Displaying items tagged: Zeeland Farm Services Inc

SCOTTS — The owners of a Southwest Michigan meat processing company and cattle operation say the businesses have fallen victim to the tight credit market brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Despite construction being “slightly behind” schedule, Zeeland Farm Services Inc. expects full operation of its new Ithaca soybean processing facility to come online in September 2019, according to President Cliff Meeuwsen.

West Michigan’s growing food processing industry continues to develop, spurred on by the region’s strong agricultural supply chain, access to water and sufficient infrastructure capacity.

As a third-generation farmer at Hamilton-based Koeman Farms, Steve Koeman is monitoring how possible tariffs could affect the economics of his family business.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 2, 2018.

• M&A: A subsidiary of Universal Forest Products Inc. (Nasdaq: UFPI) plans to acquire “substantially all” of the operating assets of Marietta, Ga.-based North American Container Corp., a producer of packaging products, according to a statement. The deal should close by June 1. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. The acquisition will add steel, corrugated and hardwood packaging to Universal’s lineup of industrial products. North American Container, founded in 1967, operates nine manufacturing facilities in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin and recorded 2017 sales of about $71 million. Universal Forest Products in February reported that it generated $3.9 billion in net sales with net earnings of $119.5 million for 2017.

ZEELAND –– An affiliate of Zeeland Farm Services Inc. plans to purchase a soybean facility, soy flour mill, grain elevator and non-GMO soybean inventories in Creston, Iowa.

ZEELAND — A embattled West Michigan farm operator failed to answer a federal lawsuit filed against it in Missouri and faces new allegations that it failed to pay its bills.

Farmers’ increasing use of credit to finance operations has left some operators financially exposed during a volatile period for the industry.

As farmers across the state struggle to turn a profit in an era of depressed commodity prices, one aspect of agribusiness — food processing — continues to grow in West Michigan.

After several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Jed Welder knew that he needed a change. The 14-year military veteran grew up on a family farm but left at a young age for a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps before later transitioning into the U.S. Army. As his military career came to an end, Welder yearned for the freedom, challenge and accomplishment that comes through farming.