Here’s How You Can Get Free Dirt in Billings

Summertime is here, and for many of us, that means outdoor projects. I feel like I'm a circus act at the moment, trying to juggle a dozen different things, and many of the items on my project list require dirt.

I hate paying much for fill dirt, because... well, it's just dirt. $8 for a small bag of "topsoil" at the garden center is fine if you only need a tiny bit. But let's say you're filling up a dozen large planter beds, or leveling an area for an above-ground pool.

Think of what you can do with all this free dirt.

Maybe you've got low spots in your yard you want to eliminate, negative drainage around your foundation, or a major landscaping project and need LOTS of dirt. Great news... You can get as much free dirt as you'd like from Western Sugar, aka "the sugar beet factory" in Billings.

Here's why they have over 500,000 cubic yards of free dirt.

Western Sugar processes around 5,000 tons of sugar beets in Billings PER DAY during harvest. The beets typically have a bit of soil stuck to them when they arrive by the truckload at the plant. The dirt is washed off before they're turned into sugar.

That dirt ends up in giant piles around the sugar plant. JNJ Contracting and Machinery has been tasked with helping all that dirt find a new home. Call 406-594-7885 to coordinate a time to come get dirt.  Do not call Western Sugar, as they will refer you to JNJ.

A contractor from JNJ will use a loader to fill your pickup bed with soil. If you need more than a pickup load, you can bring an end dump trailer or even your semi with a side-dump.

This is certified clean fill dirt (test results available upon request) and can be used for gardening, landscaping, lot leveling, general fill, etc. The contractor on-site is typically available till around 2 PM, Monday - Friday.