Inside the Co-op: Inside a Grain Elevator
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- čas přidán 21. 05. 2017
- Director of Communications, Trevor Hands, goes inside an elevator with Garden A & B location manager, Gabriel Bautista - as Gabe explains how these older style elevators work.
For more of an overview of the grain elevator handling process, see our earlier video here: • Inside the Co-op: Grai...
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We apologize for the audio quality while inside the elevator. If you are having an issue understanding the interview, please click on the "CC" button to get subtitles of the interview. Thanks for checking out our video!
cool stuff!
I drive by several grain elevaters daily, ive always wondered how they operated. Now i know and it makes since. Thank you for the education
Glad it helped!
@@GCCoop Helped a lot. How much do these jobs normally pay starting off? And are they okay with hiring no experience?
I seen Cargill was hiring at a grain elevator in Fargo, ND for like $26.50
From california. Read a book with the word grain elevator in it. Watched this video to find out wtf a grain elevator is. Now I know. Thanks! To the point, easy to follow.
Appreciate it! Glad it could help!
in cold blood?
Thanks , we have learnt so much on the working of grain elevator complex .
I am from India and I have not such such grain elevators .
Now on visit , I have seen them in Minnesota, Wisconsin etc .
Now ,I have learnt of their working .
Thanks a lot GCOP
Thank you! Grew up near elevators, people described how the machinery worked, but this visual explanation finally helped me understand!
Excellent video. The elevator tech really knows his stuff. Id love to have him on my crew!!~
He a good man. Wonderful. Thank you.
Thank you!
Great video. This suburban boy always wondered what went on in there. Way more complicated than I realized. Thanks for making this.
Thank you Avar!
I work at River Rail elevator in KCK. You guys do a good job keeping the bin floor swept up. Cool to see inside another elevator. Its not an easy business. Best of luck to you guys. Be safe.
I live in Minneapolis right next to this abandon grain elevator called united crushers I explore it all the time and I have always wanted to learn how grain elevators function because you know a elevator that's like a couple decades old doesn't look same no more basement flooded graffiti litters the place and a lit of the pipes and stuff is missing and place is falling apart
I applied there. That’s why I’m watching this vid
Nice. I grew up in the Twin Ports (Duluth, Minnesota and Superior Wisconsin) on the western tip of Lake Superior. I have since moved back. There are grain elevators on the harbor waterfront. April through December ocean going ships (salties) load products from the elevators bound for Europe and Africa. Pretty neat to see how they move product around coming and going. My hobby is model railroads and I'm scratch building some elevators so this helped me out alot, lol. Thanks :)
Thanks for watching!
I live in Minneapolis right next to a abandon grain elevator called united crushers I explore it all the tind I've always wish I could see what place looked like when it was still running
Great video! I am building a grain elevator module for our modular railway layout and your video explaining how grain elevators work will help me a lot. Thanks for sharing it.
Much modernized since 1970 when my first job out of high school was working in one of these. We used a lot more auger systems at the top.No modern computers either. A very challenging, dangerous job which I think paid about $2 an hour. Facing a mandatory draft I joined the Air force the next year. Good video explaining the process.
Thanks Richard!
I used to ride with my grandfather to that exact elevator in the early 60’s.
That's a very clean elevator. Would have been interesting to hear more of the safety side of operations. Thanks for the tour.
Really informative. Thanks for the tour!
You're welcome!
I've always wanted to see the inside one of these. Thanks for the vid.
You're welcome!
Thank you for this. Very educational.
I enjoyed this video
Appreciate the comment Aaron!
We are moving over into commodities transport with some of out trucks, seeing this video really helps us newbies understand the elevator operation & processes. Thanks great video
Glad to help!
Nice shots of the top of these buildings - a part rarely seen on a grain elevator. Nice video!
this is great thanks .when I was a kid we hung out in an old grain mill
very informative
always wondered how those silos worked
great video
now you know so go out and buy a bin!
This a great video, the young man explained the process perfectly, we learnt something today thank you.
Thank you for your comment!
Excellent explanations of how things work. Thanks.
great stuff. You can see the guy really cares about the place.
Thank you! Our team takes pride in their work!
Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
This video story of your operation is amazing.
Thank you Mark!
Thanks guys keep up the great work
Thank you for the video...answered a number of questions I had about this. Much appreciated.
Plenty of abandoned grain elevators just like this one here in Buffalo. Always been curious how they operate.
They definitely keep that elevator clean. Which is good!
thank you for educating a new farmer!
Do you grow cereal?
Great video!
Good info, thanks for making the video!
You're welcome!
Thanks for this video, it was very informational.
