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LINCOLN — The Nebraska Public Service Commission has ordered one grain company to shut down immediately and suspended the license of another as part of a widening investigation into unlicensed grain-dealer activity across the state.
The commission on Oct. 23 ordered Roberts Seed Inc. of Axtell t o cease all operations after inspectors discovered the business was buying and storing grain from producers without the required dealer and warehouse licenses. The PSC said it plans to file a formal complaint seeking civil penalties against the company for violating state grain laws, including provisions of Nebraska Revised Statutes 75-903 and 88-527.
A day later, the commission voted in an emergency session to suspend the grain-dealer license of Hansen-Mueller Co. of Omaha following reports that some producers had not been paid, in some cases dating back to August. The PSC said its investigation of the company’s operations in Nebraska and other states is ongoing.
Officials urged grain producers to verify that any company purchasing or storing grain is properly licensed, particularly during harvest season when transactions increase. The PSC noted that dealers and warehouses must hold valid licenses for both buying and storing grain or risk penalties and shutdown orders.
