Bartlett Grain opens 50‑million‑bushel crush at Cherryvale, highlights jobs and infrastructure needs

Bartlett Grain executives told a legislative committee that the company’s new soybean crushing and processing facility in Cherryvale, Kansas, began operations Sept. 19 and is processing at scale, with the site built to handle about 50 million bushels of soybeans per year.

The presentation to the committee was led by Dustin Bavard, vice president of Bartlett Grain, and Bill Webster, vice president for Bartlett Grain. Bavard described the plant’s current output as “around 50,000,000 bushels of soybeans per year,” producing roughly 500,000,000 pounds of soybean oil, about 1,000,000 tons of soybean meal and roughly 75,000 tons of soybean hulls. Webster said the facility represents “a $440,000,000 investment.”

Why it matters: Committee members questioned company leaders about regional economic impacts, supply and logistics, and public infrastructure needs. Legislators and company officials described the plant as a new long‑term demand point for Kansas soybeans, a source of high‑paying local jobs and a potential anchor for additional investment, including plans nearby for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility.

Facility and operations: Bavard said the Cherryvale site includes about 25,000 feet of track on site (about 3½ miles), can load and unload multiple rail cars simultaneously and produces “around a 100 car…