Falkirk co-op says sell it all
By Michael Johnson, Editor
Voting members of the Falkirk Farmers Elevator listened to the recommendation of the board of directors and voted to approve allowing the sale of all assets at a special meeting Monday night at the Washburn Memorial Building. The vote was 88 to 1 in favor. An injunction put in place by Hazen members was expected to be released Tuesday morning. The auction of all moveable objects, or as board member Robert Tweeten said, “From Tupperware to trucks,” was to continue at 10 a.m. on June 30 at the Falkirk Elevator. The nine members of the Hazen Elevator that filed the injunction to stop any sale were pleased with the opportunity that the informational and voting meetings allowed, Gary Knell, Hazen, said. “They would have not had an informational meeting if not for the injunction,” Knell said. “We needed to have answers.” Rumors started to fly since the closing of the Falkirk and Hazen elevators in early April. The creditors of the elevators Cenex Harvest States (CHS), said to close the plants immediately, after their audit showed insolvency. Their audit was being performed following the approval of the merger between Falkirk Farmers Elevator and Garrison Farmers Union. That audit showed the co-op had a loss of about $3 million. It would take about $5.9 million to pay off all debts to creditors and producers owed money.
