On the morning of July 30th, 2018, outside of Eureka IL, Grainland Cooperative experienced a massive explosion due to a corn dryer catching fire. The damages from the explosion put them at risk of being down for the upcoming harvest. Owned by more than 1,000 different farmers and land owners, Grainland serves 200+ local farmers and can hold more than 6 million bushels of corn. To put it into perspective with this year’s average corn yield, that would amount to over 51 square miles of farm ground.

Thanks to Growmark, and the various fabricators involved with the reconstruction (Lemar Industries, GSI, Bushnell Illinois tank), the facility was up and running for the 2019 harvest. Due to the massive damage inflicted by the explosion, most of the facility needed repairs or complete replacement. Grainland and facilities like it help serve the massive agriculture industry. The food and ag industry accounts for roughly 5.4% of the United States GDP. Grainland and facilities alike play a critical role in the logistics of buying and selling corn and soybeans – a vital cog in how the Midwest helps feed the world.

Galvanizing is the gold standard in the ag industry. The cost effectiveness and ability to withstand nature’s harsh environment is what makes hot dip galvanizing so appealing. You will find many of Grainlands structures, as well as other ag companies’ products across the Midwest, are hot dip galvanized for this exact reason making a huge impact on the HDG market. This project alone had more than 1,200 tons of galvanized steel. As the world populations grows, the demand for more crops and higher yields is inevitable. This will create more demand for storage/merchandising facilities like Grainland which rely on hot-dip galvanized steel.