SIDNEY — Sidney’s landscape is about to experience a major change later this year when Cargill begins the demolition of numerous silos.
According to a city of Sidney press release, Building No. 2, a set of 12 silos, each designed to hold 89,000 bushels of grain, that were constructed in 1967 by Landmark, and a large metal silo, designed to hold 320,000 bushels of grain, built in 1975, will be demolished.
Then in the spring of 2021, Building No. 3, built in 1955, will be demolished. In addition, the head-house will also be demolished. That announcement was made by Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst.
Since 1955, the large concrete silos, constructed by the Ohio Farm Bureau through its Landmark service arm, have dominated the community’s western skies.
The former Landmark facility accepted its first load of grain at that facility on Aug. 15, 1956.
Another milestone of note is that Landmark shipped its first 100-car-train of grain in April 1973. By 1978, Landmark was routinely shipping 100-car-trains of grain.
While operating under the Landmark name, the facility was expanded for a total capacity of 1.435 million bushels. The facility quit accepting ear corn in 1975 and tore down their cob burner that same year to comply with Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The facility has changed ownership a number of times over the years, with each new owner adding to the facility. Landmark sold the facility to Countrymark on April 1, 1989.
Countrymark was purchased by Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) on June 10, 2013. ADM is a multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation headquartered in Chicago. ADM constructed the 500,000 bushel steel storage tank in 1999, bringing the total capacity of the terminal to 1.8 million bushels.
Sunrise Cooperative purchased the 2.5 million bushel facility March 7, 2016, adding an additional truck scale that allowed the separation of inbound and outbound traffic. They also installed an automated grain receiving system, allowing trucks to enter and leave the facility in less than ten minutes.
Cargill purchased the facility from Sunrise Cooperative on June 11, 2019. The facility was important to Cargill because it allowed them greater rail access enabling them to stage a larger number of rail-cars. It also provided additional space for grain trucks waiting to unload.
“We are eager to watch the landscape transformation that will take place as part of the Sidney Cargill Crush Expansion Project,” Barhorst said when making the announcement in the press release. “This project represents an investment of more than $225 million in Sidney.”
“Cargill’s continued investment in Sidney represents their commitment not only to the area’s agricultural community, but to consumers around the globe,” Barhorst continued. “The expansion currently underway will help Cargill meet the growing demand for protein and refined oils.”
“Since Cargill began operating their soybean crush plant in Sidney in 1978, they have been outstanding corporate citizens,” Barhorst said. “Cargill has contributed to numerous good causes within the Sidney community. Those causes have ranged from feeding the hungry, education and literacy to recreation and public health.”
