FS Construction Services Seed Treatment Solutions

Seed Treatment Solutions

As we said last month, we know that being a farmer is no small job. And despite the best planning in the world, there are always things that you can simply never account for and never control. Which is why at FS Construction Services we like to make such a big deal about the things that can be controlled. You may not be able to count on reliable weather, but you can count on reliable seed treatment.

We can help you find a seed treatment solution

Similar to every other service we offer, we have made a point to partner with the best in business. From your first contact with us to the first batch of seeds you treat, we want your experience to be as smooth and consistent as possible. Our longtime partners at USC Seed Treating Solutions and Meridian Manufacturing are leading international manufacturers of custom seed treatment equipment. Not only does their product quality always stay high, they have both pushed to be on the technological forefront of seed treating equipment.

When you work with us on getting new seed treating equipment, or even updating old equipment, you can expect precise and repeatable results time and time again. We also understand that learning new technology isn’t always the easiest thing, which is why our Seed Treatment team is always prepared to provide onsite training and help with learning new interfaces and software.

From portable seed treatment systems to commercial production treatment, we can work with any size operation. If you are in need of a brand-new system or if you would like to provide some needed upgrades to your current system, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

FS Construction Services new seed treater

Project Profile: New Seed Treater – All In a Day’s Work

The phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day” is meant to remind us that good things take time. And while patience is an obvious and important virtue, sometimes it’s just not needed. Such was the case when a client in northeast Arkansas needed some new seed treatment equipment to help them better serve their clients. With the objective of helping our client meet a very tough timeline, our team hit the road, and while they didn’t build a city, they did install a very nice seed treater that will drastically improve our client’s output.

Installation of New Seed Treater Under Strict Deadline

Our team installed a brand-new USC LPV treater, with the most recent 4.0 automation, in conjunction with the Proprietary Prescriptive Treat Program. After learning our client’s needs, we designed the layout and provided the installation. Along with on-site installation, our team always provides any necessary training on new software to ensure our client can have immediate success consistently and accurately treating seeds. As automation technology increases and changes, so can the learning curve, which is why we always take the time to make sure our clients are familiar and comfortable with these new systems.

After a day’s worth of work, our team headed back to Illinois and our client was now ready to serve the northeastern delta region of Arkansas with the ability to expertly and dependably treat soybeans, rice, and cotton seeds.

When it comes to seed treatment, there are many systems, options, and choices to make. If you are looking to replace old equipment or upgrade existing equipment, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

FS Construction Services new seed treater

Project Profile: A New Seed Treater for an Old Standard

At FS Construction Services, one of our favorite types of projects are those where we get to help a client whose main goal is helping other clients. This was the case last year when we had an opportunity to work with Obion Farmers Co-op in Union City, Tennessee. This Co-op has been around since the 1930s, helping local farmers and growers throughout the area. When they were in need of a new seed treatment system, we were happy to answer the call.

A New Custom Built Seed Treater for a Tennessee Co-op

Our team custom designed and built an LPV seed treatment system with two direct inject pump stands on site for our client. Our ongoing partnership with USC Seed Treating Solutions and their products allows us to know exactly which system is right for the job and how it can be customized to fit a client’s specific needs. However, we also know that much of the time, just providing the equipment isn’t the only thing that’s needed. Our team worked with the team at Obion Farmers to make sure they were comfortable and proficient with their new system. From installation to training to ongoing support, we have been happy to be part of our client’s story.

While our part of the job may now be done, we are thankful to know that this co-op is now even better suited to keep working with their clients and helping their neighbors succeed, and we feel privileged to have played a hand in that.

If you are in need of a new seed treatment solution, or you have old equipment that needs upgraded, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

Seed Systems Update FS Construction Services

Project Profile: A Complicated Seed System Update in Perfect Time

Over the years here at FS Construction Services, we’ve had the chance to work on almost every type of construction job there is, from new construction, to restoration, to retrofitting old structures and equipment. And while it’s often easier to just start with a blank slate, we’ve also found that we do love a good challenge. This latest challenge took us north to Salem, Illinois.

With seed systems, one of the main challenges comes when combining existing equipment with brand-new, state-of-the-art systems. Luckily, our team has proven experience at providing customer support and service when these situations arise. Our team put their heads together and got this tricky job done in perfect time.

Our client needed to upgrade an existing box-to-box loss-in-weight seed system. To add a bulk system to this older equipment, the team came up with a unique design. In order to make best use of what was already there, we moved the existing loss-in-weight seed metering system to the bulk side of the system, then added a Tri-Flo Continuous Scale.

After installation, our team stayed on site to provide extensive training and support on the new system so our client could take over with as few hiccups as possible. With all of our seed system jobs, our goal isn’t just to get some new equipment in place, but to make sure that our clients have a system that meets their needs now and into the future. Plus, we ensure they are trained, comfortable and ready to get the most out of their new equipment.

