Friends,
Moving Pillsbury Forward has been asked on numerous occasions if the 3-million-bushel storage capacity at the former Pillsbury Plant could be reused. In other words, can the silos and grain elevator portion of the former Pillsbury Plant be retrofitted and economically reused for grain storage operations?
On the face of it, this seems reasonable. The concrete silos and elevator are well constructed and located in the heart of Central Illinois where grain production is high and storage facilities have been in demand for decades. The former Pillsbury facility is located next to an active railyard which is a plus for the site. Afterall, the railyard was used for many years to bring in wheat to the site and transport finished goods (flour, bakery mixes, grocery products) from the site.
Unfortunately, the answer to the question is no. Retrofitting the silos and elevator with new grain handling equipment would be costly. One estimate we received was 10 million dollars. So, it would not be economical.
Over the decades since it was built, the city has grown up around the site. Trucking grain into the site is more difficult than it was years ago. The more efficient and modern grain storage facilities are in rural areas with relatively easy heavy truck access near the fields where crops are grown.
Another negative for reuse of the silos at the former Pillsbury Plant is the relatively small size of each individual silo. Each of the 160 silos holds 18,000 bushels of grain. This was great for separating and blending wheat in the flour making process but not for commercial bulk storage operations of the 21st century.
Finally, modern large-scale commercial farms now utilize technologically advanced silos bags for on-site storage needs. These recyclable plastic storage bags typically hold 25,000 bushels of grain each. They can be easily deployed in a farm field and safely store grain for up to two years. Thus, eliminating the need for most large, fixed facility silo complexes.
Chris Richmond
Pillsburyproject.org
PS – Special thanks to our local commercial grain farmers for helping us understand modern farming, grain storage equipment, and movement of grain to end markets from the producers here in Central Illinois. Your expertise has been enlightening.