Adams Industries and Simplot Grower Solutions recently opened a new facility in Brownson, Neb., giving farmers in western Nebraska and surrounding areas 24/7 access to high-quality liquid fertilizer. The facility is a long-term partnership between the two companies, reports News Channel Nebraska Southeast, and supports the agricultural industry in western Nebraska, northern Colorado and eastern Wyoming.
The $20 million facility features real-time fertilizer mixing, rapid distribution capabilities and has created 10 new jobs at Adams and three new jobs at Simplot, with additional jobs expected to be added. With three loading bays, the site can load up to 18 semi-tractor-trailers per hour, reports NCN. The facility's location provides direct access to both Union Pacific and BNSF railroads.
“Once they purchase a load of fertilizer from Simplot, they get a load number they can enter at the kiosk outside,” Tim Craig, Chief Operating Officer at Adams Industries, told NCN. “The door automatically opens, they’ll come in, and it closes behind the semi. The driver preps the top of the trailer, opens the lid and inserts the hose. After entering their load number, truck number and driver ID, they can load a full semi in just about eight minutes. We’re running about 650 gallons per minute.”
The site has 8 million gallons of storage, including 12 30,000-gallon tanks for starter fertilizers and 12 6,500-gallon tanks for micronutrient injections. The facility can create a custom batch of fertilizer every eight minutes. The facility also features advanced rail unloading capabilities. Adams Industries and Simplot expect to unload full unit trains—110 cars—into their storage tanks in about 20 hours.