From the historic impeachment of South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg to the approval of a $500 million soybean plant in Mitchell, 2022 had no shortage of impactful stories.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission said Nebraska-based OPINS -- Organic Producers of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota -– operated without a license from July 1, 2019, to Nov. 8, 2021. A fine and settlement was approved by the PUC on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.
Red Wing Grain, which typically loads 400-600 barges in a year and handles about 25 million to 30 million bushels annually through its facility, is down 10% to 20% this fall, said Jim Larson, general manager
North Dakota’s wide-open spaces are attractive to hog producers in states such as Indiana and Iowa who are trying to improve biosecurity by spreading out barns. Soybean crush plants will soon be adding even more feed to the local supply, and manure is increasing in popularity as an alternative to commercial fertilizer.
In 1996, the first soybean processing facility in South Dakota opened in Volga. With the company behind the plant looking to expand to Mitchell, the benefit of hindsight shows the growth that came from the facility, from more money for farmers to the advent of spinoff businesses.
Julie Dvorak, an attorney representing the South Dakota Hutterian Co-operative, based in Aberdeen, South Dakota, told a meeting of the Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, that the rules requiring reports from a certified public accountant would come at a significant cost and be a detriment to the co-op’s members, not a benefit.
The $400 million North Dakota Soybean Processors plant at Casselton, North Dakota, is expected to crush 42.5 million bushels of soybeans in the first year and is a joint venture between the Minnesota Soybean Processors and Louisiana-based CGB Enterprises.
Local government trucks and machinery are using B-20 through a partnership with South Dakota Soybean Checkoff. Fuel blended with 20 percent soy diesel is less toxic and reduces carbon emissions. Transportation is a key topic in city's sustainability efforts.
Across Steele County, about 15% of the acres weren’t planted this spring, said Johnny Jorgensen, a Hunter (North Dakota) Insurance Agency who sells Rural Community Insurance Services and NAU Country federal crop insurance. Traill County, which borders Steele County on the east, has about the same percentage of unplanted acreage and Barnes County has from 35 to 40% prevented planting acres, Jorgensen estimated.
The North Dakota Soybean Processors plant at Casselton and the Green Bison plant at Spiritwood are signs of the growing demand for renewable fuel as well as feed for the livestock industry.
