Photos courtesy of MV Coop Monte Vista Coop broke ground on its Dry Fertilizer Shed and Chemical Building in July of 2021. Construction is expected to be completed in March.

MONTE VISTA — Monte Vista Coop's footprint continues to expand. Its latest project — an 8,000-ton fertilizer building — is hard to miss.

The new Dry Fertilizer Shed and Chemical Building will allow MV Coop to meet the needs of the San Luis Valley's hearty agriculture industry efficiently and quickly. It is scheduled to be open to the public in early March, with a grand opening slated for the summer.

MV Coop Agronomy Manager Mike Hampel said the state-of-the-art fertilizer building was the natural next step in MV Coop's evolution.

“It began about two years ago as a dream,” Hampel said. “This is a very well-ran organization, so it kind of evolved on its own, as the markets are changing, we had to adjust to the markets. A few sketches, some thoughts and planning, and us coming together to try to figure it out, and we now have this fertilizer building that has allowed us a lot of efficiency for fertilizer.”

Breaking ground on the project took place in July of 2021. Concrete was poured and it grew in the landscape next to the primary office of Monte Vista Coop on the east end of town. Marcus Construction is leading the build.

Hampel said that the building will provide faster and more efficient times for mixing, loading, and dropping fertilizer than the old building. Hampel said the old fertilizer building, like many in town, is old, about 60 years old to be exact. And while tried and true, it is also slow with inbound fertilizer and slow with outbound fertilizer.

For example, Hampel said at the old facility it would take about three-fourths of a day to unload one rail car, which carries 100 tons of dry fertilizer. The new facility will do the same amount in less than an hour.

Hampel said unloading a semi-truck would take about an hour in the old building, and in the new building, unloading could be accomplished in about 10 minutes.

Hampel said the efficiency will be seen for loads going out. Depending on the size of the order, it would take most of a workday at the old building to fill it. At the new building, that same order could be filled in about an hour.

Hampel said the facility is also set up to electronically blend. Although the hoppers in the facility must be loaded manually, something as simple as a cell phone could be used to order and start the blend.

Hampel is excited about the building.

“This building will serve our community, with high-quality fertilizers and chemicals and more,” he said.

Hampel said that the efficiency of the new building is great, but they will still need skilled employees to run the machinery and connect with valued customers.

"Employees are the heart of MV Coop," Hampel said, adding that with the new building MV Coop is expecting it to be busier than ever.