News & Reviews News Wire BNSF to serve new South Dakota soybean plant

BNSF to serve new South Dakota soybean plant

By Trains Staff | February 21, 2022

| Last updated on March 25, 2024


Rail access a key to site selection, company CEO says

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Logo of South Dakota Soybean ProcessorsMITCHELL, S.D. — A South Dakota company has announced plans to build a new soybean processing plant, a facility to be served by BNSF Railway and capable of processing about 35 million bushels of soybeans per year.

The Mitchell Republic reports South Dakota Soybean Processors will build the facility about 2 miles south of Mitchell at a site near both BNSF’s line and Interstate 90. The rail line was an important part of the site choice, company CEO Tom Kersting told the newspaper.

“It’s a great location for what we do,” Kersting said. “The BNSF rail line is very important. There is a lot of grain going back and forth on that railroad.”

The company will begin the permitting process soon, Kersting said, although the targeted opening is not until 2025.

4 thoughts on “BNSF to serve new South Dakota soybean plant

  1. Good For the BNSF to Supply the Processing Facility They Serve Many Grain Elevators in the Midwest and Beyond

  2. Interesting, translates to about 1,290,000 tons per year. Divide that by 100 tons per car load (rough estimate) you get 1290 car loads outgoing a year.

    1. No. 1,290,000 divided by 100 = 12,900 or about 117 110-car trains. That would be about one every three days and I doubt there would be that many, but a couple of week is not out of the question based on shipping from other such facilities in the state.

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