Roquette's rebuilt La Harpe, Ill. facility boasts significant upgrades

Roquette’s rebuilt 850,000-bushel corn elevator in La Harpe, Ill. has been operational since the 2025 fall harvest. Facility photos courtesy of Valley View Agri-Systems
Roquette’s rebuilt 850,000-bushel corn elevator in La Harpe, Ill. has been operational since the 2025 fall harvest. Facility photos courtesy of Valley View Agri-Systems

In June 29, 2023, an early morning derecho began in northwestern Iowa. The destructive windstorm swept through northern Iowa and much of Illinois by mid-afternoon.

In the wake of the destruction was Roquette in La Harpe, Ill. The in-town grain elevator was almost entirely leveled, except for one of its seven storage tanks. It was a day Location Manager Mike Falk remembers well. “Winds exceeded 100 mph,” he tells Grain Journal, “and it appeared two bins were smashed together, creating a domino effect of destruction.” At the time, the facility was holding approximately 500,000 bushels of corn.

Before the derecho, Roquette was in the planning stages of an expansion project with general contractor Valley View Agri-Systems, Divernon, Ill. However, with the facility now mostly destroyed, the focus shifted to rebuilding the facility with significant upgrades.

With the goal of an operational facility before fall harvest 2025, Valley View broke ground in the fall of 2024. “We began engineering and were able to pour concrete through the winter,” says Adam Mussman, vice president-design and quoting, Valley View Agri-Systems. “Bins and structures started going up in the spring of 2025.

“The timeline was challenging, but the elevator began receiving grain before harvest this past fall,” he notes.

A derecho is an extreme weather phenomenon characterized by intense straight-line winds with a band of fast-moving thunderstorms. The derecho that destroyed the La Harpe facility occurred on June 29, 2023.
A derecho is an extreme weather phenomenon characterized by intense straight-line winds with a band of fast-moving thunderstorms. The derecho that destroyed the La Harpe facility occurred on June 29, 2023.

An Engineered Rebuild
To make the facility’s structures more resistant to extreme weather, Valley View used vibrated aggregate piers to reinforce the soils below the bin foundations. SubSurface Constructors, St. Louis, Mo., were hired for soil correction, and Craig’s Concrete, Gillman, Ill., handled conrete work.

“The bin foundations were designed for current engineering standards, as well as local seismic requirements,” explains Mussman. “And the bins and structures were designed for seismic, local wind, snow and ice loading.”

Another goal of the project for Roquette was to increase operational efficiency and safety. Upgraded receiving, which included a 12-foot-by-27-foot dump pit and 20,000-bph Schlagel receiving conveyors and legs, has cut customer wait times to under five minutes.

Two-way gates installed at the pit conveyor and Schlagel reclaim conveyor allows for greater flexibility with grain handling; either of the facility’s two legs can be used for receiving or reclaim. Lastly, a Schlagel dual-inlet swingset distributor allows both legs to route grain to all flow paths.

Tech upgrades at La Harpe enable the elevator to operate more efficiently. Some notable tech includes:

  • Electro-Sensors speed sensors and bearing temperature monitoring on all relevant equipment.
  • Belt conveyor and legs have rub blocks for belt alignment.
  • Drag conveyors have chain break/plug switches.
  • Bins are equipped with temperature cables, high-level fill switches, and Vega continuous monitoring level sensors.
  • All sensors feed into the facility’s PLC system that can be accessed from any of its three control kiosks.
Among four new AGI steel bins is an old, 60-foot Behlen bin that survived the 2023 derecho.
Among four new AGI steel bins is an old, 60-foot Behlen bin that survived the 2023 derecho.









More Storage
Despite the space constraints of an in-town facility, Valley View designed the new facility around the existing office, scale, rail loadout point and the remaining 60-foot Behlen grain bin.

“It was decided that the traffic would flow from the scale to the east to dump corn or fill trucks if needed, then circle around the facility to weigh out before leaving the property,” explains Mussman. “Everything was designed in a way that would allow the customer to reverse the traffic flow path if the need ever arose.”

By adding four AGI steel grain bins, the facility’s storage capacity sits at 850,000 bushels for an approximate increase of 100,000 bushels. The new corrugated steel bins are equipped with AGI Airlanco aeration, AGI CMC grain temperature monitoring, and Sioux Steel paddle sweeps. An APEX Industrial tower support system encloses the legs and fill conveyors.

Resilience Rewarded
Since the new facility opened for business, Roquette’s customers have returned, and Falk has enjoyed a lot of positive feedback. “The farmers absolutely love it.”

He credits Valley View for its flexibility and creativity to go from wreckage to a facility better than before. “They were very good to work with,” he comments.

Prior to the storm, Falk adds, “The La Harpe elevator was a major supplier of corn by rail to Roquette in Keokuk, Iowa.

“With the new rebuild, we are able to load corn by rail or truck to Keokuk, once again allowing us to be a key player in supplying corn to the Roquette plant.