The Crystal Valley board of directors, contractors and members of
the Hope Township board have announced plans to build a new grain terminal outside of Hope in Steel County. Ground work on the project is expected to begin on or about May 1, 2013 with a scheduled completion date of August 1, 2014.
Plans
for the facility include upright storage of 3.8 million bushels,
temporary storage of 2.8 million bushels, receiving capacity of 60,000
bushels per hour by way of three 20,000 bushel per hour receiving pits,
and rail load-out capacity of 80,000 bushels per hour. It will also
include an 8,100-foot loop track and a 10,000-bushel per hour grain
dryer.
Crystal Valley is a farmer-owned, full service cooperative with 145
full-time employees serving agricultural producers with agronomy, feed,
grain, petroleum and propane products and services.
A cleanup is under way in the southern Minnesota town of Blue Earth,
where 17 cars derailed on a train carrying corn, and 10 tipped on their
sides.
Mark Davis, Union Pacific spokesman says the 73-car
train was carrying corn from Fairmont, Minn., to Blair, Neb., when it
happened. The cause is under investigation, and there's no estimate yet on how much grain spilled.
A drop off in Chinese demand for soybeans used to feed poultry and
livestock could last for months, as consumers lose their appetite for
poultry in response to a deadly bird flu virus outbreak and amid
lingering images of rotting pig carcasses floating in a river.
China, which buys 60 percent of the world's traded soybeans, could
further reduce bean imports this year - already down some 13 percent
year to date on food security concerns and high stocks - which will
likely curb a rally in benchmark Chicago prices.
Authorities
have culled tens of thousands of birds as it tries to contain the spread
of the H7N9 virus that has killed 22 people and infected 108 since the
first deaths were reported in March.
 |
| Union Pacific Railroad 9214, a GE Dash 8-40C, leads an eastbound train up California's Cajon Pass on May 10, 1991. Photo by Sean Lamb (User:Slambo) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
