Wheat Growers Celebrates Kennebec Elevator Grand Opening
June 21, 2016 
The state-of-the-art shuttle loader facility has a rail shipping capacity of 80,000 bushels per hour and a 110-car circle track.
Over 250 patrons and guests were on hand to celebrate Wheat Growers’ Kennebec Elevator grand opening. South Dakota Secretary of State, Shantel Krebs, was also in attendance, welcomed the crowd and gave high marks to the facility. The state-of-the-art shuttle loader facility has a rail shipping capacity of 80,000 bushels per hour and a 110-car circle track. That, combined with a total truck receiving capacity of 60,000 bushels per hour, gives the Kennebec Elevator the fastest dumping speeds in the industry. The new site has a total grain storage capacity of 4.08 million bushels. The Kennebec location is served by Dakota Southern Railroad that operates on the 41-mile, rehabilitated Chamberlain to Presho heavy-rail line.
“This grand opening marks the completion of a promise Wheat Growers made two years ago when we went before a legislative committee in Pierre and promised to build this facility if rail improvements were made to the Chamberlain to Presho line,” Dale Locken, Wheat Growers CEO says. “The elevator and agronomy center will deliver additional value and a high level of service to farmers in Brule and Lyman counties and beyond.”
“Thanks to the efforts of all the people involved in this project, the Kennebec Elevator and Agronomy Center was completed on time and on budget,” Hal Clemensen, Wheat Growers Board President, says. “We also want to thank Rails to the Future, the South Dakota Legislature, the Railroad Board and Department of Transportation for their commitment to the rehabilitation of the rail line that helped make this day possible.”
The Kennebec Agronomy Center opened for business in February as the first phase of Wheat Growers’ $40 million project that culminates in the grand opening of the grain handling facility and shuttle loader.
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