Larry Steward, former president and chief executive officer of the Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, has been named to head the Rocky Mountain Sugar Growers Cooperative.
He brings a lot of experience to the new cooperative. He presided over Minn-Dak's expansion during the past decade and served as chairman of the board for United Sugars Co., a company that markets sugar for Minn-Dak and other companies.
This is not Stewards first time working with Western Sugar growers. He served as vice president for administration at the company prior to 1990.
The cooperative expects to close the deal with Tate and Lyle, the parent company of Western Sugar Co. by March 31. The cooperative is working to buy six factories in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana for $78 million.