CHS Marks $700 Million Wisconsin Soybean Plant Milestone, With Construction Still Awaiting Permits

US farmer-owned cooperative CHS held a ceremonial groundbreaking on October 7 for its planned $700 million soybean-processing facility near Evansville, Wisconsin. The company expects the plant to crush 80 million bushels of soybeans a year when fully operational, adding a large new buyer for Midwest-grown beans.

The celebration does not mean the plant is already under construction. CHS says project development work is underway and construction will start after the required permitting processes are completed. That distinction is important when judging the likely timing of new crushing capacity.

One billion pounds of oil and two million tons of meal

At the proposed annual processing rate, CHS expects the facility to produce approximately 1 billion pounds of soybean oil and 2 million tons of soybean meal. Soybean oil is used in food products and renewable fuels; the protein-rich meal is an important ingredient in animal feed.

Those figures are company projections of capacity and output, not quantities currently being delivered. Processing economics will ultimately depend on soybean supply, oil and meal demand, operating costs and the margin between raw beans and the products made from them.

Jobs and timing

CHS expects about 80 permanent full-time jobs once the factory operates, alongside hundreds of construction and skilled-trade positions during development. In its original September 14 project announcement, the cooperative targeted completion in autumn 2028.

The proposed site would broaden CHS's soybean-processing network and potentially shorten the distance some regional farmers send their crops for processing. But the project still faces the normal steps between a public ceremony, construction, commissioning and full production.

Why this matters beyond Wisconsin

Domestic soybean processing links farmers to food makers, feed producers and the biofuels industry. New crushing capacity can influence local grain bids, transport requirements and demand for storage and logistics services, though an individual project's market effect cannot be inferred from capacity alone.

This is a large physical investment, rather than a marketing partnership. The meaningful milestones to watch next are completion of permitting, the start of construction, equipment installation and the facility's eventual operating schedule.

Sources and image rights

Original primary source: https://www.chsinc.com/news/chs-celebrates-milestone-for-planned-evansville-soybean-processing-facility/

Cover image: Marko Milivojevic, https://pixnio.com/media/soybean-field-agriculture-grass-farm , CC0 public-domain image.