The newest trend for making more eco-conscious decisions is soybean usage. Despite soybeans having been around for hundreds of years and cementing themselves in the modern era as a milk alternative, they have many other surprising uses. Scientists have discovered that we can use the soybean for more than just an ingredient in milk alternatives and food.
To help extract this bean’s potential, companies are slowly erecting various soybean crushing facilities. For example, the Mid-Iowa Cooperative in east central Iowa is creating a soybean crushing facility called Shell Rock Soy Processing in Shell Rock, Iowa. The facility will work with local soybean farmers to crush over 38.5 million buses of soybeans a year.
What exactly is a soybean crushing facility, and why are farmers focusing their efforts on soybeans?
Soybeans first originated in Southeast Asia, also known as China, where farmers learned to domesticate the plant and use it as an ingredient for food consumption. In 1765, a farmer planted the first soybean seed on U.S. soil, thus solidifying the soybean as a popular American farming plant. Around the 1940s, the soybean became an active agricultural plant for many American farmers.
By the 1990s, farmers had made agricultural advancements so that soybeans could withstand the effects of herbicides, which allowed them to eliminate weeds without the fear of destroying the soybean plant.
In today’s market, soybeans continue to be one of the most popular items for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free diets. Soy milk and tofu offer great alternatives to traditional meat and dairy milk diets. Most of us are also familiar with soy sauce as a condiment.
While most of us associate soybeans with the food we consume, soybeans have alternative uses that make them beneficial for us. Human consumption is a popular use for soybeans, but they’re also a widely prevalent ingredient in animal feed. Farm animals consume over 97% of soybean meal production in the U.S. in the form of poultry and livestock feed.
Manufacturers also use soybeans for a wide variety of industrial applications. Soybean oil works as an active component in biodiesel, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy efficiency. You’ll also find soybean oil in tires to improve rubber flexibility, as an additive for asphalt to improve performance and as an ingredient for engine oil, shoes and roofing.
Farmers and manufacturers rely on soybean crushing facilities to extract oil and meal from the soybeans. Manufacturers ship the byproducts to other facilities, where they become active ingredients in fuel, food and animal feed.
To increase the effectiveness and ecocentric mindset associated with soybean usage, manufacturers establish local soybean crushing facilities to purchase their soybeans directly from local farmers. These facilities support local farmers, increase jobs within the community and aid the families living around the facility. The soybean processing plants’ proximity to the farmers also decreases initial transportation costs.
Soybean processing plants help extract as much potential from the soybean as possible. For example, the new Shell Rock Soy Processing plant will use locally grown soybeans to produce 847,000 tons of soybean meal, 462 million pounds of soybean oil and 77,000 tons of soybean hulls per year. Because of the speed at which the facility will crush the soybeans and leave behind the necessary products, local farmers and others within the region can expect lower drive and wait times, allowing them to focus on more important farming tasks.
Engineering soybean crushing facilities is a great way to support local farmers and benefit the region. Ultimately, manufacturers build processing plants with the intent of having a fast and effective means of producing livestock feed and the necessary oils. Compared to other facilities that are farther away, soybean processing plants in local regions exceed their speed and quantity, supplying more farmers and consumers nationwide with the products they need.
Crushing soybeans is a fairly simple process. To make the soybean oil and byproduct, the raw soybeans travel through a narrow funnel-like entrance into a machine designed to crush the soybeans as they process through. The machine separates the soybean into two components, the oil and husk. The oil drips into a channel underneath that takes it where it needs to go next within the process.
The byproduct or hulls come out of a different area, where additional machines can process it. After the hulls are removed, the soybeans are rolled into small flakes, put through a drying process and ground into soybean meal.
LCDM has been around for over 40 years, and during that time, we have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience on how traditional grain silos and mills operate. We’ve spent our time manufacturing innovative grain flow equipment that increases facility efficiency while reducing unnecessary costs. Because of our understanding of how grain mills function, we are eager to offer any needed support and services to ensure each mill reaches its maximum product performance and value for its company.
We offer high-quality grain handling and distribution products to keep your facility organized and flowing as efficiently as possible. We also work with you to create customized handling and distribution products so that you can utilize your space as effectively as possible. For the more difficult jobs, you can rely on LCDM to assist with any grain handling engineering and job site layout tasks.
To make soybean crushing facilities as efficient as possible and ensure high production numbers, facility owners need suppliers they can trust. By working as a supplier for the new facility in Shell Rock, Iowa, we’ve taken the opportunity to show the Mid-Iowa Cooperative how reliable our services are. From custom design solutions to more standard products like square spouting, diverter valves, transitions and slide gates, we have all the right tools to help soybean processing plants handle this unique product and distribute it nationwide.
With our products and dedicated services, we aim to help the facility reach its maximum potential and create a workflow that benefits both the business and local farmers.
Even with the world waiting in anticipation for the finishing of Iowa’s soybean crushing facility, you don’t have to wait for a better set of grain flow equipment. Get more information on how we’re contributing to the Shell Rock facility and can do the same for you by getting in touch at 888-963-9145, or purchase a set of high-quality and trustworthy grain flow equipment by requesting a quote.
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