Ardent Mills to close historic flour mill in Mankato, Minnesota
USA – Ardent Mills, LLC has announced the closure of its Mankato, Minnesota flour mill, citing challenging market conditions as the primary driver of the decision.
Operations at the facility will begin winding down immediately, with milling activities scheduled to cease entirely by mid-January 2025.
The Mankato mill, located roughly 80 miles southwest of the Twin Cities, is the smallest of Ardent Mills’ three milling facilities in Minnesota, with a daily capacity of 9,900 cwts.
In comparison, the company’s Hastings mill, located just southeast of Minneapolis, boasts a capacity of 26,760 cwts, and its Lake City facility handles 16,000 cwts per day.
“This was a tough decision,” an Ardent Mills spokesperson stated, highlighting persistent pressures in the milling industry.
The closure marks the end of an era for the Mankato mill, whose origins trace back to the late 1870s with the founding of Hubbard Milling Co. Over the years, the facility changed hands, becoming part of Cargill in 1989 before being integrated into Ardent Mills when the company was formed in 2014.
Currently employing 44 people, the Mankato mill features two milling units and produces a variety of flours from hard and soft wheat sourced across the US and Canada. Employees at the mill will be offered opportunities to relocate to other Ardent Mills locations where feasible.
Ardent Mills emphasized that customers previously supplied by the Mankato facility will continue to receive their products from other mills in the company’s extensive network.
The company’s total daily milling capacity will now stand at 500,610 cwts across 31 US locations, according to data from the upcoming 2025 Grain & Milling Annual.
This closure continues a broader trend for Ardent Mills, which has shuttered multiple facilities in recent years.
The Mankato announcement comes 19 months after the closure of its Port Allen, Louisiana mill, and follows the shutdown of mills in Georgia, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska.
However, the company has also focused on strategic expansions, such as the addition of 9,500 cwts of daily capacity at its Commerce City, Colorado facility earlier this year.
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