North Dakota Soybean Growers Association President Joe Ericson was pleasantly surprised with the news of ADM’s crush plant at Spiritwood. “Like most people, we got the news from ADM,” said Ericson, who farms near Wimbledon. “It will be nice to have in-state soybean processing; it should eat up a good chunk of soybeans in this area and strengthen basis.” A project was proposed in 2017 for a farmer-owned facility at the same location. The agreement between the North Dakota Soybean Processors and the Spiritwood Energy Park Association was terminated in 2019 and a lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in February 2020. At the time, SEPA CEO Connie Ova said efforts to build North Dakota’s first soybean processing plant would continue.
