ADM plans to build North Dakota’s first dedicated soybean crushing plant and refinery to meet fast-growing demand from food, feed, industrial and biofuel customers, including producers of renewable diesel.

Based in Spiritwood, ND, the approximately $350-million crush and refining complex will feature state-of-the-art automation technology and have the capacity to process 150,000 bushels of soybeans per day.

During the crush process, soybeans are cracked to remove the hull and then rolled into flakes, which are then soaked in a solvent and put through a distilling process to produce pure crude soybean oil. The processed soybean flakes are dried, toasted and ground into soybean meal.

Soybean processing flowchart from the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA).

Strategically located in a major soybean producing area, ADM’s global logistics network will enable the facility to access both domestic and global markets for soybean oil and meal. The facility is expected to be complete prior to the 2023 harvest.

This soybean processing plant is a gamechanger for North Dakota farmers, adding value and expanding the market for this important crop closer to home while also supporting the production of products such as renewable green diesel right here in North Dakota.

—North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum

ADM also plans to invest approximately $25 million to expand refining and storage capacity at its crush and refining facility in Quincy, Illinois. This project will fully align the location’s refining capabilities with its crush capacity and allow for greater flexibility in meeting the needs of ADM’s food, biofuel and industrial customers. The expanded capacity is expected to be online by Q1 2022.

ADM currently runs 70 oilseed plants—including 25 crushing facilities—in the US where meal from crops such as soybeans, canola, cottonseeds and sunflower seeds is separated from crude vegetable oil.