Progress is being made on the new Starland Seed Cleaning Plant.
The Starland Seed Cleaning Plant held its annual meeting on Monday, December 12 at the Delia Community Hall.
The organization has been busy with its new plant construction. Last year they were able to gather more than 90 investors and secure financing for a new plant. They broke ground on the new facility in April of this year.
It is being constructed on 10 acres about two miles northwest of Delia on Highway 851. The new plant will replace the existing facility in Delia, which has been in operation since the 1960s. The one major difference will be the size. While the original plant was built for 3-ton trucks, this will accommodate modern transportation. There is also a possibility to expand into a value-added component, including cleaning grains for export.
“We are going to try this business model and turn it into more of a grain processing facility where we can hopefully get some contracts for intermodal hauling to create a little bit of a niche market for producers utilizing this plant,” explains board chair Al Hampton, upon ground wreaking.
He updated the Mail on the construction. “We are at the point that if you drive by it, it actually looks alike a seed-cleaning plant,” chuckles Hampton.
He said the contractor has told them they should be able to do some seed cleaning at the new plant come March.
Despite economic conditions Hampton says budget-wise the project is still on track.
“That’s the important part. We are looking at the actual cost of the project and what we have to work with,” said Hampton. ‘It appears we are going to be within our budget estimate.”
He says typically, at this time of year, if the new plant was in service it would be busy. The existing plant is still in operation for members. On the other hand, Hampton said it would be nice to get any bugs worked out before it is commissioned.
“Just about anything that has to do with equipment, there is always a hiccup or two so it is always better to get those taken care of at this point,” said Hampton. “If it opens in March or April and we get some bushels through it, we are probably in better shape.”