As part of Landus’ ongoing effort to better serve their farm owner’s in Cass County and surrounding area, Landus has recognized a shortfall in storage space for anhydrous ammonia at the newly constructed facility south of the Landus Facility at 53597 650^th Street, formerly Wickman Chemical. The newly constructed NH3 facility has a 72,000 gallon NH3 tank positioned just west of the Landus building at 53751 650^th Street.

Kasey Harken, with Landus, said IDALS has already inspected the site and has no issues with adding the additional tank.

Again, the Supervisors approved the plan pending approval by the Board of Adjustment.

The Supervisors also approved the following action items

-Resolution 2025-23, Adjustment to Medical Examiner Fees

– Rural Transit System Joint Participation Agreement with SWIPCO (SWITA)

-Payroll status change for Hannah Richter from Auditor’s Clerk to Auditor’s Clerk

and Elections Specialist at a rate of $24.00/hour effective June 16, 2025

-Hire of Auditor’s Clerk, Brook Lilly, at $23.00 per hour effective June 30, 2025

-Renew the county engineer’s contract for three years, from June 30, 2025 – June 30, 2028.

-Resolution 2025-24 to Set Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Appropriations and to Authorize Transfers

-Wages and salaries for Fiscal Year 2025-2026

-Certify the annual base salary of deputies appointed by elected officials (Treasurer, Recorder, Auditor) in accordance with Iowa Code 331.904(1)(a)

-Certify the annual base salary of deputy sheriffs classified as exempt in accordance with Iowa Code 331.904(2)(c)

-Set the annual base salary and wages of deputy sheriffs classified as non-exempt in accordance with Iowa Code 331.904(2)(d) and the union agreement

-Set the compensation of extra help and clerks appointed by the principal county officers in accordance with Iowa Code 331.904(4)

-Set annual salary and wages of non-exempt sheriff’s deputies and additional help and clerks

-Set the annual salary for the Jail Administrator position

-Set single and family non-participation rates for health insurance premiums for January – December 2026

A Representative from Landus tells KSOM/KS95 News, “The east side of the soybean flat at our Hamlin site malfunctioned due to a structural issue earlier this week. Thankfully, there were no injuries. The wall will be fixed, and the grain is largely salvageable. Our engineering team is already working to make the necessary repairs.”

(Photo: Submitted to KSOM News)

“Our purchase of Wickman Chemical reinforces our business strategy to bring the tools and innovation farmer-owners need to thrive,” said Matt Carstens, President & CEO of Landus and Conduit. “Erich and Tammy Wickman have built a tremendous operation that, like Landus, keeps the farmer in the center. We welcome their team and customers from across Iowa and Kansas to Landus and look forward to building upon the great reputation of service Erich and Tammy established.”

Wickman Chemical, founded by Erich and Tammy Wickman in 1998, started from humble beginnings on a dirt floor machine shed and grew into one of the region’s prominent agricultural chemical suppliers. The company’s focus on building relationships with farmers and providing personalized service makes its operation unique. Their team consists of professionals with agronomy, sales, accounting, and technology backgrounds, all dedicated to helping customers find the right chemicals for their farms.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and many years to build this company alongside my wife Tammy, and we knew we didn’t want to sell our life’s work to just any company,” said Erich Wickman, Founder and CEO of Wickman Chemical. “When we met Matt Carstens and the Landus team, we could see this company shares our focus on making farmers more economically productive. They understand the importance of building relationships with and serving the unique needs of farmers, making Landus the best choice for our team and customers into the future.”

The purchase agreement will go into effect on October 1, 2024. Erich Wickman will remain with the company as a Chemical Marketing Specialist, while Tammy Wickman will exit to focus on family and the farm. Wickman Chemical employees will remain in their roles to continue providing premium service to farmers, only now as Landus employees. The company will experience no major operational changes other than Wickman Chemical customers having access to all services provided by Landus.

Landus is a forward-thinking agriculture solutions company that keeps the farmer at the center of every decision. We connect thousands of farmer-owners with the world through grain, agronomy, and distribution, deploying traditional and nontraditional methods fueled by innovation and sustainability. Our $3 billion business touches 34 states and 16 countries.

To learn more about Landus and the company’s commitment to solving critical issues for the farmer of tomorrow, please visit lands.ag.

Audubon County Board of Supervisor’s Chairman Doug Sorensen says a feed mill is being established east of Hamlin. “A new feed mill will be going up at the Landus grain site just east of Hamlin. It will be a $20 million feed mill and will employ 21 people.”

In order for this to come together the Board of Supervisors had to pass a resolution for tax abatement. “A number of factors played into it. One is that AMVC manages a lot hogs and provides a lot of feed for hogs around Western Iowa. All of that feed as I understand is processed out of county.” Sorensen says, “Landus has this grain elevator that is entirely truck in, truck out and they are sitting right now on a huge pile of corn.”

Sorensen calls this a win-win. “It is proposed to process 8.5 million bushels of corn per year which right now I think the Landus site has 3 or 3.5 million bushels of corn storage so it’s more than they are handling right now, more than double. By my calculations it would be roughly 1/3 of Audubon County’s corn production. It’s a big deal. It will improve the corn basis in Audubon County and probably reduce a lot of people’s trucking costs. It’s a win for everybody.” Sorensen points out this ramps up the need for additional housing within Audubon County.

Pipeline Foods most recently operated the facility through a joint venture with ADM, and Landus purchased the facility through a public bidding process following Pipeline Foods’ recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

“This well-maintained asset is a win for Landus farmer-owners. The facility will round out our grain and agronomy offerings in this southwestern region of our territory and open the door to improved services to local Atlantic-area farmers,” said Matt Carstens, President, and CEO of Landus.

The grain elevator is trategically positioned at the crossroads of major truck and rail routes in the heart of corn and soybean country. This site enables grain shipment out of the state via the Iowa Interstate Railroad. Landus currently operates a separate agronomy facility in Atlantic.

Landus will move quickly to assume full ownership and operation of the facility in early November.