If you are in need of a new or upgraded seed system, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

FS Construction Services USC seed treatment systems

Seed Treatment in the Mississippi Delta

Over the past 40-plus years FS Construction Services has had the chance to work with many clients who live in and around our community. Every now and again though, we get the opportunity to go far outside our usual area and work with a completely different community. This past February, our team of FSCS technicians hit the road and traveled to Tunica, Mississippi to work with a customer who helps provide the Mississippi delta region with seed treatments of soybeans, cotton, rice, and cover crops.

The main feature of the installation was a USC LPV seed treater. Our team designed the layout which featured the most up-to-date 4.0 treatment automation, allowing our customer to have consistent results month in and month out. Additionally, we provided extensive on-site user training and support. The increase in seed treatment technology has been a wonderful boon for the agricultural industry, but it’s also come with a learning curve. We want to make sure that each of our clients is set up to succeed, no matter the size of their operation. For this reason, we always make sure there is an FSCS Representative available to troubleshoot, answer questions, and provide whatever support is needed when transitioning to a new system.

No matter where you are, we can provide seed treatment systems, upgrades, and retrofits. Our expert team has years of experiencing working with the smallest setups to the largest operations and are happy to help, no matter where your location.  If you are looking for new equipment or have questions about your current equipment, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

Gateway FS Construction Services crop yield

2019 Crop Yield Stats Show Perseverance

For many people, 2019 now probably feels like it was four years ago and not four months ago. But if you can remember back to earlier in the year there was another big, but different, problem we were all trying to sort through: rain. In fact, the first six months of 2019 were the wettest on record for the state of Illinois. And of course, a record-breaking wet season leads to another record no one wants, prevented plantings.

According to an article in FarmWeek, “Crop plantings in Illinois last season totaled just 10.5 million acres of corn, down 5% from 2018, and 9.95 million acres of soybeans, down 8%.” One of the more remarkable stats pulled from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is that it took until June 4 for progress on corn planting to reach 50%. Naturally, it’s just not possible to be that delayed on planting and not experience a reduction in yields, which is exactly what happened. Soybeans faired a little better than corn at 9.5 bushels per acre off the previous year’s count to corn’s 29 bushels per acre difference.

And yet, the article goes on to say, with record rain and drastically-delayed planting, the yields, though down, were surprisingly strong all things considered. Illinois still went on to lead the nation in soybean production. As for our specific neck of the woods, Washington county pulled in the highest corn yield on average at 167.4 bushels per acre, and Monroe had the highest average soybean yield at 47.2. These totals sit a little lower than the state average 181 for corn and 54 for soybeans.

And yet, thinking back to last year, when it seemed like the ground just couldn’t take any more and almost every field looked like a lake, it’s amazing these numbers are as high as they are. If there’s anything to take from all this, besides some interesting numbers, it’s that we know how to weather the storms, which will always come in some form or other. So many of our friends, neighbors, and clients simply continue to persevere, no matter how dire things look. And sometimes, even after record-breaking storms, things can turn out alright after all.

As always, we are here for any of your building, grain system, seed system, and garage door needs. If you need anything at all, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

FS Construction Services seed systems

Seed Systems: What FS Construction Can Do For You

Farming is a broad word and will probably bring a lot of different images to mind depending on the person. And while it’s true that as long as there have been people, there have been farmers, farming also lives on the cutting edge of technological innovation. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the world of seed treatment. And while coating seeds to boost their chance of success isn’t necessarily new, the precision and automation with which it’s now done is truly remarkable.

When it comes to something like seed treatment, consistency and reliability is key. The fastest or biggest treatment system in the world is no good if it doesn’t produce dependable results. It’s important enough that we’ve partnered with some of the best seed treatment system manufacturers in the industry: USC, Meridian Manufacturing, and Schuld/Bushnell, so we can guarantee our customers get the product and the results they’re looking for. From tabletop to larger capacity to commercial options to portable treaters, we’ve got every shape and size of treater you might need.

As automation has become more sophisticated, so have we. Most sites we work on now involve setting up automated seed treatment systems, which is crucial to getting consistent results time and time again. Our team works closely with clients when setting up a new system to make sure they’re fully trained and comfortable with whatever automation system they’re working with.

Of course, with any kind of machinery, there’s no way around the occasional maintenance. Sometimes it’s just a preseason checkup and other times it’s an upgrade or a piece that needs to be retrofitted. Whatever the issue may be, FS Construction Services is here to help.

