By Carrie Moritz, Gazette

            Last Wednesday, CHS celebrated a milestone event at its Worthing, SD location. There, they finished the slip construction for a new 140-foot grain elevator, which will serve client farmers from the Garretson area by being able to ship their grain worldwide.

            "It's a more efficient operation to ship [goods]," said Construction Supervisor Michael Van Otterloo of CHS. Van Otterloo oversaw the project on the ground in Worthing. "It'll be eight hours with 5 guys instead of 15 guys in 15 hours."

            The grain will be brought in by individual farmer operators as well as from locations such as the Brandon/Corson CHS silo to be dried, processed, and loaded onto train cars, where it will then head to the Pacific Northwest and Mexico to be sent worldwide.

            "The more efficient we can make it for our customers, the more money we can save them," said CHS Senior Trader Todd Kirby. Kirby takes care of the merchandising arm for the Brandon enterprise, which includes Garretson, Brandon, Worthing, Colton, Elkton, Canton, Irene, Ellis, and Hurley.

            The Worthing silo is placed at the intersection of I-29 and Highway 44 just west of Worthing, an area representatives call a perfect location for improving access for farmer operators.

            "Many of them are driving semis," said Van Otterloo, erasing the old iconic picture that many non-farmers may have of tractors pulling grain trailers. The interstate is much more efficient, and takes the heavy vehicles off back roads or city streets that may not be built to withstand that much traffic or weight. For instance, the Canton elevator can have 200-300 semi trucks go through per day, causing wear and tear on the city streets. This is why most elevators are no longer built in town, despite the nostalgia for the old Garretson skyline that long-time residents have.

            Not only that, but the train system there is on a loop rather than a split or ladder track, so the loading train never has to stop moving or be unhooked.

            Kirby pointed out that the faster CHS can get farmer operators into and out of the facility, the more productive the farmer can be during harvest.

            "It improves customer experience," added Kirby. CHS prides itself on being a cooperative, and more efficiency means they can provide higher dividends to their customers.

            Building this facility is one example of responsibly investing customers' dollars, Kirby said.

            He noted that the new facility sets CHS up for future possibilities, whether that's expansion or automation.

            "Future vehicles may not even be operated by a human," he said. Until then, though, the new facility will help bring in the grain quickly and safely, as automation and several safety components, such as dust control and extra fall protection, have been added to ensure that workers are not put in harm's way.

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