Clean Grains, Clean Start: A New Life for the CGC Seed Cleaner
We’re thrilled to share a fresh chapter in the life of a beloved piece of equipment! The Colorado Grain Chain Seed Cleaner has officially found its forever home and it's open for community use!
Photo of seed cleaner at Jacob Spring Farm alongside farm hand, Mark. Credits: Clark Harshbarger, MAD Agriculture
August 14th, 2025
This marks a fresh start for a long-standing idea. Back before the Colorado Grain Chain even had staff members, our Board voted to purchase a seed cleaner with a clear goal in mind: to provide a shared piece of equipment that could help streamline grain cleaning for our members. It was a dream championed by our beloved late founder, Andy Clark, a tool that wouldn’t sit idle in a shed but instead circulate among growers, reducing equipment costs and supporting community-scale grain production across the state.
As with many great ideas, reality brought some logistical hurdles. Transporting a heavy piece of machinery around Colorado (with its fair share of bumpy backroads), managing insurance and liability, and keeping up with regular maintenance proved more than our small but mighty organization could sustain. For a while now, the cleaner has lived at Jacob Springs Farm, its future uncertain.
But then a few things became clear. First, the machine was being used and not just by Jacob Springs’ Andre Houssney, but by others who came to the farm to clean grain. Second, Andre had made some upgrades to the system, including the addition of a gravity table, boosting its effectiveness. In other words: the seed cleaner was already serving its intended purpose, just not in the way we initially imagined.
That’s why, this spring, we worked with Andre at Jacob Springs Farm and our friends at Mad Agriculture to formalize a new agreement. As of now, July 2025, the seed cleaner lives permanently at Jacob Springs Farm and it’s officially available for community use.
So how does it work?
If you’re a grower in the region and need access to a seed cleaner, Jacob Springs Farm is your destination. Thanks to a new agreement, the farm has committed to making the seed cleaner available to at least 3-5 growers per year, for the next two years and hopefully beyond.
To schedule time with the seed cleaner:
Clark will help facilitate scheduling and logistics between interested growers and Jacob Springs Farm.
What’s included?
- A multi-screen seed cleaner with a gravity table
- Ideal for small grains like wheat, spelt, corn, and more
- On-farm use – no need to haul heavy machinery around the state
Community connection included at no extra charge!
Jacob Springs will also be tracking basic info (types and quantities of grain cleaned) that will help the Colorado Grain Chain understand the impact of this local machinery. We hope to share stories and photos with you as the machine sees action in the seasons ahead.
Why this matters
At its heart, this is a story about shared infrastructure, about making the tools of a better food system available to those who need them. It's about helping farmers process their harvest, get grains to market, and grow more resilient, regionally adapted crops. And it’s about honoring Andy Clark’s original vision of making high-quality tools accessible to all, not just those with deep pockets or massive acreage.
We're grateful to Jacob Springs Farm and Mad Agriculture for stepping up to help steward this resource and support its community-based future. And we're excited to see how the growers in our network put it to use.
"We are excited to support the Colorado Grain Chain's partnership with Jacob Springs to bring this opportunity to collaborate to the Boulder community. It is the small connections that can help make big changes happen within our food system." – Clark Harshbarger, Mad Agriculture, Director of Stewardship
If you’re in need of seed cleaning, reach out! And if you’re just curious to follow along, we’ll be sharing more photos, stories, and grainy goodness as the machine gets to work this fall.
Let’s get cleaning!
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