LINCOLN, Neb. — A day after a state agency announced an investigation into a central Nebraska grain company, the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) held an emergency meeting to suspend the license of an Omaha grain operator.
In a 3 p.m. meeting lasting less than 10 minutes on Friday, the PSC suspended the ability of Hansen-Mueller Co. to operate as a grain dealer. The meeting was held at the commission office in the Atrium Building at 1200 N Street in Lincoln and streamed online.
During the meeting, Terri Fritz, PSC’s director of grain warehouses and dealers, said they had “received information on late Wednesday afternoon that producers hadn’t been getting paid — some not since August.” An investigator went to Omaha on Thursday. Hansen-Mueller, which has offices near 132nd Street and West Dodge Road in Omaha, also operates in several other states — including Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, and Alabama — and the commission said it is looking into similar allegations in those locations as well.
Just a day earlier, the PSC issued a separate order against another Nebraska business. On Thursday, the agency announced it had opened an investigation into Roberts Seed Inc. of Axtell and ordered the company to “immediately cease and desist all operations as a grain dealer and grain warehouse in Nebraska.”
According to the PSC, the Grain Department was notified that Roberts Seed had purchased grain from a producer, prompting an Oct. 20 inspection that found the company purchasing commodities from Nebraska producers and storing grain at its facility without proper licensing.
“It is imperative that our producers/sellers who are in the thick of harvest season are aware that this company does not hold a license to conduct grain dealer or grain warehouse activity in the state of Nebraska,” said Commission Chair Tim Schram.
The PSC stated that Roberts Seed is under investigation for operating as both a grain dealer and a grain warehouse without valid licenses — violations of Nebraska Revised Statutes § 75-903 and § 88-527, as well as Title 291 Nebraska Administrative Code § 8-003.01 and § 08-002.01.
Roberts Seed was previously fined by the Commission in 2018 and prohibited from engaging in grain dealer activities without obtaining a license. “This company’s apparent blatant disregard for state law leaves us with no option but to order them to immediately cease and desist all activity,” said Commission Vice-Chair Kevin Stocker.
The PSC said it will begin the process of filing a formal complaint against Roberts Seed, which will be required to show why it should not face civil penalties for operating without proper licenses.
