A new $250 million soybean crush plant in rural Illinois is a much-needed boost in domestic demand for struggling farmers in the Midwest.

That’s according to a high-profile roster of attendees at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Incobrasa Industries’ facility, which can process 240,000 bushels of soybeans a day.

“We are truly proud here in Illinois that we are the nation's top soybean producer,” state Governor JB Pritzker said Monday at the event in Gilman, located about 90 miles south of Chicago. “Incobrasa is powering the modern economy with those soybeans, including [for] biodiesel and cooking oil and farm feed."

Incobrasa, a family-owned business founded in Brazil 44 years ago, first began crushing soybeans in east-central Illinois in 1997 and later began producing biodiesel. The new crush plant doubles the company’s size and is the largest single soy extraction unit in the U.S., according to Incobrasa quality control manager Kerry Fogarty.

“It's going to provide a safe, trade-war-proof market for Illinois soybean farmers,” he said at the ceremony.

National Oilseed Processors Association President and CEO Devin Mogler, whose group represents 99% of the U.S. soybean processing industry, said the additional crush capacity strengthens American agriculture. 

“Thanks to bold expansion, such as this, the United States can now process three out of every five rows of soybeans grown across our fields, keeping more value right here where it belongs,” Mogler said. “Translation –   less reliance on China.”

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