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
Our pleasure!
very informative video. thanks
this is great content thanks for sharing
Informative, especially for model railroaders
Informative
Who's here after the blast? This elevator actually helped deflect the blast a bit.
Uh, this elevator isn't in Beirut.
Very nice video. I work in a flour mill in Omaha, Nebraska. I worked for a seed company before that.
There is a abandon one right next to where I live i explore it all the time I woumd love to see what one looks like still running
@@King.explores The Vinton street grain
elevator?
Not sure if this is even still here. My gg grandfather was the manager of this co-op from 1903 until 1969 when it closed. He told a story of killing a guy that worked for him here. Albert Bickford was his name. Albert came to work drunk all the time, my ggg had his fill of it one April day, when Albert came stumbling in to the main entry way. my ggg threw a clevis at Albert striking him in the head. He was bleeding profusley but still alive and enraged. Albert pulled a cycle down from the wall and ran at my ggg, in doing so fell face down in a pile of grain. My ggg was very angry and picked up a Muller Stone and beat Albert repeatidly in the back of the head until dead. My ggg being the manager of this mill, getting his employees to help dispose of the body. It is said that theydug a 12-foot-deep hole with a Fordson Tractor and blade, dumped the wooden barrel holding Bickford's remains into the pit, and then piled more than one dozen wooden barrels on top of Bickford's, before filling the hole in with dirt to cover up the evidence. Many residents were questioned as to the disapearance of Bickford, but everyone remained silent. Until now. Scott Louser of Minot ND whose ggg workrd for my ggg, knows the story and also knows the exact burial location of Bickford. Louser has spoken out many times but to deaf ears. He is now being heard. Louser states the body is buried exactly as described, and is under the grain mill. I'm not sure is this Grain elevator still here in Arena ND?
That is quite the tale! As for the location, we are not in North Dakota but in Kansas. This particular elevator shown is in Garden City.
@@GCCoop ok thanks
This is cool. I work for a fab shop and a lot of our work is from Bunge; a large grain elevator in Decatur Indiana I work in the shop and rarely get to go on job sites but I've always been curious on the internal workings of these facilities that I make so many parts for. Kind of ironic he was showing the grain buggy and just a few weeks ago I made a single new wheel for Bunge's tripper buggy with a pulley attached and that sucker cost them over $3000!
I kinda wanna leave the city and live out in the farmlands of rural middle america. I'm wondering how easy is it to get a job as a grain elevator operator? I already work a job where I move constantly for 10 hours so I think I can handle the work. I don't mind being dirty.
Interesting, do you have any problems with dust, when you put corn to the car ? If have, i think i know how to solve this problam
Hi Trevor. For modelling purposes, what is the height of the bins either side of the headhouse. Very interesting video mate.
Hi Geoff and thanks for the comment. I believe the top of the bins is around 120 feet or 36 meters high.
Hi Trevor. Thanks for getting back to me with that info.
Greetings from Moscow. I must say, you guys have some nice facilities from driving From Moscow to Deerfield, Lakin, or GC.
Thank you!
How’s the elevator holding up in Stalingrad?
@@Man-cv5ws It's still standing and will surely be preserved as a WWII monument but it's no longer in use.
Love the facial tattoos.
Dude. I started to zone out as I always do, and I look up and the elevator was exploding and I FREAKED 😂😂😂 glad that wasn’t y’all. Js - also thank you for this information
Another question. What is a grain tester the local elevater around my way is hiring for one
Well some areas may have different titles and descriptions - but around here at the local elevators, a "grain tester" would probably be what we refer to as a seasonal scale help position during harvest times. They get samples of the grain off the trucks - through a probe or bucket, weigh the trucks, print off tickets and take test weight and moisture information. That would be our best guess.
No need for personal protective equipment while walking around the elevators? Helmets, vests, boots, etc.?
Being a farmer myself I knew the moisture testing and how the weight works and the bins and leg but never knew about the distributor or the other stuff the guy talks about
So these sites have 2 people working full time? One person inside on the computer and another outside doing the loading/unloading as the drivers come through?
Basically, yes. There is an elevator location manager and the elevator operator. One of them will be assisting the truck from the elevator and the other will be inside the scale house. During harvest season, depending on how busy it gets, we have temporary help at the elevator and scale house to assist them to keep the trucks moving as quickly and efficiently as possible. When they're not busy with that, as Gabe talked about and Victor demonstrated they'll work on cleaning the elevator from grain dust and monitor the temperature of the grain among other duties. Currently our fall harvest season has just started so they will be quite busy unloading and loading trucks through the fall, weather, of course playing a big role in how quickly the harvest season lasts. Thanks for watching!
