Co-op pays Minnesota farmers $116 million

Published 10:48 am Tuesday, February 5, 2013

MINNEAPOLIS — The farmer-owned CHS cooperative says it will pay $600 million to its owners, including $116 million to Minnesota members.

The nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperative earned a record $1.2 billion in the last fiscal year, up 31 percent over 2011. The majority of CHS profits last year came from its energy business. The Star Tribune (http://bit.ly/UUsGst ) says oil refineries in Montana and Kansas earned high margins because of favorable midcontinent crude oil prices.

Minnesota has nearly 25,000 CHS members, the most of any state and earned the most cash. North Dakota was second in overall payouts, with nearly 18,000 members getting $103 million.

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