guenther, VP Terry Carlson, Sec./Tres., Justin Retterath, Robert Tweeten and Steven Heger all explained that the insolvency was dropped on their laps the morning of April 11. At that point CHS, the creditor and soon-to-be merging company put a stop on all pick up or drop off of grains and agronomy in order to avoid further losses. While several in the crowd cried out that there should be fraudulent charges brought against the previous elevator manager Ron Hefta, board members said fraud was very hard to prove. Co-op members also thought that the creditors should be more forgiving to allow producers to get some of their money back. Many were out hundreds of thousands of dollars in pre-paid product that they had to purchase again to plant their crops this spring.
