Rail-served grain facilities create more capacity for farmers in U.S., Mexico
8/13/2025
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) in mid-July opened a soybean processing and degumming facility in David City, Nebraska, that provides the agribusiness access to two Class Is.
The company’s 11th soybean processing plant, the state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations by August’s end, AGP officials say. Once fully up to speed, the plant each year is projected to process more than 50 million bushels of soybeans and produce nearly 700 million pounds of degummed oil.
The Nebraska site was ideal because of the reliable supply of soybeans, skilled workforce, strong local infrastructure and transportation access in the area, AGP officials say. The 273-acre site includes 2.5 miles of paved roads and 13.6 miles of tracks, providing access to BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad.
“With the amount of rail track on site, AGP will load a unit train of 110 cars every three to four days. We will be able to hold a loaded unit train, receive an empty unit train and continue to build a third unit train of soybean meal,” said AGP Chief Operations Officer Lou Ricker in a press release.
The facility also can load and build 110-car unit trains of oil.
“The degumming plant will be able to load that train in just two days as long as the cars are available on site,” said Ricker.
Total Grain Marketing has completed upgrades at its Neoga, Illinois, grain facility that’s served by CN. Total Grain MarketingUP officials look forward to serving the new plant along with a short line.
“In partnership with Nebraska Central Railroad Co., we're excited to support operations at this state-of-the-art facility,” they said in a social media post.
Owned by Rio Grande Pacific Corp., Nebraska Central Railroad operates a 340-mile network that includes five former UP branch lines and one former BNSF branch.
The David City plant will handle more than 15% of Nebraska’s soybeans, processing soybean meal for domestic and foreign customers, and soybean oil for food and fuel customers.
The plant enhances AGP’s existing soybean processing and refining operations, reinforcing its role in domestic and international markets, company officials said.
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, AGP is owned by local and regional cooperatives representing farmer-producers across the United States. The company operates 11 soybean processing plants, five soybean oil refineries and three biodiesel production facilities.
Meanwhile, Total Grain Marketing (TGM) recently completed upgrades at its Neoga, Illinois, grain facility that’s served by CN. The company added a rail loadout facility, more grain storage capacity and two receiving pits for handling corn, soybeans and wheat.
CN moves grain from the facility to poultry markets in Mississippi and export markets in the Gulf Coast. TGM is a joint venture between South Central FS, GROWMARK Inc. and Wabash Valley Service Co.
The loadout facility — which features a new 40-car rail spur — enables the company to transport grain to strategic markets faster, helping to ensure storage capacity is available during the harvest, said TGM General Manager Joe Meinhart in a press release.
“The facility will help us load rail cars at 50,000 bushels per hour from the two new bins, allowing us to load 105-car unit trains in 10 to 12 hours as compared to the 72 hours it used to take,” he said. “This benefits farmers because we’ll be shipping grain to markets in the south faster than ever before.”
In July, Savage company Bartlett opened a grain facility in Monterrey, Mexico. Ferromex interchanges with both BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad in Eagle Pass, Texas, to serve the facility.Savage Cos.Speaking of the south — as in south of the border — a new grain facility in Mexico is aiding farmers plus a couple of Class Is. In July, Bartlett opened a grain facility in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, that’s served by Ferromex (FXE).
Owned by logistics firm Savage Cos., Bartlett gained 3 million bushels of grain storage capacity with the new facility. Construction on the project began in 2023.
FXE interchanges carloads from the U.S./Mexico border to the facility, serving as the inbound receiver of grain and grain product loads, said Savage Director of Corporate Communications Lindsay Scherer in an email. FXE interchanges with both UP and BNSF in Eagle Pass, Texas, to serve the facility, she said.
