Dusty grain elevator will return to service

The grain elevator in Dusty is expected to re-open next month after crews wrap-up work to improve the facility which has been closed for several years.

The 700,000 bushel-capacity elevator was closed in 2004 due to a lack of customers. However, a recent surge of interest from local farmers indicated to Ritzville Warehouse Co. general manager Brian Gordon that the elevator may be profitable once again.

Gordon hired Selkirk Industries to lead the re-commissioning project, which he said should be complete just in time for harvest in July.

“Our plan is to keep it open for the foreseeable future,” Gordon said.

Upgrades are underway to increase the intake capacity of the steel tank to between 3,000 and 6,000 bushels per hour, along with an improved concrete elevator that can handle between 4,000 and 10,000 bushels per hour.

“It’s faster than it was before and better able to serve the producers in the area,” Gordon explained.