HIDALGO COUNTY, Texas (ValleyCentral) – There is good news for the Valley ag economy – as it awaits a good sorghum harvest this year. A temporary lease granted by a federal bankruptcy court is helping the grain trade.
A Harlingen-based company called Texas Valley Grain LLC will be allowed to lease Garcia Grain elevators in Progreso and Santa Rosa for nine months.
Garcia Grain filed for bankruptcy in early May and it worried agricultural leaders in the Valley.
A federal bankruptcy judge has made the ruling – it comes after Garcia Grain filed for bankruptcy in early May. An expert says losing those elevators would have hurt members of the ag community
“It would have cut down somebody’s grain sorghum storage. Because not everybody uses the same elevator. So it’s going to be a matter of how much extra space is available, when it’s available,” explained John Norman, an agricultural consultant.
Webb Wallace, the executive director of Cotton and Grain producers of LRGV says there are now 24 grain elevators in operation in the Valley.
There’s a reason this is of interest to the Valley ag community. That’s because they say, as of now, the crop they have that will be going on the grain trade is looking really, really good.
”Once we did start receiving the rains, some of the later plated planted fields, it looks good. The orange, red grain seed on it is mature and it’s ready to go for harvest,” said Danielle Sekula of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
Norman tells us that we can expect some lines at the grain silos.
“More than likely there’s going to be lines somewhere. There always is. But this is going to be one of those years where, if we have enough extra space, with the extra grain that could be produced , then you might have a better deal,” he told us.
And another item of note here – some silos dealt with storm damage recently and are still not operational.
