EDMONTON — Seed cleaning plants are just like the grinders in a hockey game: not flashy, often under-appreciated but very im-portant.
Alberta’s 69 seed cleaning plants cleaned 36 million bushels of grain last year, said Ron Wirsta, manager of the St. Paul Seed Cleaning Plant and a member of the Association of Alberta Co-op Seed Cleaning Plants.
“We keep good seed going in the ground,” he said.
“Your local seed plant plays an important role to crop improvement through the prevention and control of weeds and commercially applied seed treatments.”
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Seed cleaning plants were first established in Alberta 61 years ago to help producers plant the best crop possible. The cleaning facilities have grown and changed since then, but they are still farmer-owned co-operatives, one of the few remaining farmer co-operatives in the province, he told FarmTech 2014.
In some places, they’re also the only businesses remaining in the rural community, he said.
Not all plants have modernized and expanded, but six of them clean more than one million bushels each. They clean seed to pedigreed standards, treat seed and clean dockage from grain to increase grade.
Wirsta said some plants have started selling seed, feed, chemical and fertilizer to stay competitive.
Many have renovated over the last six years and installed colour sorters to help farmers boost grades, he added. These renovations have included more than $100 million in technology and building upgrades.
Don Boles, a director with the Three Hills Seed Cleaning plant, said the facility plays a vital role in his community, particularly as other towns shrink.
“It helps make the town more vibrant.”
