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N.D. (AP) – Corn growers and fertilizer industry officials are considering building a billion plant in the Upper Midwest that could produce enough nitrogen fertilizer to feed about 12 percent of the corn and wheat acreage in the Dakotas and Minnesota.

The North Dakota Corn Growers Association says organizers have completed a feasibility study and are evaluating potential sites in the three states. Association Executive Director Tom Lilja (LIHL’-juh) says they also are doing business planning and will be setting up a structure that would enable farmers to invest.

Lilja says the plant could use natural gas that is burned off as a byproduct of oil production in western North Dakota, and at the same time help local farmers secure fertilizer without having to rely on imports.