The seed plant at Carbon books its first full season since the rebuild
Two years after the fire, the cleaning line is running double shifts and the wait list runs to March.
CARBON — The seed cleaning plant answered the question hanging over it since the 2024 fire: the rebuilt line is fully booked through March, running double shifts for the first time in the co-op's history.
The fire could have ended the plant. Cleaning capacity has been consolidating toward the big corridor facilities for years, and the insurance settlement would have paid out members comfortably. The membership voted 61–4 to rebuild anyway, on the theory that a plant forty minutes closer is worth more than a cheque.
The new line cleans a third faster and, more to the point for growers watching seed-borne disease move north, added a colour sorter — the first in the district. Half the winter's bookings specify it.
The manager's summary at Tuesday's open house ran eight words, delivered from the loading dock: "Turns out people drive to what still works."
