Grain-dealer bankruptcy hits North Dakota farmers

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Some North Dakota farmers are owed money after a large bankruptcy filing by a Nebraska-based grain dealer.

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture says farmers in the state are owed more than $900,000 by the Hansen-Mueller Co.

The bankruptcy affects creditors in multiple states, including South Dakota and Minnesota. Creditors also include a trucking company in North Dakota.

David Barrett is a Bismarck ag law attorney with clients that include some of the North Dakota farmers who will be filing claims.

He has clients in other states, too, and has already filed a $1.2 million claim for a grain elevator in Mississippi.

“There’s creditors everywhere,” Barrett said, with more filings to come.

Hansen-Mueller leases a grain storage facility in Grand Forks and has a roving grain buyers license in the state. As part of being licensed in the state, it also would have to secure a bond to help ensure it can pay for grain it has purchased.

However, the company filed for bankruptcy Nov. 17, before the Department of Agriculture could begin insolvency proceedings. Those proceedings could have allowed the state to access the company’s bond to help repay farmers.

Shaun Quissell, director of the Grain and Livestock Division for the state Ag Department, said Hansen-Mueller was bonded for about $778,000 — less than what is owed.

The state also has a credit sales indemnity fund, which helps protect farmers from fraudulent buyers.

Quissell also said the grain purchase agreements between Hansen-Mueller and the farmers were not credit sales contracts and would not have been covered by that fund.

Because the company declared bankruptcy, the bond money could become part of the bankruptcy proceeding, Quissell said.

Most of the North Dakota transactions involved oats, Quissell said. He did not have information on how many growers were affected.

Barrett said the farmers he’s aware of being owed money are in the Red River Valley.

In a news release, state Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring encouraged farmers affected by the Hansen-Mueller bankruptcy to file claims with the bankruptcy court.

“Every producer who is owed money by Hansen-Mueller should be receiving notification from the bankruptcy court that they are a claimant and need to file a claim,” Goehring said. “We understand the producer’s frustration and are here to provide clear information to help those affected.”

Bankruptcy information can be found at https://dm.epiq11.com/case/hansenmueller/info or by calling 877-717-1702.

In a news release announcing the bankruptcy, Hansen-Mueller said it hoped to find a buyer to continue operations.

Hansen-Mueller operates nine grain elevators, including five across the Midwest along Interstate 29. Its Minnesota operations include a facility at the Duluth port on Lake Superior.

Reach North Dakota Monitor Deputy Editor Jeff Beach at jbeach@northdakotamonitor.com.