Brunsville grain elevator adds capacity, speed

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Charles Kruse unloads a wagon of corn into the new, faster grain dump at Brunsville's Premium Feed and Grain. The elevator also added a new 204,000-bushel storage bin and three jobs this year. [Click to enlarge]

Brunsville's Premium Feed and Grain upped the ante this harvest with a new 204,000 bushel storage bin and a new grain dump that can take in grain at the rate of 8,000 bushels per hour.

The company's growth also included adding three new full-time jobs. Now Premium Grain and Feed employs 12 people, 10 of which are full-time.

"We started planning a year ago after the harvest," said owner and manager Kelly Beitelspacher of the additions. "It became necessary because of our growing feed business and customer demand. We knew we could handle more grain than our facility was currently able to."

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Reaching 95 feet in height, plus another 25 feet with the equipmnt on top, the new 204,000 bushel storage bin at Brunsville's Premium Feed and Grain is just part of their expansion this year, which included adding three new full-time jobs. [Click to enlarge]

The expansion came along with the company's vision to expand their feed business.

"More large swine operations are moving to northwest Iowa," Beitelspacher said. "We have the grain here and the meat packers."

Grain merchandiser Dave Bruggeman joined Premium Feed and Grain in July to procure more grain for feed sales and help corn producers secure more futures contracts.

"With an expanded swine feed business, we wanted to help local farmers in merchandising their corn," Bruggeman explained.

Now Premium Feed and Grain has more than 8,000 bushels of grain coming through its feed business each day, Beitelspacher said.

Since the basis of Premium Feed and Grain's growth is the swine industry, the recent slump in pork prices does concern company officials, Beitelspacher said.

"But we'll have better days ahead," he said. "This will turn around."

For the expansion, Premium Feed and Grain purchased about 3 acres near the existing elevator, which had been landlocked by other landowners' property, Beitelspacher explained.

Construction on the new grain bin and grain dump started in July and was finished a few weeks ago, except for a few finishing touches.

"We're in operation," Beitelspacher said.

The new grain bin is 95 feet tall and the tower on top for the elevator equipment makes the total height 120 feet.

The new grain dump speeds up the process for farmers bringing in their grain.

"We keep them moving so it wastes less of their time," Beitelspacher said.

The company also added a grain probe this year, which allows employees to use a mechanical arm to take a sample of grain from a wagon for testing, both for moisture content and grain weight.

This year's growth may only be one piece of the puzzle for Premium Feed and Grain.

"In the future we want to add a new warehouse for more grain, and we'd like to expand the existing grain bins," Beitelspacher said. "We plan to keep growing."