What's the ideal moisture level to keep the grain in the silos ? How is grain dust explosive ?
Great questions! Moisture content depends on the grain - and the facility managing it. We like to keep it on the drier side as it will keep the grain in better condition longer, but you don't want it so dry that it starts getting brittle. It's a fine line. For hard red wheat for instance, we aim for 9-10% and for our field corn - 12-13%.
As to the grain dust question, grain dust is highly combustible. This means it has a high surface area and can be heated very quickly. When suspended in the air, it has a large amount of oxygen to fuel ratio. When you have a large volume of dust particles, plenty of oxygen in a confined space, and an ignition source - it only takes a spark. This could come from static electricity,, a fire from faulty or overloaded equipment (such as an overloaded bearing on a conveyor belt), welding/cutting, unapproved inspection lamps and motors, smoking, etc. There is what's known as the dust explosion pentagon: Confinement, Oxygen, Grain Dust, Dispersion & Ignition. These elements combined create a primary phase of an explosion - a confined explosion from the heat source that dislodges even more dust into the air and that creates the second and most often much more catastrophic explosion.
Starting a job as a grain elevator operator, what are some of your tips, tricks, advice to know?
First off, using your senses is critical. SMELL - grain gives off odor and you need to know what grain going out of condition smells like to be able to recognize it. HEAR - listen to your elevator. Over time, you'll be able to hear it's common noises and when there is something sounding different, you'll be in a better position to act on it and fix those problems before it goes on down the road and becomes really serious. WATCH - watch your footing and where you step in and around the elevator and be mindful of the truck traffic.
As far as other pieces of advice -
* Be on time
* Be alert
* Be a self starter - be proactive looking for the next thing to do instead of waiting to be told
* Be a sponge - learn all you can from those who have been in your area with more years of experience.
* Don't be afraid to ask questions - every elevator is different and has unique characteristics, so if you're curious as to why things are done a certain way - ask.
Best of luck on your new adventure!
DruggedUpRedneck k
Wear a hardhat. Safety glasses would help also.
Where are you located at
Hey Jeremy! This particular elevator is located in Garden City, Kansas, but we have locations in much of the SW corner of the state and one location in the Oklahoma panhandle.
I have a couple of Questions for you, GCC Studios? how many bins does your elevator have? & how many bushel's can each bin hold?
EIRR1 Guessing on the number of bins but I think it’s 42 plus another four inside the head house for a total of 46. We have a total capacity of 1,325,000 bushels at that location.
@@GCCoop Ok, I asked because I was wanting to get an Idea of what to expect before I have a grain Elevator built
@@EIRR1 This particular one was built in 1947. Today, the bins are bigger, the facility is automated and everything of course is much more expensive. Here's a link of our Rock Island facility. This was built in 2014 and holds a total of 1,061,000 bushels between the 5 bins (or roughly 212,200 bu/ea). czcams.com/video/V2EcmNWmPr0/video.html
I'm thinking about constructing a Co-op someday, can you tell me just how much it costed to construct the Garden City Co-op?
As far as constructing a co-op, a co-op is not necessarily a building. A co-op, or cooperative, is another business model, in which the owners of the co-op are the members who use the products sold. There are all kinds of co-ops out there: grocery co-ops, power (utility) co-ops, banking co-ops, retail co-ops, agriculture co-ops, etc. So if you are in a business - let's just say you're a baker - for illustration purposes. Buying just what you need for your store could be costly. You can buy in bulk for a reduced cost, but there's no way you could afford - or use - that amount of flour, yeast, etc. So - you approach other bakers around and ask if they want to go in and pool your money to buy the bulk products and then you each buy from the co-operative you've established for your own stores. You are for profit so you might not be the cheapest but with that profit you can save up to buy your own bigger industrial sized bakery owned by you and the other members to make more product, and then you divvy up other profits and distribute those back to the members according to the amount of business they did with the co-op.
Our co-op is approaching our 100th year of being in existence and we have a few thousand members and thus, we've been able to amass a good amount of capital and we have a good relationship with our lender. We started small, have been quite progressive when we could afford to be and scaled back when we couldn't, had a lot of ups and downs through the years, but stuck to our principles and values when making any decision and that's been our guiding force.
Elevators, if that is what you are referring to, can run you millions of dollars today. It's not a cheap venture but it's all about surrounding yourself with like-minded businessmen and women who believe in your vision and willing to invest in what you have to offer, keeping the main thing the main thing, starting small and learning to manage that effectively before trying to expand, and always remember why you are in business and without your members, your business doesn't exist.
Good luck.
