CHS to construct UP-served soybean processing plant in Wisconsin 

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor 

There are several reasons a global agribusiness and the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperative chose a site in Evansville, Wisconsin, for a new soybean processing facility. A big one: The site offers access to rail, river and road transportation options. 

CHS Inc. also settled on Evansville because of a strong local soybean supply from area farmers and cooperatives; significant demand for soybean meal from regional livestock owners; and the town’s proximity to key affiliate cooperatives serving the area. 

On Oct. 7, CHS broke ground for the plant, which is projected to process 80 million bushels of soybeans annually. That output would produce about 1 billion pounds of soybean oil and 2 million tons of soybean meal. 

Slated for completion in fall 2028, the plant will be served by Union Pacific Railroad, said Trish Scorpio, CHS’ media relations and social media lead, in an email. The project involves the construction of an in-plant loop track featuring three separate loops that will connect to a UP line. 

To employ about 80 full-time workers, the plant also is designed to receive up to 1,000 trucks per day. The facility will expand domestic processing capacity, create additional market opportunities for farmers and help meet growing demand in the food, feed and renewable fuel markets, CHS officials say in a project fact sheet. 

It will fill an important gap in local processing capacity and offer strong access to domestic and global markets via rail, river and roads, they added. 

The Evansville plant will complement CHS’ existing soy processing operations in Fairmont and Mankato, Minnesota, according to the company. 

“Together, those two facilities currently process approximately 119 million bushels of soybeans annually. When the Evansville facility becomes operational, [our] soybean processing capacity will increase by approximately two-thirds,” CHS officials said. 

The company recently completed several other projects in its processing and supply-chain network. Earlier this year, CHS completed a grain terminal in Cahokia, Illinois, near St. Louis after expanding its export terminal in Myrtle Grove, Louisiana, near New Orleans in 2025. 

In addition, refining capacity was expanded at a Mankato, Minnesota, facility in 2024 and soybean crush capacity was expanded at the Fairmont facility in 2023. 

Construction is expected to formally begin on the Evansville plant after required permitting processes are completed, said Scorpio.