The new Starland Seed Cleaning plant is in the process of being commissioned this fall, and it is expected to be online for this season’s crop.
After years of fundraising and construction, the new Starland Seed Cleaning Plant, situated on 10 acres about two miles northwest of Delia on Highway 851, is nearing completion. The project broke ground in March of 2022. It was built to replace the aging plant in Delia, and also accommodate a new expanded business model to serve more customers. They are looking at it as more of a grain processing facility and possibly picking up some contracts for intermodal hauling.
Chariman Al Hampton tells the Mail that August 28 was day one of commissioning. He said they have the first truckload of wheat brought into the plant and are going through their plant to make sure the equipment and processes are running smoothly.
“Once it is commissioned, the next step is to get the plant up and running, so hopefully we’ll be back in the grain business this month,’ said Hampton. “For sure, we’ll be going for this year’s crop. Hopefully we’ll be going by early to mid-September.”
He explains they go through the entire process during this phase, from dumping and then distributing into bins and going through each piece of equipment through screening and the processes. This has to be timed precisely.
“You have to do that with a variety of types of grain. Right at this point, we have wheat, but we’ll have to do the same thing with barley and then the same with peas,” he said. “Those will be the big three that we’ll be targeting… It’s kind of exciting times.”
“The project has potential from the farming community perspective, and it is a good addition to a primarily agricultural area, so I think it will have many benefits for people in the community,” said Hampton.

A man from the Lethbridge area entered a guilty plea in Alberta Court of Justice in Drumheller on Friday, August 18 and received a 15 day sentence for a shoplifting incident.
The accused, 27-year-old Austin Graham, who is from the Lethbridge area, appeared before the court via closed circuit television (CCTV).
The court heard how on May 29 of this year, the accused had stolen a set of knives from a Canadian Tire store. He also later, on an unspecified date, attempted to return the knives without receipt in an attempt to receive cash for the stolen property. Throughout the investigation, the knives were not recovered.
Crown entered a 15 day sentence disposition, noting Mr. Graham has a “significant record” which includes other theft and fraud charges; his last conviction on related charges was in 2020 and he received a four day sentence.
Mitigating factors were a very early guilty plea, while aggravating factors included his admitted criminal record.
Defense counsel noted Mr. Graham has struggled with “significant drug problems” and has been incarcerated since some time in June 2023, though an exact date was not given. Since his incarceration, Mr. Graham has been able to achieve two months of sobriety, and is currently waiting to be accepted into a treatment program.
Mr. Graham also expressed he took full responsibility for his actions and has been making plans to remain sober upon his release and become a functioning member of society.
The Honourable Justice Shaw accepted the sentence of 15 days, using 10 days of enhanced pre-trial custody, and waived the victim fine surcharge due to undue hardship.