Farmland announces second wheat sale to Cuba

? Archer Daniels Midland and Farmland Industries on Tuesday announced a second major sale of hard red winter wheat to Cuba.

Farmland, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Kansas City, Mo., joined with ADM, one of the world’s largest agricultural processors from Decatur, Ill., last year in a joint venture to market grain.

They have now sold $12 million worth of wheat to Cuba since January.

This latest grain shipment, valued at $9.4 million, comes under a 2000 law that permits sales of food to Cuba as an exception to the U.S. trade embargo.

“In January, when we saw the first shipment of producer-owner wheat exported to Cuba from our Galveston (Tex.) facility, we hoped it was the first of many shipments,” said Farmland president and CEO Bob Honse, a Lawrence resident.

ADM/Farmland shipped its first 30,000 metric tons of wheat in January.

The company is declining to disclose the amount of grain sold in this latest sale, which will be shipped to Cuba later this month.

The second shipment will come from Farmland’s co-op members in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas  the same states that supplied the first shipment.