QuickLinks -- Click here to rapidly navigate through this document

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

~~PURSUANT~~Pursuant to TOSection ~~SECTION~~ 13 ORor 15(d) of ~~OF THE~~the ~~SECURITIES~~Securities ~~EXCHANGE~~Exchange ~~ACT~~Act OFof 1934

Date of Report (~~date~~Date of earliest event reported)~~: August~~ 28February 14, ~~2001~~2002

Badger State Ethanol, LLC
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Wisconsin	333-50568	39-1996522
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission	(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)
2443 Bethel Road
Monroe, Wisconsin		53566
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

BADGER STATE ETHANOL, LLC
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (608) 329-3900

Wisconsin		333-50568		39-1996522
(State of formation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

~~Item~~2443 1.Bethel ~~Changes~~Road Monroe, inWisconsin ~~Control~~53566 (Address of ~~Registrant.~~principal executive offices)

~~Not~~(608) ~~Applicable.~~329-3900 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

~~Item~~(Not 2.Applicable) (Former ~~Acquisition~~name or ~~Disposition~~former ofaddress, ~~Assets.~~if changed since last report)

~~Not~~ ~~Applicable~~ Item 4. Change in Registrant's Certifying Accountant.

~~Item~~ On 3February 4, 2002, Badger State Ethanol, LLC (the "Company") dismissed Boulay, Heutmaker, Zibell & Co. ~~Bankruptcy~~P.L.L.P. or("Boulay ~~Receivership~~Heutmaker") as its independent auditor. The change in the Company's independent auditor was approved by its Board of Directors.

~~Not~~ Boulay Heutmaker ~~Applicable~~audited the Company's financial statements for the period from inception (May 11, 2000) to December 31, 2000. Boulay Heutmaker's report for the period ended December 31, 2000 did not contain any adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, and was not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

~~Item~~ Since inception, 4.the ~~Changes~~Company had no disagreements with Boulay Heutmaker on matters of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Boulay Heutmaker, would have caused them to make reference to such disagreements in ~~Registrant’~~its report on the Company's ~~Certifying~~financial ~~Accountant~~statements for the period ended December 31, 2000.

~~Not~~ The Company ~~Applicable~~has requested that Boulay Heutmaker furnish it with a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether or not it agrees with the above statements. A copy of such letter is set forth below as Exhibit 16.1 to this Form 8-K.

~~Item~~ The Company 5engaged Grant Thornton LLP ("Grant Thornton") as its independent auditor as of February 14, 2002. ~~Other~~Prior ~~Events~~to engaging Grant Thornton, neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf consulted Grant Thornton regarding the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Company's financial statements or any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement (as defined in Regulation S-K item 304(a)(i)(iv)) or a reportable event (as defined in Regulation S-K item 304(a)(i)(v)).

On ~~August~~ ~~28,~~ Item ~~2001,~~7. weFinancial ~~secured~~Statements ~~senior~~ and ~~subordinated debt financing for $36~~Exhibits.~~2 million and closed on our initial public offering of Class A Units.~~

~~Senior and Subordinated Debt Financing~~ (c) Exhibits.

~~We have entered into a $32~~16.~~6 million credit facility with First National Bank of~~1 Letter ~~Omaha~~Regarding ~~(“First~~Change ~~National”), consisting of $30.6 million~~ in ~~long-term~~Certifying ~~financing and a $2 million revolving line of credit~~Accountant. ~~The~~ credit facility is secured by substantially all of our assets. We have also entered into a $3.6 million subordinated credit facility with Alliant Energy – Wisconsin Power and Light Company to finance electrical infrastructure and other construction needs.

~~The foregoing~~ ~~description of the senior and subordinated credit facilities do not~~ ~~purport~~ ~~to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the~~ ~~loan agreements, the shared cost contract, and other related documents.~~SIGNATURES

~~Initial~~ Pursuant ~~Public~~to ~~Offering~~the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

On August 28, 2001, we closed our initial public offering of Class A Units. The closing was contingent upon our raising at least $10 million from the sale of Class A Units and obtaining at least $31 million of senior debt and the amount of subordinated debt that we need to complete the construction of the ethanol plant. Pending satisfaction of these conditions, all funds were held in escrow. We satisfied all conditions to closing and raised $18,054,000 from the sale of 18,054 Class A Units and secured $32.6 million in senior debt financing and $3.6 million in subordinated debt financing.

		BADGER STATE ETHANOL, LLC
February 15, 2002		By:		/s/ GARY KRAMER Gary Kramer President

~~Appointment of New Directors~~QuickLinks

Item 4. Change in Registrant's Certifying Accountant.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

SIGNATURES

Our operating agreement provides that the Board of Directors shall consist of not less than five or more than seven directors. On August 28, 2001, the Board appointed Mr. David Kolsrud, Mr. Robert Wright, and Mr. Don Endres to fill the three remaining vacant seats. Mr. Kolsrud will serve an initial one-year term, and must stand for election to a three-year term at the next annual meeting of the members. Mr. Wright will serve an initial two-year term. Mr. Endres will serve an initial three-year term. Mr. Wright and Mr. Endres must stand for election to three-year terms when their initial terms expires.

Mr. Kolsrud is the General Manager and a member of the Board of Directors of CORN–er Stone Farmers Cooperative, which he founded in 1995 and served as Chairman until 2000. Mr. Kolsrud also continues to work as a self–employed farmer, an occupation he has had since 1973. He also serves as Chairman of the Valley Springs Farmers Cooperative, a farm supply co–op in Valley Springs, South Dakota. He has served on that board for 15 years and served as Chairman for the past 12 years. He is also currently Chairman of the Minnesota Coalition for Ethanol. Mr. Kolsrud also serves on the Board of Governors of AGRI–Energy, LLC (a 12 million gallon a year ethanol facility in Luverne, Minnesota). He has served on that Board since 1997 and served as its Vice President until 1999.

Mr. Wright has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and a principal shareholder of Murex N.A. since May 1992. Murex is a marketer of gasoline “blendstocks,” such as fuel grade Ethanol, MTBE, Toluene, Methanol and Alkylate, to independent and major refiners in the United States. Mr. Wright is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Chemical Engineering and the University of Toledo with a Masters in Business Administration.

Mr. Endres currently serves on the Board of Directors of Glacial Lakes Energy, First National Bank Venture Capital, and Midwest Card Services. He is currently Chairman of the Brookings Chamber e-commerce committee. Mr. Endres is also the President of VeraSun Energy Corporation, a company he founded in June 2001. Prior to forming VeraSun, he served as Chief Executive Officer of ExpressGold.com, Inc., a company he co-founded in 1997. ExpressGold.com merged with Cybersource Corporation in 2000. Prior to that, Mr. Endres served as President and General Manager of Special Teams, Inc., a company he founded in 1985. Special Teams was acquired by the American Express Company in 1995, and Mr. Endres served as President of American Express Special Teams until 1997. He has also served on the Board of Directors of CoEv, Inc., a magnetic component company, until its merger with Tyco International Ltd. in 2000. Mr. Endres graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in Animal Science and minors in Computer Science and Economics. Earlier this year, he was recognized by South Dakota State University’s College of Engineering as “Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Item 6. Resignations of Registrant’s Directors.

Not Applicable.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits

Exhibit 99.0. Press release of September 5, 2001.

Item 8. Change in Fiscal Year.

Not Applicable.

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.

Not Applicable.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

	BADGER STATE ETHANOL, LLC
Dated: September 21, 2001	By:	/s/ John L. Malchine
		John L. Malchine
		Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
		and Secretary (principal financial officer)

Filing Compare · BADGER STATE ETHANOL LLC