LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A federal bankruptcy judge in Nebraska on Monday denied two Texas farmers' attempts to reclaim grain from Hansen-Mueller Co. in the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, after the producers alleged the company continued to accept grain deliveries despite facing insolvency in late 2025.

Farmers Kyle Miller and Travis Elliott, owner of Elliott AGCO, argued in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska that they should have been paid for deliveries of winter wheat and corn totaling more than $230,000 or recover the grain from Hansen-Mueller.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas L. Saladino said in an order the farmers did not prove the company misrepresented its situation in emails and other communications presented as evidence.

"In order to be a misrepresentation of solvency, the buyer must be insolvent when it made the representation and the buyer's communication must in fact be representing the buyer's financial solvency," Saladino said in the order.

The texts and emails presented by the farmers show Hansen-Mueller officials bidding on the sellers' grain, setting up deliveries and promises to investigate payment delays.

"They also disclose some disarray as the debtor was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy -- in addition to delayed (and ultimately unmade) grain payments, personnel were leaving and the home office staff was dealing with auditors," Saladino said.

"However, none of these communications or documents represented the debtor's financial condition; there were no 'financial appraisals' or 'assertions regarding the buyer's financial health,' as described in Wathen's Elevators."

Henderson County, Kentucky-based Wathen's Elevators, Inc., filed for bankruptcy in 1982 in a case that dealt with reclamation issues.

Saladino said in the order that while the evidence shows Hansen-Mueller was in distress and company employees may have made misleading statements, it did not meet the legal requirements.

"At most, the debtor's employees hedged when questioned by the grain producers, relaying tales of missing delivery documentation, payment processing difficulties and delays in receiving payment from downstream purchasers of the grain," Saladino said in the order.

"These statements likely were intended to appease the claimants, but they are not factual statements as to the debtor's solvency."

Under federal law, when a buyer like Hansen-Mueller receives goods while insolvent, the seller normally has just 10 days after delivery to make a written demand to reclaim their goods.

The Texas farmers missed the 10-day window and claim in court documents they had no idea Hansen-Mueller was insolvent when they delivered grain.

Federal law includes an exception to the 10-day window. If a misrepresentation of solvency is made to a seller in writing within three months before delivery, the 10-day window does not apply.

In May 2026, the court ruled against 19 Texas farmers in their bid to recover more than $700,000 in grain claims submitted to Hansen-Mueller. The court ruled the farmers' liens against the company were not perfected. However, the court left open the possibility for the producers to fully recover the proceeds through reclamation.

Kyle Miller and Elliott AGCO were part of the group of 19 Texas producers who made claims under Texas law in the Nebraska court and were the only producers in that group to seek reclamation.

Although it was not required by the court in this case, fellow Texas producers Golden Harvest Farms, LLC and Elm Creek Commodities, LLC also submitted evidence to support the claims made by Elliott AGCO and Kyle Miller.

All four farms submitted copies of emails, text messages and phone calls they exchanged with Hansen-Mueller representatives when they were seeking payment from the company for grain deliveries in October and November 2025.

Read more on DTN:

"TX Farmers: Hansen-Mueller Hid Collapse," https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @DTNeeley

(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.