CPS moving to the countryside

FAIRBURY – An area ag retailer is moving from the middle of Fairbury to a rural location just west of town.

Crop Production Services is building the facility which will eventually include several structures on a 20-acre site.

“Our biggest goal is to make it safer. Our equipment is not getting any smaller so being out of town will help us on that,” explained CPS manager Matt Durdan, who also oversees the nearby Chatsworth and Strawn locations.

The project, which should be completed by the fall of 2018, will include seed, chemical and dry fertilizer storage. The company’s anhydrous ammonia facility is already located at the site along the TP&W railroad.

“We are building the shop right now and we are going to be building a chemical shed, seed shed and then a dry fertilizer building,” Durdan said.

The existing anhydrous ammonia site is five acres and CPS purchased an additional 15 acres nearby.

“We plan on getting the shop done this winter and then early next spring, we are going to start working on the seed shed. After the seed shed is complete, we are going to move onto the dry fertilizer building and then the chemical building and office will follow that,” Durdan added.

Durdan is unsure about the exact future of the current location in Fairbury, but foresees the company keeping the old buildings for storage and other possible uses.