CHS FACILITY ADDS STORAGE, REDUCES WAIT TIMES

CHS completed construction of its 140-foot-tall concrete elevator in January and soon loaded its first trainload of grain. The six silos can store 1.1 million bushels, providing enhanced market access by connecting area farmers to major export destinations including the Pacific Northwest, Mexico and the Texas Gulf.

The cooperative already had an on-site capacity of 4 million bushels in bunkers, so this boosts the total to just over 5 million. The new facility streamlines operations and supports the local economy.

Kent Mulder, vice president of operations for CHS, said the new facility will be able to receive up to 60,000 bushels per hour. That pushes the location’s total capacity to 110,000 bushels per hour.

“These are exciting times for producers. We can serve them faster and more efficiently,” Mulder said. “Customers demand speed and space. This new infrastructure allows for faster, more efficient grain movement getting producers back into the field more quickly during harvest and high-volume seasons.”

Along with increased storage, another benefit is faster grain handling. The new facility can load out 80,000 bushels per hour. Loading one train with 450,000 bushels of grain can be completed in as little as six hours using a crew of four or five workers. The increased loading speed allows trains to not have to shut off power or disconnect any cars during loading, Mulder said. The engines can continue running as one car after another is quickly filled.

Brad Smidt, who farms near Worthing, delivered a load of corn and a load of soybeans and left impressed.

“It’s kind of amazing. I didn’t think we’d see a nice, new facility like this built in my lifetime,” said Smidt, who used to haul grain over the years to the old elevator inside Worthing city limits. “I liken it to go from the horse-and-buggy days to now we’ve finally gotten to the jet days.”

Construction of the elevator drew a lot of attention. The slip-pouring method involved pouring concrete continuously 24 hours a day. It took six days for the six silos to rise from the ground to completion with nearly 100 workers in each 12-hour shift pushing and dumping wheelbarrows of wet concrete and shoving in rebar.

While some grain from the Worthing site stays in South Dakota, the majority is transported by trains to the Pacific Northwest. Some also goes to Texas.

Worthing’s new facility also has space for 333,000 bushels of wet corn and includes a dryer that can handle 7,500 bushels of grain per hour

CHS has operated at this location since purchasing 167 acres in 2004, then constructing an agronomy center and installing a rail loop to handle fertilizer deliveries.

David Kayser of Alexandria, one of 17 directors on the CHS board, said the location at Interstate 29 and Highway 44, is a key component for success.

“These projects originate at the local level,” Kayser said. “Local farmers bring them to us, and we work with CHS to support decisions to put funding where it’s needed the most.”

Mulder said although this site started with an agronomy center, there were always plans to add a grain facility – first bunkers and now a concrete elevator.

“Because we’re a cooperative, our members are also owners,” Mulder said. “CHS regularly evaluates our assets and supply chain to ensure we are investing in the most strategic locations to benefit our members. This investment strengthens the entire regional network, creating more efficient and reliable grain movement for local farmers.”