JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – On Wednesday in Bismarck, Senator John Hoeven spoke at the America’s Grasslands Conference at Belle Mehus Auditorium.

During the conference, Hoeven brought up the soybean crushing facility being built in North Dakota.

In a statement exclusive to NewsDakota, Senator Hoeven said he continues to work directly with individuals to get the crushing facility built.

“I am continuing to work to get a soybean crushing facility at the Spiritwood Energy Park and am working with the Stutsman County Development Corporation and others to move this project forward. Considering North Dakota’s leadership in soybean production and the renewable diesel plant that Marathon is establishing at the Dickinson Refinery, building this facility represents a real economic opportunity. Our producers need export markets and we continue working to get trade agreements, but having a crushing plant in North Dakota will give farmers another market for soybeans and reduce our dependence on foreign markets.”

Currently, the North Dakota Soybean Processors (NDSP) have a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Spiritwood Energy Park Association (SEPA) from terminating their agreement in 2017.

The NDSP soybean-crushing facility would support an estimated 60 jobs in the region and produce 935,000 tons of soybean meal and 475 million pounds of soybean oil annually.