CHERRYVALE, Kan. – Bartlett, a Savage Company, is beginning operations at its new soybean processing plant in Cherryvale, Kan., which is served by Watco’s 458.7-mile South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.
The plant will handle up to 49 million bushels of soybeans annually, providing sustainable soy feedstocks for refined vegetable oil, animal feed and renewable transportation fuels. More than 60 permanent jobs are being created, in addition to jobs and economic activity supported during the plant’s construction, which began in 2022.
“We appreciate the tremendous work of everyone involved in the design, construction and operation of this world-class facility, and the strong support received from community members and federal, state and local officials,” Bartlett President Bob Knief said in a statement. “Our new Cherryvale plant will expand markets for area soybean producers and agribusinesses while driving needed economic growth in Southeast Kansas.”
On Thursday, Bartlett hosted a grand opening event attended by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Lt. Gov. and Commerce Secretary David Toland, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, and other federal, state and local leaders.
Bartlett’s Cherryvale site includes the processing plant, product tank farm, grain elevators and a multi-loop track system.
The SKOL interchanges with three Class I railroads: BNSF Railway, CPKC, and Union Pacific.
For a minute there, I thought I was looking at a map of the South West Kansas Railroad.