On or about May 20, 2021, Steve Christensen resigned as chief executive officer of Granite Falls Energy, LLC, effective May 26, 2021. On or about May 20, 2021, GFE appointed Jeffrey Oestmann, to serve as CEO effective May 26, 2021. Oestmann has worked in the agriculture and bio-fuel sectors for approximately 27 years. From 2013 to 2017, Oestmann served as President and CEO of East Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC. From 2017 to 2019, Oestmann worked for Syngenta as Head of Accounts and subsequently as Head of Bio-Fuel Operations.
Granite Falls Energy, LLC is engaged in the production and sale of ethanol and its co-products (wet, modified wet and dried distiller's grains, corn oil and corn syrup) locally and throughout the continental United States. The principal products from ethanol production at the Company's plant and its subsidiary, Heron Lake BioEnergy, LLC (HLBEs) plant are fuel-grade ethanol, distiller grains, and non-edible corn oil. In addition, HLBE's plant also includes corn syrup and natural gas pipeline operations. It also extracts non-edible crude corn oil. It sells distillers grains (DDGS) as animal feed for beef and dairy cattle, poultry and hogs. Its corn oil is primarily sold to diesel manufacturers and, to a lesser extent, feed lot and poultry markets. Its ethanol production operations are carried out at its ethanol plant located in Granite Falls, Minnesota, and at the ethanol plant operated by HLBE located near Heron Lake, Minnesota. It distributes its products through third party marketers.