NEWS

Landmark Service Coop opens dry fertilizer facility

Landmark Services Coop
Landmark Services Cooperative cut the ribbon for their Dry Fertilizer Plant in Evansville, Wis., on Monday, Sept. 14. Pictured left are board members Sandy Larson, Max Wenck, Brian Brown, Kevin Klahn, and Chairman Jim Lange, and Landmark Director of Agronomy Operations Nick Christen, Landmark CEO Jim Dell, and city representative Jason Sergeant, Evansville Mayor Bill Hurtley, and Evansville Chamber Ambassadors Toni Voegeli and Dierdre Beltran.

EVANSVILLE – Landmark's new 28,800 ton dry fertilizer facility opened on September 14 in Evansville, Wis., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration.

The building was constructed by the agribusiness division of Minnesota-based Greystone Construction, which also served as the project manager. Construction began in October 2019. At 452 feet long, the building covers 1.5 acres, and the loadout section is big enough to pull in a semi and close both overhead doors.

The tower has 250 tons of overhead storage and is fed by a 350-ton-per-hour leg and conditioner. The alleyway is 40 feet wide to allow easy access for the payloader, equipped with a 5-yard fertilizer bucket and a 9-yard roll-out bucket for grain pickup. The floors of the alleyway are heated to reduce moisture in the spring and summer.

Fertilizer equipment was provided by Sackett Waconia, and automation equipment was provided by Kahler Automation. Sackett Waconia manufactured the 200-ton-per-hour High Intensity Mixer, which is used for precision fertilizer blending and designed to eliminate "dead zones" by keeping every particle in motion. Mixing times run about 10 minutes for a 25-ton semi load. The mixer is able to achieve such high speeds because of dual overhead 4-ton weigh hoppers and an 8-ton surge hopper underneath.

The highly effective Declining Weight system that handles the liquid fertilizer impregnation, which is the process of applying coatings and other liquid additives to fertilizer granules.

The inbound system can unload either rail or truck at 600 tons per hour, and the tunnel for the inbound system is 20 feet deep to allow for the equipment needed to unload cars at the speed required to benefit from unit trains. Rail cars can be moved and positioned before doors are shut to speed up the unloading process.

The new fertilizer plant will enable Landmark to efficiently serve a larger portion of their trade area while improving customer service, operational efficiency and speed of service for members.

Landmark Services Cooperative is a member-owned cooperative dedicated to providing customers with the highest quality products and services.