The Wenger Group Inc. (Wenger) announced Sept. 30 that it has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the grain and fertilizer operations of Risser Grain LLC. The transaction includes the acquisition of seven grain operating locations with the capacity to store and process millions of bushels of grain. In addition, Risser’s fertilizer facility and production capacity is one of the largest in Pennsylvania.

As part of this transaction, Wenger will also be purchasing the Martinsburg, Pa., mill, which it recently began operating under a leasing arrangement with an affiliate of Risser.

“We have enjoyed a strategic relationship with Risser for many years as one of our key ingredient suppliers that is critical to sustaining our operations,” Wenger president and chief executive officer Phil Rohrbaugh said. “Expanding into grain operations further strengthens our reliability and sustainability as a manufacturer of feed for protein producers. The acquisition will also enable us to better support our agronomy partners, who play a critical role in the food supply chain and how we meet our customer needs.”

While Risser is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Wenger, the Risser Grain name and brand will be maintained and operated separately, with Brent Risser continuing as the president. Risser employees will remain in place to serve this important customer base.

“We are extremely excited about this strategic combination. With the support of the Wenger organization, we will be able to offer even more attention to regional grain producers and to our end-user customer base,” Brent Risser said. “Ensuring sustainability is crucial to maintaining a strong and growing agricultural sector in our region and beyond.”

Wenger is a 75-year-old, family-owned agricultural product and service organization, which includes Wenger Feeds LLC, Nutrify LLC and Dutchland Farms LLC. With more than 350 team members and nine feed milling locations in two states, the company is a regional provider of poultry and swine feeds, performance ingredient solutions, niche market eggs and allied services in the mid-Atlantic region.

Risser Grain is a 45-year-old, family-owned grain dealer of corn, wheat, soybeans and barley as well as an exclusive distributer of custom-mixed fertilizer.

Both Wenger and Risser Grain are family-owned businesses in the mid-Atlantic agribusiness sector.