Hussar seed cleaning plant looking to expand

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Keeping rural agriculture-related businesses booming takes a lot of planning and work.
Hussar Seed Cleaning Co-op Ltd. first opened in 1976, and with increased business demands, the plant is looking to renew and expand its facilities.
“Over the years, our plant has grown substantially in the number of bushels we are treating and cleaning,” said co-op president Russell Nail in Wheatland County council chambers on Nov. 6. “Our community takes pride in the Hussar seed cleaning plant, as we are unfortunately one of the small businesses left in our town.”
Nail said in the past 10 years, the plant’s business has more than doubled, cleaning over 680,000 bushels of seed per year and treating 189,000 bushels.
The plant board has been diligent over the years to maintain upkeep on the plant, doing a major rebuild in the 1990s that included a covered shed over a new truck scale.
The board continues to meet the needs of area farmers and wants to replace worn out machines and bins in the plant. The board approached Wheatland County for a co-sign authorization, so they can borrow $2.5 million from Alberta Finance Capital to begin phase one of their renovations. The co-op has the money in hand for the 25 per cent down payment.
They considered building a new plant, but at a $7 million price tag to build, they found renovating the existing plant over time was the better decision.
Wheatland County previously helped the co-op with the original loan, which was paid back in full.
“At the end of the day, we are trying to build a new plant, but very slowly, so we can financially handle it,” said Derek Harms, manager of the Hussar seed cleaning plant.
The most expensive part is the treater, which delivers an advanced treatment process.
The plan is to work on renovation over a 10-year period. The co-op anticipates about four phases to completion. The subsequent phases will cost about $5.5 million at today’s pricing.
They chose to upgrade the treater, as it delivers a needed service for area farmers, and with renovations, the plant will be able to handle more production and expand services.
Councillor Ben Armstrong gave a supportive reference and said big and small farm operations throughout the county use the plant.
There was suggestion from council that cost estimates and feasibility studies be provided and staff work with the board of the seed cleaning plant to come up with a proposal for council decision.
Deputy Reeve Glenn Koester asked that staff also look at the possibility of Wheatland County financing the project, similar to arrangements worked out for the Strathmore Seed Cleaning Plant and bring back that option along with the other information.