New Trading Company to Specialize in Beet Stocks
Grand Forks, ND - October 30, 2009 - John Botsford has announced the launch of Red River Trading Company, LLC, in Grand Forks. The new company provides a secondary marketplace or ‘clearinghouse’ for the brokerage of sugar beet stock. Through the services of Red River Trading, buyers and sellers will find a convenient, ready market for shares, and shareholders and growers will be matched with one another. The company is headquartered in the Grand Forks Bremer Bank, located at 3100 Columbia Road South.
“Basically, this company offers ‘one-stop-services’ for the sale and management of sugar beet stock,” explained founder John Botsford.
Botsford has elected to partner with Bremer Bank to manage shares on behalf of shareholders and growers. “Bremer has presence and experience in this area, has talented staff with expertise, has multiple locations throughout the Red River Valley and has similar business values -- basically investing in the health of our communities,” said Botsford. “Bremer is a strong strategic partner because they are already heavily involved with the sugar beet industry.”
Bremer Trust will be offering opportunities for producers to engage in joint ventures or limited partnerships , and will manage those partnerships. The new service is in addition to a wide range of ag services already offered by Bremer Bank. Bremer was one of the largest supporters of local growers when they initially formed the Co-op and acquired American Crystal Sugar.
“This partnership serves a need many of our customers have in the Red River Valley that we have not been addressing in the past – offering a market for the shares,” said Russ Erickson, president of Bremer Bank. “It also supports the work we have already been doing in managing partnerships involving co-op shares.”
Botsford is a licensed registered representative with 15 years experience in beet stock transfers. He also recently opened an affiliated company, Red River Land Company, LLC, which is also located in the Bremer Bank Building in Grand Forks.
Bremer Financial Corporation
Bremer Financial Corporation is a privately-held, $7.6 billion regional financial services company jointly owned by its employees and the Otto Bremer Foundation (OBF). Founded in 1943 by Otto Bremer, the company is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota and provides a comprehensive range of banking, investment, trust and insurance services to more than 100 locations in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. OBF uses its share of dividends to distribute charitable grants to Bremer Bank communities. In 2008, more than $30 million in charitable donations were given across the Bremer footprint and employees donated nearly 93,000 volunteer hours to their communities. For more information, go to bremer.com.