07/31/2026
ADM Expansion Reinforces North Dakota’s Future in Value-Added Agriculture
When Green Bison opened in Spiritwood in September 2023, it marked a major milestone for North Dakota agriculture. For the first time, soybeans grown by North Dakota farmers could be processed at a large-scale, world-class crushing and refining facility right here in our own state.
Now, ADM has announced plans to further invest in the Spiritwood facility through operational optimization and targeted equipment upgrades as part of a broader expansion of four U.S. oilseed crushing plants. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2028.
Today, the Green Bison facility processes up to 150,000 bushels of soybeans every day, producing approximately 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil annually for renewable diesel and 1.28 million tons of soybean meal that supports livestock production across the region.
To me, this announcement is about much more than expanding a soybean processing plant.
I’ve always believed the future of North Dakota agriculture isn’t simply producing more commodities—it’s creating more value from every bushel we grow.
For decades, much of what we produced left the state as raw commodities. Every time that happens, someone else captures the manufacturing jobs, innovation, and additional economic value. Facilities like Green Bison begin changing that equation by processing our crops closer to where they’re grown and creating new opportunities for farmers, businesses, and rural communities.
At Lars Bros Ag, we’re seeing firsthand how that future is beginning to take shape. We’re currently working with an innovative company developing high-performance soybean-based products designed to replace traditional petroleum-based products. These aren’t just environmentally friendly alternatives—they’re products that are outperforming conventional petroleum-based materials in many applications.
That’s what excites me most.
As soybean processing capacity continues to expand, who’s to say this won’t attract even more companies looking to manufacture soybean-based lubricants, industrial fluids, polymers, coatings, adhesives, composites, and other advanced products right here in North Dakota?
Every new value-added business creates another market for our crops, another opportunity for entrepreneurs, another reason for manufacturers to invest here, and another step toward keeping more of agriculture’s economic value in our own communities.
This is why I believe the Green Bison expansion is so important.
It isn’t just about crushing more soybeans.
It’s about building an agricultural economy where North Dakota isn’t known only for growing crops—but also for transforming them into the products of the future.
Source: ADM and World Grain (July 30, 2026).
