Owners Will Rebuild Iowa Grain Elevator Following Explosion

A dust explosion at a central Iowa grain elevator earlier this month should not affect storage capacity or operations during this fall’s harvest, the company said.

Landus Cooperative grain elevator in Jefferson said in a news release that it expects grain receiving and corn drying to resume at the site by the fall harvest, the Des Moines Register reported. The company said storage capacity will be “sufficient to meet farmer expectations.”

Jefferson Police Chief Mark Clouse said the May 14 explosion did “catastrophic” damage to the elevator, nearby concrete storage bins and catwalks connecting the structures. It blew the tops off of at least four of the six storage bins, toppled walls and caused the catwalks to collapse. No injuries were reported.

“We are now forging ahead with the planning to rebuild our Jefferson location to be bigger and better than before,” Landus President Matt Carstens said in the release.

Ten people work at the grain elevator, which also holds crop protection products and seed, said spokesperson Kerrey Kerr-Enskat.