Panhandle Coop Association expanding agronomy location in Torrington, Wyo.

October 15th, 2020 | Chabella Guzman

The old Wyoming Ethanol plant will soon have new tenants after Panhandle Cooperative Association purchased the plant on Oct. 8 to expand its agronomy location in Torrington, Wyo.

The cooperative will move most of its agronomy operations to the ethanol plant, which has a large flat warehouse. 

“We’ll be able to put a dry blender there,” said Charlie Wright, CEO, and president of Panhandle Coop Association. “It will be a dry fertilizer hub that will serve eastern Wyoming a good part of the panhandle of Nebraska.” 

The facility also has tanks for liquid fertilizer or fuel depending on the direction the cooperative decides to move in.

The cooperative is not alone in its venture. With help from the Goshen County Chamber of Commerce, it is applying for a $2.5 million “Business Ready Community Grant” from the Wyoming Business Council.

To go after the grant, the cooperative and chamber needed backing from the City of Torrington. In a public meeting, the chamber requested and received unanimous support for the grant.

The grant will help Panhandle Coop with the purchase, expansion, and renovations of the plant. 

“We’re very excited about it. The ethanol facility has been closed for many years. So the purchase and clean up of it is very exciting, and to see it operational again in Goshen County,” said Lisa Miller, CEO of Goshen County Chamber of Commerce

Panhandle Coop will also lease a portion of the facility to Ethanol US, a company with its headquarters in Wisconsin.

The company will bring in raw ethanol to the facility, making hand sanitizer, alcoholic drinks, and other ethanol products. 

While the facility’s purchase has been made and other factors are in the works, Wright said it would be a while before either organization moves into the plant.

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