AGP celebrates grand opening of new soybean-processing facility in David City, Nebraska

Photo: Ag Processing Inc.

Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) announced July 21 that it held a grand-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony July 17 to commemorate its newest soybean-processing and degumming facility in David City, Nebraska.

The celebration welcomed state and local officials, agricultural-industry representatives and AGP cooperative members.

The David City plant is AGP’s 11th soybean processing location and is scheduled to begin commercial operations by the end of August.

Once fully operational, the state-of-the-art facility will be capable of processing over 50 million bushels of soybeans annually and producing nearly 700 million pounds of degummed oil per year.

“As a cooperative, AGP’s mission is to add value to our members’ soybeans by processing the beans into meal and oil, selling those products in the open market, and returning the earnings to our local owners,” said Dean Thernes, AGP’s board chairman.

“With so many of our existing members in this area, the David City location is not only a great fit with our mission to serve the cooperative system, but it is also a perfect addition to AGP’s existing midwestern processing platform and, we strongly believe, it will improve our ability to compete in the domestic and international markets,” Thernes added.

Among the event’s speakers was Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, who welcomed AGP to David City and emphasized the importance of agriculture to the state.

“With great people, plenty of land and abundant water, Nebraska agriculture is second to none,” Pillen said. “AGP’s processing facility is creating fantastic opportunities for our soybean farmers and bringing rewarding careers to David City. This plant will consume more than 15 percent of the state’s soybeans, improves the basis for local markets and puts more cash in producer’s pockets. Thank you AGP for strengthening value-added agriculture in Nebraska.”

AGP CEO Chris Schaffer acknowledged the governor’s leadership and credited local support for helping bring the project to fruition.

“We have a network of members who can supply us soybeans to process,” Schaffer said. “We have marketing and logistics systems in place to sell and deliver the soybean meal to domestic and foreign customers. We have the speed, space and relations to get our soybean oil to both our food and fuel customers. And we have an experienced and dedicated team to run it all.”

The David City facility enhances AGP’s existing soybean-processing and refining operations, reinforcing its role in domestic and international markets.

AGP selected the location for its reliable supply of soybeans, skilled workforce, strong local infrastructure and transportation access.

Once operational, the plant will support more than 80 full-time jobs.

“The site encompasses approximately 273 acres with 2.5 miles of paved roads and approaching 13.6 miles of rail tracks providing access to two Class I railroads,” said Lou Rickers, AGP’s chief operations officer. “With the amount of rail track on site, AGP will load a unit train of 110 cars every three to four days. We will be able to hold a loaded unit train, receive an empty unit train and continue to build a third unit train of soybean meal. Also encompassed within the total miles of rail, the site will be able to load and build 110-car unit trains of oil. The degumming plant will be able to load that train in just two days as long as the cars are available on site. I want to thank AGP’s team and our business partners for building a facility with speed and space to match any customers’ needs.”

Reflecting on the company’s growth, Thernes highlighted the milestone.

“On this exact same day six years ago, AGP held a grand opening in Aberdeen, South Dakota, for its 10th processing plant,” Thernes said. “The Aberdeen plant has been a tremendous success, improving marketing opportunities for producers, creating well-paying jobs and generating additional business opportunities in the Aberdeen area. We are confident this new processing facility will provide the same benefits to David City and the surrounding communities for years to come.”