Staff writer
A new seed-cleaning and treatment plant at Lincolnville is up and running. The Agri-Producers, Inc., project began more than a year ago.
According to Agri-Producers manager Stan Utting, when the board decided to build a new plant, they chose Lincolnville as the site because of co-op-owned space available there. The Herington plant is on leased ground. Utting said it is still operable but in need of repairs.
Lincolnville branch-manager Perry Gutsch said the new plant is expected to clean 600 bushels of wheat per hour. Large bulk tanks at the top of the structure are split into two bins, so a second truckload of wheat can be unloading while the first is being processed.
The plant also is equipped to treat the seed with fungicide and insecticide, if desired. It will provide soybean seed treatment in spring.
Gutsch said the seed-cleaning process removes trash such as straw, sticks, and stones and removes lighter kernels so they don’t have to go through the drill.
Gutsch’s assistant, Dale Klenda, said sowing only the larger, plumper wheat berries results in more tillers (multiple stalks from one seed) and more wheat heads per plant.
The employees have done several test runs to become familiar with the operation. A few more details have to be completed, Gutsch said, but the basic process is ready to go.
Farmers will be able to pick up bulk blend seed wheat from Phillips Seed at the plant.
“This new facility also has plenty of room for growth in the future,” Utting said.