Since its official groundbreaking in June 2021, the site of the Green Bison Soy Processing plant in Spiritwood, N.D., has had ongoing activity to prepare for the day when beans would finally roll in. The day has finally come.

“We celebrated our first soybean truck receipt in Spiritwood on Sept. 18, 2023,” says Mike Keller, president of Green Bison Soy Processing LLC. “We’ve continued to receive soybean shipments each week since our opening.”

While the plant’s eventual daily capacity will be 150,000 bushels, Green Bison remains in the commissioning phase of the project.

“While continuing to receive soybeans, the project team’s primary focus remains on testing the equipment throughout the entire operations for startup,” Keller explains. “The commissioning phase would signify our final step in the project, which is expected to become operational during the harvest of 2023.”

Adding value

The plant, which is a joint venture between ADM and Marathon Petroleum, is the state’s first dedicated soybean processing facility. Once at full capacity, it is expected to produce about 600 million pounds of refined oil annually, as well as generating 1.28 million tons of soybean meal. The oil will be turned into renewable green diesel, and the meal is set to feed the state’s growing livestock population.

“Our facility will add value to the region’s soybeans, which benefits the entire supply chain from the farmer to the end customer,” Keller says.

While many of the soybeans grown in the region are exported to the Pacific Northwest, suppliers will now have a year-round option close to home. “Green Bison will be a consistent market for farmers and elevators, creating demand 12 months of the year for local production,” he says.

Aside from the plant relying on soybean within the region, Green Bison is capturing added value within the state for finished products, according to Keller. “Not only are we adding value to the soybeans processed in Spiritwood, our partner in Dickinson, N.D., will add additional value to the soybean oil,” he says.

The soybean oil from the plant will be converted into renewable green diesel in the western part of the state, where it will be used exclusively for Marathon.

While in the commission process and beyond, Green Bison still has soybean bids available for interested suppliers. “In January 2023, we posted our first soybean bid delivered to Spiritwood, and remain in the market bidding price premiums through July of 2024,” Keller explains.

Interested suppliers will have the ability to recognize price incentives offered into the future. “With harvest underway in our region, we have a fairly active market, with suppliers looking to take advantage of the price carries in the market,” Keller says.

“Suppliers can sign up for email and text messages to receive updated information and bids on a daily basis,” he says. “I would encourage interested suppliers to sign up for an account now, rather than waiting, as this will speed up the process when they consider selling soybeans to Green Bison.”

Suppliers can contact Green Bison at 800-475-4291 or [email protected].