v3.26.1
Commitments and Contingencies
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Lease Expense
The company leases certain facilities, parcels of land, and equipment, with remaining terms ranging from less than one year to approximately 11.4 years. The land and facility leases include renewal options. The renewal options are included in the lease term only for those sites or locations in which they are reasonably certain to be renewed. Equipment renewals are not considered reasonably certain to be exercised as they typically renew with significantly different underlying terms.
The components of lease expense are as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended
June 30,		Six Months Ended
June 30,
2026202520262025
Lease expense
Operating lease expense$6,952$7,485$13,809$14,813
Variable lease expense (1)
353104957326
Total lease expense$7,305$7,589$14,766$15,139
(1)Represents amounts incurred in excess of the minimum payments required for a certain building lease and for the handling and unloading of railcars for a certain land lease, offset by railcar lease abatements provided by the lessor when railcars are out of service during periods of maintenance or upgrade.
Supplemental cash flow information related to operating leases is as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended
June 30,		Six Months Ended
June 30,
2026202520262025
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases$7,043 $7,623 $14,053 $14,995 
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations
Operating leases4,608 4,566 12,635 4,848 
Supplemental balance sheet information related to operating leases is as follows:
June 30,
2026		December 31,
2025
Weighted average remaining lease term3.5 years3.8 years
Weighted average discount rate5.36 %5.46 %
Aggregate minimum lease payments under the operating lease agreements for the remainder of 2026 and in future years are as follows (in thousands):
Year Ending December 31,Amount
2026$13,434 
202723,801 
202815,327 
202910,445 
20304,596 
Thereafter3,738 
Total71,341 
Less: Present value discount(6,397)
Lease liabilities$64,944 
The company has two additional railcar operating leases commencing during the third quarter of 2026 with undiscounted future lease payments of approximately $5.7 million and lease terms of five years. These amounts are not included in the tables above.
Other Commitments
As of June 30, 2026, the company had contracted future purchases of grain, ethanol, distillers grains and natural gas, valued at approximately $204.3 million and future commitments for storage and transportation, valued at approximately $32.9 million.
The company has entered into contracts with Tallgrass High Plains Carbon Storage, LLC and its affiliates, related to the construction, development and operation of carbon capture and sequestration projects at our three Nebraska plants. As of June 30, 2026, the company had incurred $12.4 million of accumulated construction costs in relation to the projects, presented as carbon equipment liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.
Legal
The company is currently involved in litigation, including worker's compensation litigation, that has arisen in the ordinary course of business, but does not believe any pending litigation will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.