Betaseed Inc. out of Bloomington, MN has purchased 6.3 acres of land from the Port of Othello and is currently in the midst of erecting a storage facility to house sugar beet stecklings.

“It’s wonderful to have another business in the area to help stimulate the economy here,” said Port Director Doyle Palmer.

The purchase price of the property, Palmer said was $132,000.

“The finished facility size is approximately 50,000 square feet made up of three buildings,” said Lisa Butzer, corporate marketing manager for Betaseed. “The completion date is expected to be in January of 2018.”

Butzer said the company had been leasing a facility in Moses Lake for a “number of years” and that the new buildings going up on Cunningham Road will allow Betaseed to move its production operation to the Othello area, which is, “a little more centrally located for us.”

Stecklings are carrot-sized roots that have been vernalized, which is the artificial exposure of plants (or seeds) to low temperatures in order to stimulate flowering or to enhance seed production.

“We use the small plants rather than doing direct sown seed,” Butzer said. “The plantlets dropped into the ground produces a faster growing cycle which then allows the plant to flourish a little better than starting it from seeds — depending on growing conditions — cuts down the time to produce the plant.”

Betaseed Inc. has seven facilities spread throughout the country. The business has been in existence since 1969.

“We were the first independent seed supplier in the sugar beet industry in North America, Butzer said. “It used to be that each co-op provided their own seed supplies and marketed the variety they wanted that were applicable to their areas.”

Company employees will manage the facility and grounds on the Cunningham property, but anticipate hiring as many as 15 locals during the peak production season.