Omaha, NE - July 19, 2019 – Ag Processing Inc a cooperative (AGP) held the Grand Opening for its new soybean processing facility in Aberdeen, SD on July 17, 2019.
The facility is AGP’s tenth soybean processing location and is scheduled to begin commercial operations by the end of July, 2019.
When fully operational, the facility will process over 50 million bushels of soybeans annually.
The event was attended by representatives of several AGP member-owner cooperatives, major construction contractors on the project, and many public and economic development officials from the State of South Dakota, Brown County, and the Aberdeen community.
AGP’s Chief Executive Officer Keith Spackler welcomed the attendees and said “The Aberdeen processing facility is a great fit with our overall business platform and with our mission to provide markets for producers’ soybeans, add value to those soybeans, and generate competitive returns for our cooperative owners.
"These returns include direct support to soybean prices as well as patronage payments to our cooperative owners.
"We are proud of the benefits it brings to our member-owners and their farmer-owners, as well as to this community, county, and state – that is our culture.”
Brad Davis, Chairman of the AGP Board of Directors, spoke about the original investigative work and feasibility study that was undertaken and presented to the Board, which allowed it to make the strategic decision to move forward on the project.
Davis also highlighted the strong relationships AGP has built with state and local economic development officials and critical construction partners throughout the project.
“The City of Aberdeen, Brown County, and the State of South Dakota have all been excellent to work with and have been instrumental in helping AGP get to where we are today.”
Cal Meyer, AGP’s Chief Operating Officer, said “AGP built this facility to provide protein and oil to growing domestic and international markets.
"We will buy large volumes of soybeans in the area, supply soybean meal to regional feed mills, and load unit trains of meal destined for export markets in the Pacific Rim.
"Additionally we will ship crude soybean oil to our existing refineries to supply expanding food and renewable fuel markets.
"Overall, this facility is well-positioned to meet this growth, while also providing good jobs, good pay, and excellent benefits to over 60 families in the Aberdeen community.”
For more information, please contact Matt Caswell at 402-498-2279 or mcaswell@agp.com