EDMONTON — Alberta’s seed cleaning plants have come a long way from the 1950s when the province’s small wooden elevators simply cleaned seed.
Modern seed cleaning plants clean commercial and pedigreed seed, apply seed treatments and ship grain for export.
Sixty-six Alberta seed cleaning plants cleaned 39.5 million bushels of grain last year. The average seed cleaning plant cleans almost 600,000 bu. a year.
“We’re cleaning more seed with less plants. The future looks good,” said Dave Bishop, vice-president of the Association of Alberta Co-op Seed Cleaning Plants.
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Stony Plain Seed Cleaning Association, which is the province’s highest volume plant, cleaned more than 1.5 million bu. of seed last year.
“The more progressive plants are doing more and more than just cleaning,” said McBain.
For example, the Westlock Seed Cleaning Co-op treated more than 300,000 bu. of seed last year, the highest volume of any of the province’s plants.
“It was a convenient way to increase revenue for the plant,” said manager Wayne Walker.
“I’ve got big customers with 10,000 acres and they’ve got big equipment for treating, but it’s sitting in the shop. They don’t want to deal with it.… We make more on our treating than all of our cleaning.”
Westlock also cleaned the most pedigreed seed of any plant in the province last year: more than 500,000 bu.
It has storage for 350,000 bu. of pedigreed seed, and many local pedigreed seed growers clean their seed at the plant, store it there and have the Westlock plant make the seed sales.
Keith Reynolds, manager of the Strathmore Seed Cleaning Plant, said the company recently signed a deal to load grain into shipping containers for a third party.
“It’s a lucrative side business for our company,” said Reynolds.
It also rents out an office to a grading company. The rent revenue isn’t significant, but Reynolds hopes the connection will lead to more ventures.
Michael Patten, manager of the Lougheed Co-op Seed Cleaning Plant, said it became clear in 2011 that the plant, which was built in the 1950s, needed upgrading. It was designed to clean 200,000 to 300,000 bu. a year but now averages 640,000 bu.
“Growth could not continue unless changes were made,” said Patten.
The old plant had seven 500 bu. bins, while the new plant, now under construction, will have 24,000 bu. of overhead storage.
Patten advised seed cleaning plant boards to plan their expansion early by setting aside money to rebuild or renovate the facility.
mary.macarthur@producer.com
