HOISINGTON — United Ag Services Hoisington Co-Op will be undergoing a major upgrade this fall as soon as the fall harvest of milo, soybeans and corn is complete. The estimated cost is $1 million dollars.
They are hoping to begin Nov. 1 and be done in 18 weeks.
Duane Reif, branch manager of the Co-Op, said, “It’ll benefit (farmers) quite a bit. They can get back to harvest much faster.”
He anticipates farmers will be able to unload crops in 3-4 minutes versus twice that amount of time now.
When a farmer comes to the Co-Op, the crop exits the vehicle into a hole called the dump pit. The crop is then moved to the silo with what’s called a leg.
The new leg will move 15,000 bushels per hour, making the unloading process substantially faster. The old leg moved 7,500 bushels per hour.
The grain is moved from the leg by the top auger which continues to move the grain to the elevator. The top auger will also be replaced, which will also benefit the Co-op. Moving the grain to the storage bins with the top auger will also be faster.
In addition, all of the Co-Op’s silos will have an aerator added to prevent spoilage. The aerator blows air and dries the grain. It will keep the quality in the grain.
This is also an improvement for the Co-Op because, formerly, only a couple of the silos had an aerator.
The last time the Co-Op was upgraded was in the 1970s.The times and the equipment have changed since the 1970s.
“Farmers have all increased capacity on the combine and they can bring in the grain faster,” Reif said.