The board of directors and management of NEW Cooperative Inc. recently announced the construction of a new grain facility and a new pelleting feed mill at the cooperative’s location in Cooper, Iowa.

Construction of grain facility and feed mill will begin immediately, according to the Aug. 27 announcement. Total grain storage for the location will be 3 million bu., the cooperative said, noting that the new feed mill will have a total production capacity of 500,000 tons of pelleted feed.

The new feed mill and grain facility will be built next to the current Cooper Agronomy location, which was chosen as the site due great customer support, access to utilities, land availability and the existing agronomy assets at the facility, the announcement said.

Mark Walter, NEW Cooperative grain manager, said, “The project makes sense in this area, as it will create a new market for our members’ grain as well as provide a way to better serve area livestock producers.”

NEW Cooperative expects the grain facility to be ready to receive grain in the fall of 2021, with the feed mill to be completed shortly thereafter.

The grain facility and feed mill are expected to add up to 16 new employees.

NEW Cooperative is a farmer-owned grain, agronomy, energy and feed cooperative with 39 locations throughout western and northwestern Iowa. In addition to its grain services, NEW Cooperative operates six feed mills and offers fertilizer and seed resources through professional staff and quality facilities.