I'll keep that in mind... Thanks GCC Studios
How many bushels of grain does this Garden City one hold? Isn't Hutchinson's the largest in the world?
1,325,000 bushels. (www.gccoop.com/About/History#5-anchor ) In 1948, this elevator was declared the largest country grain elevator in the world, receiving grain directly from farmers. But now, the title (and Guinness Book Record Holder) goes to Wichita's DeBruce Elevator (now owned by Gavilon). Over half a mile long - 2,657 feet (Hutchinson's comes in at 2,573 feet long), Wichita's elevator holds a capacity of 22.4 million bushels (Hutchinson's holds 18.2) and Debruce's elevator held more prior to the 1998 explosion, where they had to remove around 30 feet from each end. (www.hutchnews.com/80adc4b0-72bb-59de-a14e-337b5fc76b56.html)
how do they keep the rats and mice out?
Thanks for the question! We have pest control methods in place and regular inspections by a certified pest control service.
I've seen some of the wooden grain elevators, but this looks a lot more complicated.
It's crazy all the mechanics that went into designing these elevators, isn't it? A feat of engineering for its day for sure!
Nice work........thank you
Thank you Ed!
Do farmers store their grain at your site too? Or do grain elevators just buy the grain and store it for themselves?
Great question!
In a nutshell - yes and also yes. This video touches on a little bit of that process with what the co-op does with the grain once it's been sold : vimeo.com/332680112.
Farmers have the option when they bring their grain in to sell right away, or they can get a grain contract to hold the grain for a certain period of time to try and see if they can't get a better price in the future. Likewise, we as the co-op can sell that grain off immediately or we can hold it for later. However, we cannot sell any grain we don't already own. So (for easy number's sake) if Farmer "X" brings in 10,000 bushels and he wants to sell 5,000 bushels and contract 5,000 bushels, we as a co-op would have access to 5,000 bushels that we have bought from Farmer X that we could turn around and sell, but we could not contract the other 5,000 bushels since it was still in Farmer X's possession.
We also are a farmer-owned cooperative. So the profits we derive are given to Farmer X and his peers according to the business they have done with their co-op as "patronage" and the rest is saved up for products, services, and facilities to serve the membership (like a grain elevator, or elevator expansion for instance). We did that very thing in 2013, adding in a new autonomous elevator in a portion of our trade territory that used to have to drive a long way to reach the closest of our elevators. We put another one in in 2014 and also that year we expanded our bin capacity at one of our busiest locations to reduce wait times. You can see that construction process here: czcams.com/video/V2EcmNWmPr0/video.html
Do the elevators store grain and corn on the same site and if they do what is in place to stop cross contamination of the two for the population that is Gluten Free?
Thanks for the question! At the Garden City Co-op, we primarily deal with the “raw” commodity grains. To see where our grains that our farmers grow go, please visit this video for more information: vimeo.com/332680112
There are certain guidelines that our grains fall under with USDA food and safety regulations, such as keeping semi-trailers clean of hauling anything but grain and not mixing commodity grains (wheat, corn, milo, soybeans, etc.) and thus devaluing the price of the grain.
As to keeping grains containing gluten separate from those that don’t, that is less of an issue on the raw materials side but more of an issue at the milling side - where they turn the raw products we have stored into flour.
@@GCCoop Thanks for the info. I really take an interest in where and how the food we eat comes to the table. My wife is gluten free and she ask me one day as we past the the Ray Carroll's elevator D in St Louis Mo.; "how do they keep the grain from cross contamination. That was a very interesting question so i thought I would ask the people that know and you sure answered it for her and me, i will sure past it on to her today.
@@sthpac69 Happy to help!
That’s a fantastic grain elevator. Would be a real shame if the soil were unstable
You guys ever have issues with nitrogen dioxide gas? Are grain facilities still using cyanide gas for pest control?
No ph3
Definition of a Co op divedend... A partial repayment of an initial gross overcharge.
This one is similar to the one in beirut's port
Not anymore 👍
How often do y'all have to make changes.
Hey Dominic! So we can properly answer your question, I have one for you - are you referring to how often bins are turned over with different crops? Or what kinds of changes are you asking about, specifically?
like painting the bins or the whole complex
Well as far as the exterior - it's a very expensive process so probably at most it's repainted once every 20-30 years. In the interior, things are touched up/patched and painted on a case by case basis when employees notice anything needing attention.
Awesome. Thank you
Trevor, Why in the world would you let someone with a neck tattoo represent your company? Not only by employment but on video?
😊
Silvia!
come back tomorrow he said anytime
Fumigation of the grain?
