SALEM, Ohio — Cargill will close its grain elevator in Dayton, Ohio in late 2027.
In a statement to Farm and Dairy, Cargill confirmed its intention to close its Dayton facility over the next 20 months “to allow time for production ramp-down and to enable supply chain adjustments.”
The facility employs 230 people and only accepts corn, Cargill said.
Cargill said that while it’s closing the Dayton facility, it remains committed to Ohio. The international agribusiness corporation, headquartered in Minneapolis, continues to operate 15 facilities across the state, employing nearly 1,000 people.
The loss of this facility is not only going to impact those who it employed, but also farmers who hauled grain there, according to the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association, which represents corn and small grain farmers across the state.
“When you remove a market like this, it forces longer hauls, higher costs, and fewer options at a time when margins are already razor thin,” said Tadd Nicholson, executive director of Ohio Corn & Wheat.
Nicholson said about 5-10% of Ohio’s corn production passed through the Dayton plant, calling it “too crucial to lose.”
Ohio Corn & Wheat said the closure of this facility underscores the importance of growing demand for corn and biofuels.
“When we fail to grow demand and expand markets, this is the result,” Nicholson said.
The grain elevator closure announcement comes at a time when the grain and biofuels industry is pushing for a larger market for ethanol. In January, a provision that would have allowed nationwide year-round E15 sales was stripped from a federal funding bill, dealing a blow to corn growers.
Then, last week, in an attempt to tamp down on rising consumer prices caused by the Iran war, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would grant a waiver to allow summer sales of E15 to continue for a fifth straight year.
The national average prices for a gallon of gas jumped one dollar in the last month, according to AAA, with the national average going above $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022, when Russia’s war with Ukraine began.
“President Trump is unleashing American Energy Dominance, and today’s action will directly lower prices at the pump and gives a clear demand signal to our domestic biofuels producers,” U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said in a statement about the E15 waiver. “Allowing the summer sale of E-15 will provide drivers more options at the pump, and deliver a bigger domestic market for American farmers.”
