Grain storage at the Temiskaming Agriculture Centre will increase by 170,000 bushels
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A provincial farm co-op is investing over $1 million to increase grain storage capacity at a northern Ontario elevator.
The Co-opérative Régionale de Nipissing Sudbury will spend $1.7 million to upgrade its Temiskaming Agriculture Centre in Thornloe, Ont.
The 4,000-member co-op is building a 160-foot grain tower this summer, equipped with a bucket elevator and four wet bins with a combined 60,000-bushel capacity. A dry bin capable of storing 110,000 bushels is also part of the project.
In addition, the upgrades include an elevator leg capable of moving about 250 tonnes of grain per hour.
The entire project will increase capacity at the elevator by about 170,000 bushels.
The improvements reflect the advocacy efforts of farmers in the region, said Brandon Tuinema, agricultural manager with the co-op.
“Our members have spoken,” he told Farms.com today. “For years, we were just limping by with some of our equipment to get the grain in. Our farmers wanted faster unloading times, so they can get back to the fields, and more storage, so they had more opportunities with their grain merchandising.”
The construction project also shows the viability of ag in northern Ontario.
Soybean acres, for example, increased from 9,889 in 2011 to 24,700 in 2016.
Between government investments and producer interest in the region, infrastructure improvements must reflect those needs, Tuinema said.
“There’s been excitement as it pertains to agriculture in northern Ontario,” he said. “There’s been investments in land clearing and tiling to bring more acres into production, so the need is there.
“There are more and more crops being grown, and we’re kind of the last frontier of arable land in Ontario. I would expect to see some big advancements in other parts of northern Ontario and those customers will need better service.”
Farms.com has reached out to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture for comment.
Co-opérative Régionale de Nipissing Sudbury photo