The Davison County Commission voted 4-0 to approve South Dakota Soybean Processing's (SDSP) $21 million TIF funding proposal.
According to reports, the TIF funding will help construct the $500 million soybean processing plant the company hopes to build near Mitchell, South Dakota.
SDSP announced plans to build the multi-seed processing plant in February 2022.
The facility will have the capacity to process 35 million bushels of soybeans annually or the equivalent 1 million tonnes of higher-oil crops.
The project was initiated in response to rising demand for vegetable oil, SDSP CEO Tom Kersting said in a release.
“A plant with the ability to also process high-oilseed crops, such as sunflowers, significantly reduces the risk of the project and puts the plant in a much better position for long-term success," Kersting said.
Kersting noted sunflowers can produce twice as much oil per acre than soybeans.
“In addition to being near an abundant supply of soybeans, the plant’s western location is tributary to the western side of the state, an area well suited for the production of high-oilseed crops such as sunflowers and camelina.”
The new plant is expected to be operational in 2025.
Located on the BNSF railway, this will be the third soybean processing plant built by SDSP, which also has facilities in Volga and Miller, South Dakota. It is expected to create 50 full-time jobs.
Davison County Commission members noted the plant will drive costs of soybean transportation down for local farmers.
"Right now, we're exporting large amounts of soybean to China," Craig Stehly, a local farmer told The Daily Republic. "This would help retain exports here. When you do that it's just better in the long run — it means more money for farmers."