Yes, whenever the bin is found to have bugs(which is not very often) the bin needs to be fumigated. The probing sample taken at the scale is to try and ascertain the quality of the grain before getting sent to the bin, but every now and then, bugs can slip by. The pesticides used in our elevator facilities are food grade and when label directions are followed, they are completely safe to use. There are stringent guidelines on the application and how long the withdrawal period is before the pesticide dissipates. We have to follow guidelines from several regulatory bodies including: The US Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, FDA, EPA, OSHA, and Kansas Department of Agriculture to ensure we remain in compliance with food safety guidelines among other regulations.
Why no Cats instead of pesticides?
Not trying to be silly just curious..
I imagine the cats would be busy..
Hello Nancy - I'd be happy to try to address this. I imagine that 100 years ago when storage was shoveled in small buildings, it was quite common to have farm cats to take care of any critters that would try to take up residence in the grain. However today we are dealing with millions of bushels and the farming practices of 100 years ago are just not efficient to keep up with the demand (and they also were nowhere near as safe as they are today). The pesticides used in our elevator facilities are food grade and when label directions are followed, they are completely safe to use. There are stringent guidelines on the application and how long the withdrawal period is before the pesticide dissipates. We have to follow guidelines from several regulatory bodies including: The US Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, FDA, EPA, OSHA and Kansas Department of Agriculture to ensure we remain in compliance with food safety guidelines among other regulations. In regards to cats and their welfare, the mechanics of the elevator would simply not support the life of a cat. They'd end up using all 9 of them inside of the bin. Then there is the issue with the cat's supplemental food supply and water in a concrete bin designed to hold nothing but grain, not to mention the cat's waste, which then we would be in a host of problems from all those governing regulatory bodies for an unsafe food product, so in the end it would have been a lot more efficient and safer to just use a pesticide. ;-) Thank you for your question! 🐱
@@GCCoop Thank you for your wonderful reply!!! I really appreciate it!!
very nice machine ,, we would love to contact you as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation Teco Machine Aykut CoŞKUN
WGAF
what about loading a train ?
Hi Clayton. It would be the same premise as the load out spout for a truck but the load out spouts sit over the railroad tracks. Our V.P. of Grain talks about our grain exports and you can see our team filling train cars over on our new video channel here: vimeo.com/332680112
@@GCCoop thanks for the response, very interesting video.
This video is pretty grainy.
The whole video was an echo chamber. Couldn't understand it.
We apologize for the audio quality while inside the elevator. If you are having an issue understanding the interview, please click on the "CC" button to get subtitles of the interview. Thanks for checking out our video!
Here's some facts that place is haunted
HAHAHHA N MIGET
Next time, dubb the audio in without the echo. Couldn’t understand a dadgum word. Nice video. Audio sucks.
Where are your hard hats??
Worried they gunna take a piece of grain to the head lol
You know, what happened to me few years back? The girls name was Halcyon Loretta Winslow. Ugliest girl you ever saw in your life. What happened was her father got it in his head that I should marry Halcyon. You know, he saw my picture in the paper. When I won that church raffle--four free haircuts. Picture's all over the front page. You know how that affects people. The go crazy. Right away, he saw civil servant, security. Right? Then he saw unmarried, and at the time I was only three-oh.(Thirty.) He saw in me an untapped source of lifetime happiness for his ugly daughter. So, needless to say they got my phone number from the barber and the rest is history.Well I'll tell ya', it's like a tale outta two cities. First, I only saw the old man for about a week. He made me a tempting offer: third interest in a prune-pitting operation.There's a lot of money in that. Well, you gotta like it. Full use of the company car, an interest in the family home, and a beautiful hillside plot in the In their cemetery. That burial plot alone is worth a fortune.When opportunity knocks, I had to at least take a peek and see if there's anybody on the stoop. Anyway, the old man made a date for all of us to meet down at Klein's Coffeehouse for American cheese and Danish.Oh boy. Beasto maristo. I'll tell ya', that cheese sandwich stuck right in my throat for about three days.I finally got off the hook. Well, first of all, I paid for my own cheese sandwich. Wipe out any obligations.Then I took the old man to one side and I told him straight out, N-O,a flat no dice.......But he kept after me, letters phone calls, driving that company car by all shiny and new. But I held my ground. Pretty soon he got the idea, and that was the end of it.Whatever happened to Halcyon You may ask? Well, you know she went east to one of them schools where they trim you down, clear your skin, make you walk around with a book on your head.
Did she turned out to be beautiful? No.hell no, she's still ugly, single, and pitting prunes.
We're a fan of the Andy Griffith show as well. ;-)
@@GCCoop A lot of people thought this was a true story.