Co-Ag’s McCoy loader plan gets green light from panel

Whitman County’s Board of Adjustment gave permission to Cooperative Agricultural Producers to build a new unit train loading facility near McCoy, five miles southeast of Rosalia along Highway 271.

The board unanimously approved the company’s proposal for a railroad spur that would encircle two grain tanks that could hold 430,000 bushels of grain at a site nearly one-half mile north of McCoy siding.

Jackie Tee, Co-Ag general manager, said a firm decision on whether the firm will go ahead with the project has yet to be made.

“This just puts us one step closer to that decision,” Tee said after the permit hearing in Colfax last Thursday, May 26.

Tee said the company has ongoing negotiations with several possible participants in the train loader plan.

The permit gives Co-Ag permission to proceed with the rail spur and grain storage facility on almost 70 acres north of the current McCoy elevators which are part of the Co-Ag system.

The conditional use permit still requires the firm to receive approval from several state agencies.

Co-Ag has been shipping 110-car unit trains with grain from its facilities in Oakesdale, Plaza and Spangle for the past two and a half years.

Under the current set-up, empty cars are hauled along the state-owned P&L railroad line, dropped off to be filled and hauled back to the BNSF mainline connection at Marshall.

Co-Ag’s plan would speed the process by allowing trains to pull through a circular rail spur off the P&L line and loop around the grain bins. Estimated rate of loading will be 60,000 bushels per hour. Loading time for a 110-car train would be under seven hours.

W & I President Stan Patterson previously told the Gazette loading time for half of the 110-car grain train now takes about 15 hours at Oakesdale.

Loading time for the other half at Spangle takes longer, but that is less critical because the Spangle load cannot depart until the Oakesdale segment of the train moves north.

Larger trains are preferred by the BNSF because they can haul them to Portland without having to switch in more cars at the Marshall junction with the P&L. The company allows a discount rate for the efficiency factor.