CASSELTON, NORTH DAKOTA, US — A large, multi-national company that is a joint venture between two agricultural-related groups is eying construction of a $400 million soy crushing plant in Casselton that would purchase an estimated 45 million bushels of soybeans annually, according to KFGO, a broadcast radio station in North Dakota.

While no plans have been finalized, KFGO cited Josh Teigen, director of the North Dakota Department of Commerce Economic Development and Finance Division, who said the location of a potential plant would be a mile west of Casselton, just east of the Tharaldson Ethanol Plant. A purchase agreement is in place, and Teigen has been working with the company for about a month, KFGO said.

The name of the company involved in the project has not been disclosed.

KFGO said the project could be contingent on infrastructure, noting that any potential site would need help from the state to pay for a hard surface. The existing township road is now gravel.

If approved, the expansion in Casselton would add to the list of major soybean crushing plant projects announced in recent months. Earlier this month, newly-formed Platinum Crush, LLC announced it is planning to invest $350 million to build a new soybean crushing plant in Buena Vista County near Alta, Iowa, US.

The new facility is expected to be able to crush 38.5 million bushels of soybeans per year, or about 110,000 bushels per day.

In May, Archer Daniels Midland announced it will build North Dakota’s first-ever dedicated soybean crushing plant and refinery to meet fast-growing demand from food, feed, industrial and biofuel customers, including producers of renewable diesel. Based in Spiritwood, North Dakota, US, the approximately $350 million crush and refining complex will feature state-of-the-art automation technology and have the capacity to process 150,000 bushels of soybeans per day.