The Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) and Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) were excited by the announcement of a new Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) soybean crush facility that is slated to be built in Upper Sandusky, OH. The new facility will have an annual crush capacity of 1.5 million metric tons, or over 55 million bushels. The move brings additional, diversified demand for Ohio soybeans in the food, livestock feed, and biofuels markets, and reaffirms global agriculture’s confidence in Ohio soybean quality.

“This additional crush capacity represents a long-term investment in Ohio’s soybean industry. It will benefit soybean farmers and our partners in the animal agriculture sector,” said Jeff Magyar, OSC chairman and Ashtabula County soybean farmer. “It’s clear that companies like LDC see enormous potential in our state, and future generations of farmers will prosper from that.”

“With the announcement of this new crush facility, LDC has reiterated how important agriculture is to our state’s economy, and how important our beans are on an international scale,” OSA President and Shelby County soybean farmer Patrick Knouff added. “We are grateful to Governor DeWine, Lt. Governor Husted, Director Mihalik and JobsOhio for the role they played in making this a reality.”

Ohio is a major supplier of soybeans and our farmers are known for producing a high-quality, sustainable crop. Nationwide, crush capacity is expected to grow by as much as 30 percent over the next three years as additional food and biofuel demand creates a need for more soybean oil.