Tuesday, November 13, 2001

Letters to the editor

Soybean operation will help area's economy

I would like to extend a thank you to the city of Brewster, Minnesota Soybean Processors and their board of directors, the farmers of our tri-state area and the South Dakota Soybean Processors. (SDSP).

It has been three years since Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp. decided that our agricultural area was in need of creating added value for our farmers through a soybean crushing and oil-processing facility. Yes, Harvest States went one way, but a dedicated group of local soybean producers said there is a better way.

On Oct. 30, South Dakota Soybean Processors began Phase I of their commitment to our area soybean producers, with the announcement of an oil-storage facility to be constructed at the MnSP site in Brewster. I've worked with this project in various ways for several years. Economic development consultants have shown that our local economy will benefit from a regional MnSP facility.

As the equity drive concludes, our local producers will have a closed agricultural cooperative that is modeled after the successful SDSP ventura at Volga, S.D. SDSP has shown that this type of cooperative can provide producers a yearly return on invested capital that approaches or exceeds 25 percent per year.

When the MnSP facility is constructed and operational, it is very possible that the price of our locally raised soybeans will move upward in value. The annual production of soybeans in the surrounding area is estimated to be more than 150 million bushels. MnSP is projected to crush between 30 million and 35 million bushels of local production. If five cents is added to the price of every bushel in the area, all farmers would share in $7.5 million of increased income. Since most farmers will likely spend this income, the impact to our regional economy is projected to be about $14 million.

Our area will benefit greatly from the MnSP plant. Forty new jobs are projected to be created at the Brewster location. Up to 123 new jobs could be created in the surrounding area. The operating expenses of the plant are projected to exceed $14 million. The impact of this facility to the surrounding communities is projected to be $25 million.

The MnSP project has come a long way and is very close to becoming fully funded. We wish success to all the stakeholders of MnSP. This venture will help drive the future of sustainable agriculture in the tri-state area. Thanks for your commitment to our total economy's well being.

Conrad B. Schmidt
Worthington

©Worthington Daily Globe 2001