| SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) - A lawyer for the growers'
cooperative planning to buy Western Sugar said the group wants
more acres committed by farmers, but the cooperative has
enough to close the deal now. Last weekend, Western's parent
company Tate & Lyle North America Sugars extended the
buyout deadline until June 30, so the Rocky Mountain Sugar
Growers Cooperative could have more time for lenders to look
over property appraisals and commit funding.
Salt Lake City attorney Randon Wilson said the cooperative
has more than 150,000 acres, but it wants more acres committed
in Nebraska and Colorado.
"We are still a little short and this delay could help
build those acres up to a more economical level," Wilson
said.
As a result of the buyout delay, the Scottsbluff City
Council tabled a proposal to commit $500,000 of economic
development money to help the growers. The council plans to
reconsider the proposal closer to the next deadline.
The cooperative was formed last July after Tate and Lyle
announced that Western's six sugar beet processing factories
were for sale.
A $78 million selling price was agreed upon in October.
Growers in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Nebraska are
subscribing to the cooperative at a rate of about $185 per
acre. |