Dell Rapids, S.D.-This community’s only farm input business, which started out nearly a half century ago, is on the verge of major expansion. Dell Rapids Co-op Grain has the city council’s blessing to locate a new dry and liquid fertilizer plant on a rezoned piece of property. The new plant will include significantly more tank and bin storage capacity, along with automated load-out equipment. But General Manager Mark Lee doesn’t want to talk about the details. He told Green Markets, “We’re just a small operation and we don’t need any more business.” He did, however, tell the local newspaper that the new plant will hold 4,000 tons, or two times the capacity of the current fertilizer plant. “This allows us faster service to farmers,” Lee was quoted as saying. “We can get to the farmer quicker and we don’t have to wait to fill trucks.” The new 21,000 square foot building replaces one that was built in the 1960s and will be constructed near the West Quarry plant in Dell Rapids. It will also include new technology and will store more fertilizer. The plant is being built on a piece of property the city calls the Mergen’s Addition. The addition was re-platted to include a suitable lot, which was purchased by the co-op. The Dell Rapids planning and zoning commission had to approve the rezoning from general business to general industrial. The rezoning was adopted by the city council, along with a conditional use permit for the fertilizer structures.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain