A local farmer cooperative hopes to begin construction on a value-added soybean operation this summer.

Saturday, April 21, 2001

A local farmer cooperative hopes to begin construction on a value-added soybean operation this summer.

The Soy Mor cooperative plant will be located near the current Exol ethanol plant near Glenville, and members hope it will make soybean farming more profitable and stable.

Initially, the plant will purchase and disassemble processed soy oil to make a number of products, said Lee Dexter, Soy Mor consultant. Once established, Soy Mor’s 480 members hope to purchase crude soy oil and separate it into biodiesel and processed oil. Within five years, they hope to purchase a crusher and begin processing member soybeans.

&uot;We’ve tried to start this like a freight train: slow years one two and three, but then picking up speed,&uot; Dexter said.

By starting small, members will only have to front about $8 million, said board member Gary Pestorious. Building the entire facility right away would cost about $100 million.

Local farmers have been working on the project for two years, and gained cooperative status last summer, Pestorious said.

&uot;It’s still in a real early stage, but in July we’ll be holding a meeting where they can put their money in,&uot; he said. &uot;We’ll know a lot more about it then.&uot;

When complete, the crush plant will be extremely small, crushing between 5-10 million bushels of soybeans, he said. Parts of the soybean that are not used for biodiesel will be sold as ingredients for soaps, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, Dexter said. The meal will be processed into animal feed.

Dexter hopes to start selling trial amounts to companies even before plant construction begins, to get a head-start on the marketing process.

&uot;Our hope is that when the door open, we can have some orders ready to go as soon as the plant opens,&uot; she said.