How will a larger Staples grain elevator help Essex County farmers?

Grand reopening of Staples Elevator following major expansion. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell reports.

With wheat harvest season just weeks away, a major expansion at a Staples grain elevator is expected to reduce wait times for farmers, increase storage capacity and improve access to grain markets.

DG Global officially reopened its upgraded grain elevator Wednesday following a $2.5-million investment that added 8,000 metric tonnes of storage capacity, bringing the facility’s total storage to 24,500 metric tonnes.

The project also included two new receiving pits and upgraded grain-handling equipment, increasing unloading speeds, and allowing trucks to move through the site more quickly during the busy harvest season.

“We run an old, old facility. We handle a lot of grain here for what we had capacity for,” said elevator manager Joe Huffman. “This investment added 50 per cent capacity to us. So, it opens up a lot of opportunities for us going forward.”

The Staples elevator serves farmers across Essex County, one of Ontario’s most productive agricultural regions. Huffman said the facility historically filled and emptied its storage capacity three times each year to keep grain moving.

The upgrades come as local farmers prepare for what agronomist Emma Epp expects will be a strong wheat crop.

“I think it’s going to be a good wheat crop,” said Epp. “It has had a really nice flowering time right now. That’s where most of the grain fill and your yield comes from.”

For farmers, one of the biggest benefits may be reduced wait times during harvest.

Jessica Burger of DG Global said producers have sometimes spent hours waiting to unload grain at the aging facility.

“Instead of farmers waiting for a couple hours, we’re looking at 30 minutes, if that. In and out. Just more efficiency,” she said.

Burger said the facility has occasionally been forced to temporarily stop accepting grain while shipments were moved out to create additional storage space.

“In the past, we’ve had to shut down for a day just so we can move grain out to be able to accommodate our customers,” she said. “This year, hopefully will be better.”

The improvements are also expected to help farmers get back into the field faster during harvest.

“Farmers hate sitting here waiting when they can be at the farm, harvesting,” Burger explained. “Being able to get out of here quicker and back to their farms for their next round, it’s better for them as well.”

Local farmer Jeff Taylor, who has been delivering grain to the Staples elevator for four decades and farms roughly 500 acres between Wheatley and Tilbury, said the expansion comes at an important time.

“It’s nice that we have a location that’s close to us and that can unload us on a timely basis so that we can get back to the field and get that harvested on a better time,” he said.

Huffman said receiving capacity has more than doubled, increasing from about 10,000 bushels per hour to nearly 25,000 bushels per hour.

The expansion may not be the last. Huffman said future phases could include additional grain bins as the business continues to grow.

“We’re hoping to get a little bit more grain coming through here,” he said. “Even with this investment, we still don’t have enough space to hold everything we handle.”

The project also reflects the increasingly global nature of agriculture. Huffman noted DG Global’s business includes exporting soybeans and other grains to markets beyond Ontario, while Taylor said farmers must pay close attention to world events that can influence commodity prices.

“The great thing about farming is you have to be educated about the world really,” Taylor told CTV News. “The upset in the Middle East, and what’s going on in China and Japan. You really have to be a worldly person anymore to understand how the markets can affect you.”

Taylor said access to multiple markets helps keep grain pricing competitive for producers.

“It allows us more options that we have, so that we can market our grain in different areas and it keeps competitiveness up,” he said. “I’m very happy to see this.”