MFA Inc., a grain marketing and farm supply cooperative based in Columbia, recently announced a joint venture with MFA Oil to build a shuttle-loader facility on the Union Pacific Railroad, some five miles east of Hamilton.
The grain-handling facility will consist of 2 million bushels of permanent storage and 1.5 million bushels of temporary storage along with a loop rail siding to accommodate a 110-railroad-car shuttle unit.
MFA said the new rail siding will provide new efficiencies to the company’s grain division as well as access to new markets,
Once completed, the structure will allow farmers in north central Missouri and southern Iowa to deliver crops to a modern, high-speed grain facility, the company said.
“Logistics are a key issue in the grain business,” said MFA Inc. Director of Grain Operations Mitch Dawson. “For MFA, this is the culmination of a multi-year process during which we evaluated the needs of our grain system. We identified this facility as a strategic improvement that will help us provided needed service to our owners and customers in a large part of our northern trade territory.”
The grain facility will be located on Highway 36 in Caldwell County. It will take advantage of an improved four-lane highway, close proximity to north-south traffic on I-35 and direct access to the Union Pacific Railroad.