From choosing the right product, to installation, to calibration, to training, to maintenance, we are with you every step of the way when it comes to your seed treatment system. If you are in need of some new equipment, or you just have a few questions, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

Gateway FS Construction Services seed systems

Project Profile: Illinois to Louisiana

At FS Construction Services, we like to hold to a pretty generous definition of the word neighbor. Sometimes our neighbor is next door, sometimes they’re a county away. But we’ve made it our mission to support the great work done in our neighborhood. So when we get a call from Ferriday, Louisiana asking us for help with a seed systems upgrade, well, then they get to be our neighbors too.

At the beginning of this year, we were asked to perform a total system upgrade for a seed treatment company in The Pelican State. They wanted to upgrade their box-to-box system to a fully-automated bulk system. Naturally we agreed, and the team drove the nine hours to begin working. The biggest step was installing a USC Tri-Flo Continuous Scale hopper, which incorporated a prescriptive treatment chemical delivery system. This allows each ingredient to be on its own pump stand, and can meter the right amount of chemical per tank for each unit of soybean treated. Despite the distance, FS Construction Services was able to complete the project in plenty of time for our client to be ready to go for the coming season. To guarantee this, our team worked with them to calibrate and set their system up, and then provided complete training on the new system to ensure confidence and success moving forward.

At the end of the day, this system is the fastest, most accurate seed treatment system on the market. We even installed a Tri-States Grain Conditioning monitoring system inside the bulk bins to deal with the volatile Louisiana temperatures. Now our client will be able to monitor and control their seed temperature and moisture all year long.

If you are in need of a new seed system, or an upgrade of an existing system, even if you live a couple states away, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

LPX seed systerm FS Construction Services

LPX U-Treat Lite Nominated for New Product of the Year

One of the most exciting parts of our jobs here at FS Construction Services is that we always get to be at the forefront of technology and innovation. The wonderful partners that we work with consistently push the industry forward and find better ways to improve user experience. Recently, this has been most obvious with our partners at USC. Their LPX U-Treat Lite has been selected as a finalist for the 2019 AgPro Reader’s Choice New Product of the Year Awards. These awards, which AgPro has hosted for the last 13 years, are about recognizing, “innovation that impacts ag retail,” and this is undoubtedly true when it comes to the LPX with U-Treat.

Seed treaters have been getting smarter and smarter over the last 10 years, but with an increase in automation and data, there has also been a sharp increase in the learning curve when it comes to figuring out how to work with and properly understand what this new software is saying.

USC has decided to tackle this problem head on with the U-Treat, and rather than relying on overcomplicated software and a cumbersome user interface, they have developed a first-of-its-kind graphical user interface (GUI) for their LPX system.

Rather than relying on incomprehensible data streams and endless, text-based information, USC has created a user-friendly, seamless seed treatment experience. The intuitive new system is easier to learn, easier to understand, and more accurate than ever before. The U-Treat is able to automate up to four volumetric metering pump stands, can be monitored from any mobile device, and supports up to 500 customer, seed, and chemistry profiles, it also features automated start, run, and end sequences, with repeatable, consistent results. The new Start Wizard simplifies and organizes data into quickly accessible formats, reducing set-up time and allowing you to treat seed faster and better than ever.

If you are interested in learning more about the LPX U-Treat or have any other seed treatment questions, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.

FS Construction Services fall maintenance

Preventing Winter Emergencies with Fall Maintenance

With the days already getting shorter and (occasionally) cooler, as sudden as ever, summer is has ended and fall has begun. And while there’s always the hope of a couple of calm, temperate autumn months, winter usually shows up sooner than anyone wants. It’s all too easy to overestimate the amount of time you have left until the real cold starts and all too common to leave winter-preparation maintenance tasks undone once it does.

It really doesn’t take long to come up with around-the-house work to do before winter:

  • Clean gutters and downspouts
  • Seal gaps and cracks in windows and doors
  • Repair damaged or corroded roof shingles and flashing
  • Drain outdoor faucets, hoses, and irrigation systems
  • Inspect heating systems and furnaces, cleaning and replacing filters when necessary
  • Have all gas equipment inspected
  • Test all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

And of course, this list could go on and on. The truth is that any of the aforementioned residential maintenance projects also apply to agricultural and commercial properties as well, albeit usually with a lot more time and effort involved. Grain bins, seed systems, storage sheds, post-frame buildings, and more, all need the same kind of attention and work to ensure they not only last the winter months, but are ready for use come spring as well. We all know winter is hard on buildings, and even small things like trapped water or gaps along windows can wreak havoc if not tended to.

If you are in need of some help getting your grain storage or transfer equipment, buildings, seed systems, or more ready for the months to come, please let Gateway FS Construction Services know. Give us a call at 866-551-3454, and let our specialists help you find exactly what you are looking for. We look forward to providing you the best customer service experience.