ND readies two brand new soybean crushing plants
Two soybean crushing plants have broken ground in North Dakota.
They have been in the works for a long time- and even begun a few times in one case- but this time, the building has commenced.
For both plants, the ceremonial crew using shovels to break the ground included our governor. The Casselton plant's groundbreaking ceremony took place August 22 of this year and the Spiritwood plant's, in June.
The future is bright for soybean farmers after 2022, with two processing plants breaking ground this year!
The future isn't so far away in the case of the Spiritwood plant- they expect to be functioning in 2023. The Casselton plant will take until 2024 to begin operations.
While both plants will have a venue for North Dakota soybean farmers to sell their product, they also will have opportunities for livestock producers. Soybean meal is very high in protein, and makes up part of a growing ration for calves- although it is more commonly used in pig feed.
The plants will not be identical in their function, though. The Spiritwood plant, also known as the 'Green Bison' soy processing plant, will be taking in soybeans and producing vegetable oil- for the manufacturing of ag-based diesel at the Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC). This plant plans to process up to 150,000 bushels of beans each day.
The Casselton plant will take in soybeans and crush them into meal and oils- rather like the Green Bison plant. The plant is projected to take in 42.5 million bushels of beans in the first year once it is operating in its full capacity. The Casselton plant is jointly owned by CGB Enterprises, Inc, and Minnesota Soybean Processors.
In both cases, processing plants' availability on North Dakota soil brightens the futures of farmers and ranchers alike. Farmers have closer markets to target- and ranchers have smaller distances to truck livestock feed across.
If these plants deliver on their promises, both farmers and ranchers can have a field day- without wondering where their products will go to and come from, respectively.