The biggest business in Sterling
Like other types of cooperatives, South Central
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In honor of Co-op Month, Capital Electric Cooperative turns the spotlight on South Central Grain - the biggest business in Sterling. |
Grain is run by a board of directors who are elected to serve. Members are invited to attend the annual meeting in Napoleon, and may receive dividends at the end of the year if the elevator makes a profit.
October is Co-op Month: a time to appreciate the cooperative way of doing business; a time to remember how each member has voting rights; and a time to appreciate the return of capital credits.
This October, Capital Electric Cooperative highlights a cooperative in its service area: South Central Grain, which is a division of Cenex Harvest States Cooperative. This elevator, which loaded its first 110-car train in November 2000, is located on the corner of Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 83, just south of Sterling.
Like other types of cooperatives, South Central Grain is run by a board of directors who serve in elected positions. Jeff Mehl, marketing manager and broker for South Central Grain, says membership is not required, but most farmers who use the elevator choose to be members because they may receive dividends at the end of the year.
“I honestly think people do appreciate the co-op way of doing business. A lot of people still use the co-op today because they get 10 to 20 cents a bushel back at the end of the year—if the elevator makes money. People still care about that,” he affirms.
South Central Grain is open year-round, and Mehl says farmers and truckers will drive 50 miles from any direction to unload their spring wheat, corn and winter wheat in Sterling, when prices are good. Or, they may visit another South Central Grain location if it’s more convenient, including one in Napoleon (the home office), Hazleton, Kintyre and Wishek.
This year, Mehl reports the spring wheat looks better than anticipated. During this year’s harvest, South Central Grain loaded 400,000 bushel trains. The elevator’s capacity is 550,000. This fall, the cooperative will start dirt work to prepare for spring construction. Mehl says they plan to add one-half million more bushels of space—which is good news for the cooperative, for area farmers and for the small town of Sterling.
“This is the biggest business in Sterling, and we will be a part of Sterling’s future for a long time to come,” he says.
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A farmer waits in line as a scale weighs his load. |
Farmers or truckers arrive at South Central Grain, line up their semis and wait for their crop to be weighed. Once it is their turn, the grain or corn is dumped rather quickly. It is then run through machines that test the weight, dockage (weeds and waste), protein and moisture. Once empty, the semi is once again weighed and the bushels are recorded.
Once the dockage is separated from the crop, it is loaded and sold back to farmers for feed. After the crop is blended, it is loaded onto exploder trains and sent to Minneapolis or Chicago. From there, it is shuttled to a domestic mill.