US cooperative to build grain and soy processing facility in Wisconsin
The group, Wisconsin's largest farmer-owned grain and farm supply cooperative, said the Waupun feed and grain manufacturing facility will have capabilities such as high-speed loading and unloading of ingredients, high-speed roller-grinders, pelleting capability, steam flaking, micro-system, both bagged and bulk texturized calf feed manufacturing, and mineral manufacturing.
All operations will be managed by a computerized system for quality control.
Regulatory compliance
“New Safe Food, Safe Feed regulations require feed manufactures to comply with quality control measures that are not possible with outdated feed mills,” said John Scheuers, United Cooperative’s feed division vice president. “As a result, United Cooperative’s investment in this new Waupun facility will enable us to meet these new regulations and the ever-changing demands of our members.”
“Our goal is to manufacture 23 tons of feed every 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the number of items in the mix,” continued Scheuers.
The new state-of-the-art feed and grain facility will also able United to take advantage of rail for its inbound and outbound needs, thus limiting supply chain issues caused by the trucking industry, he said.
In addition to the feed and grain expansion, the third phase of the construction project will be a state-of-the-art soybean crushing and processing facility. When operational, this plant will crush 7.5 million bushels of soybeans annually, said the cooperative. This plant will supply both soybean meal and soy oil.
“The Waupun facility will support new grain marketing opportunities for our member-owners and cover the demands of increased corn and soybean yields,” commented Al Jentz, VP of grain for United Cooperative.
The level of investment required for the new builds was not disclosed.
Along with the Waupun facility, United Cooperative has six other feed locations and 20-grain locations throughout Wisconsin.
