Lease Commitments

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Leases [Abstract]

Leases of Lessee Disclosure [Text Block]

Lease Commitments

The Company entered into a lease agreement with an unrelated third party to lease 90 hopper rail cars for the purpose of transporting distiller’s grain.  The five-year term of the lease commenced March 2006 and ended March 2011.  On March 26, 2011 the Company extended this lease with a rider. The rider calls for monthly payments of $56,700 plus applicable taxes.  There was also an additional usage rental of 2.5 cents per mile for each car that exceeds 30,000 miles.  The amendment that was made to the lease agreement on June 19, 2007, allowed the Company to purchase a certificate of deposit for $351,000 in lieu of the letter of credit that was required as partial security for the Company’s obligation under the lease.  The Company has classified this certificate of deposit as restricted cash in other assets. The lease term on the rider is for three years commencing March 2011 and expiring March 2014. In conjunction with a change in the Company’s ethanol marketer, on September 21, 2009, the Company was assigned a lease that was previously between the Company’s previous ethanol marketer and an unrelated third party.  The lease includes 100 tank rail cars for the purpose of transporting ethanol.  The lease calls for monthly payments of $52,500 plus applicable taxes, beginning October 1, 2009.  There is also an additional usage rental of 3 cents per mile for each car that exceeds 35,000 miles.  The lease has an expiration date of September 2016.

On February 2, 2010, the Company entered into a lease agreement with an unrelated third party to lease an additional 30 ethanol tank rail cars.  The one-year term of the lease ended on February 2011.  On March 8, 2011 the Company extended this lease with two riders for 15 railcars each. Each rider calls for monthly payments of $9,750 plus applicable taxes. There was also an additional usage rental of 3 cents per mile for each car that exceeds 30,000 miles.  The lease term on the riders is for three years commencing March 2011 and expiring March 2014.

The Company also leases office equipment and other equipment under operating leases that will expire at various dates through June 2015.

Approximate minimum lease payments under these operating leases for future years are as follows:

Years ending Sept 30:
2014	$	1,075,000
2015	635,000
2016	630,000
	$	2,340,000

Rent expense under the above operating leases totaled approximately, $1,816,000, $1,890,000 and $1,745,000 for the years ended September 30, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.