FS is in the midst of a large expansion project for their Waterman facility.
The new state-of-the art dry and liquid fertilizer buildings will handle ag products more efficiently and increase the volume of fertilizer available to farmers.
“At Conserv FS we are committed to serving the farmers of today while planning for the future and the needs of the next generation of farmers,” said Dave Swigart, General Manager of Conserv FS.
“This large project at our Waterman facility demonstrates our commitment to the future of agriculture in our territory. We’ve been serving agriculture for nearly 100 years and this project is an example of our commitment to serve the farmer of the future.”
The $12 million expansion includes a new 7,500-ton dry fertilizer building equipped with a 24-ton blender and a NTEP certified auto-batch blending system. The new building will have the capacity to load eight semi-trucks per hour.
Also included in this project is 1.3 million gallons of liquid fertilizer storage integrated with a crop protection mixing facility and warehouse. This new liquid facility will be equipped with three load bays providing both top and bottom load options with “hot-load” capabilities.
There will be a 24/7 unattended bay for after-hours availability of nitrogen solution loads with nitrogen stabilizers. Each of these bays can easily fill six semi-loads per hour (18 semi-loads total/hour for the facility).
“The loading speed of this updated facility will be up to five times faster than the existing facility,” said Adam Day, Agronomy Marketing and Sales Manager at Conserv FS. “This will allow us to service our customers at an increased pace while lowering our daily operating expenses through improved efficiencies.”
In addition to these upgrades, the expansion will feature 72,000 gallons of bulk crop protection product storage contained in this facility and ample mini-bulk and package good storage that will provide tremendous flexibility and capacity.
Both the dry fertilizer and the liquid facility will contain automated systems integrated with ordering, operations, and accounting software providing greatly streamlined processes and improved flow of information to customers.
“These state-of-the-art facilities are built with safety and the environment being foremost in our thoughts, while at the same time providing an outstanding customer experience to our patrons, gaining them valuable time during peak-season operations,” said Jeff Kimmel, Conserv FS Facility Projects Manager.
The construction, conducted by Greystone Construction, began in December 2020 and is predicted to be completed before the end of the 2021 year.
The Waterman FS facility is one of two in DeKalb County, the second one being the Webster Road DeKalb facility. The Conserv FS company has a total of 12 facilities located in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin and maintains an office headquarters in Woodstock.
Dave Swigart, Conserv FS General Manager