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Seed cleaning plant open for business after major upgrades

After a six-month closure for upgrades and new equipment, the Stettler County Seed Cleaning Plant is again open and ready
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George Leggott holds out a tray of cleaned seeds

After a six-month closure for upgrades and new equipment, the Stettler County Seed Cleaning Plant is again open and ready to serve local farmers.

The chairman of the plant board told the Independent that he hopes farmers in the district will give their business to the plant, which is run as a co-operative effort with the support of the County of Stettler.

“We just want to get the word out to everyone that the plant is open for business,” said Bob Anderson. “We’re hoping farmers in the community will support us now.”

Two major pieces of equipment - the indent cylinder machine and the gravity table, both used in the sorting and separation process - were replaced at the plant.

The main goals were to increase the plant’s capacity and phase out older machines that had been in use for decades. Anderson said the upgrades have doubled the speed at which the plant can process seeds.

“We’re up and running,” said George Leggott, the plant’s general manager. “We’ve doubled our cleaning capacity (and we’re) doing a better job, as far as I’m concerned.”

Anderson said that relocating the equipment to place all the machines on the same level keeps the plant employees from constantly having to run back and forth, adding, “That can wear on you over the course of a long day, as anybody knows that has a basement.”

However, delays in completing the upgrades forced the plant to stay closed for six months. The renovations began in June, and while the goal was to reopen the plant in time for last year’s harvest, the plant did not resume operations until February.

“That obviously impacted our customers,” said Anderson, while Leggott said the installation of the new equipment was “a headache.”

Anderson estimated that the plant has between 50 and 75 active shareholders, which reflects the growing size of farms and, accordingly, the diminished number of landowners.

The upgrades were originally budgeted at $200,000, Anderson said, but Leggott said the total cost is closer to $350,000.

“That’s a lot of money for this little plant,” said Anderson, calling it a major investment in the plant’s future.

In addition to seed cleaning, the plant also provides treating services for cereal grains – applying chemicals to present disease and fight attacks from certain insects - as well as grading services.

The plant was constructed in the late 1950s and incorporated in 1960, funded in three equal parts by the province, the county and local farmers, who sold shares to pay for its construction.

Before long, the province had scaled back its contributions. The plant is overseen by a board of directors, consisting of six farmers and one representative from the County of Stettler.

Leggott, raised on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, moved to Alberta in 1968 and began working at the plant in 1980.

He said that treating seeds used to make up more than half of the plant’s business, but changes in the seed industry since then have eliminated most of that work.

Anderson said the new machines were tested beginning in mid-February, and despite some ‘teething problems,’ are now running at full force.

He was apologetic for the impact the closure had on the plant’s customers, saying, “We really need their support.”

The plant is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, with extended hours as necessary. For more information, call 403-742-2905.