The Ames, Iowa-based cooperative Landus announced on May 17 that its grain elevator in Jefferson, Iowa, is expected to resume grain receiving and corn drying operations in time for this year’s fall harvest following a dust explosion on May 14. No injuries were reported in the blast, which occurred at 8:00 a.m. and prompted responses from local fire and emergency services.
According to World-Grain.com, the cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, but an initial investigation found smoldering grain in a self-contained bin located next to the grain elevator. One day after the explosion, the head house of the Landus grain elevator caught fire, but the local fire department was on hand to monitor and manage the situation, which the company said did not pose a threat to public safety.
Landus said available storage capacity at the Jefferson elevator will be sufficient to meet farmer expectations this fall. Landus said any potential corrective actions identified by the investigation will be implemented at the site.
“We’re so thankful to the local fire and rescue teams who responded to last Friday’s emergency, and even more thankful that no one was hurt,” said Matt Carstens, Landus President and CEO. “True to ‘The Landus Way’ of acting with agility, courage, teamwork, and speed, we are now forging ahead with the planning to rebuild our Jefferson location to be bigger and better than before.”
Co-located on the Jefferson site is local agronomy services, the Landus Beef Feed Center, and the Landus SoyChlor™ Production Plant. Agronomy services were uninterrupted by the explosion, while the Beef Feed Center resumed normal operations shortly after. Landus said the SoyChlor Plant was expected to resume production this week.
According World-Grain.com, citing Sosland Publishing’s 2020 Grain & Milling Annual, the Jefferson location has total upright storage of 8,852,000 bushels and 1,465,000 bushels of flat storage. Landus has a total of 59 grain storage facilities, with a total licensed storage capacity of 177,226,000 bushels.