Soybeans have set another record in Manitoba with acres hitting almost 1.7 million this year.
The province will likely have 1.68 million acres of beans, including pedigreed seed, according to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp.
If the estimate is correct, Manitoba soy acres will be nearly 20 percent higher than last year when 1.41 million acres were seeded.
In more good news for beans, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce is attempting to attract a soybean processing plant to the city.
Keystone Agricultural Producers is backing the effort because most soybeans are now shipped out of province.
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“There are several smaller facilities in the province that process soybeans, but there is nothing as large as the proposed plant,” said KAP president Dan Mazier.
“An in-province facility of this size would mean lower shipping costs … would create jobs and economic activity here in Manitoba.”
Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers released a feasibility study last year on the merits of a soybean crush plant in the province.
The study said a soybean-only crush plant could be problematic. A plant of sufficient scale would have to capture a huge share — 37 to 55 percent — of all the soybeans produced in Western Canada as of 2014.
Instead, the study recommended building a “switch” plant, which would be capable of crushing soybeans and canola.
