By Sara Strong
David Kolsrud and Gerald Winter updated the Luverne Economic Development Authority on the progress of a possible soybean processing plant in Luverne.
Kolsrud said Tuesday, that the group is "at a crossroads" in its development.
The method to cold-process soybeans is still in its research and development phase and Kolsrud fears that heÕs exhausted fundraising efforts within the Blue Mound Soy Board.
The Board, which has 135 members, meets this morning to decide what steps, if any, it will take to further the goal of getting the process in Luverne. The Soy Board is a division of Corn-er Stone Cooperative, which started Luverne's ethanol plant.
The group has already spent $1.4 million on a pilot plant. To finally get to the cold-extraction phase of the project, another $51,000 is needed.
LEDA Director Tony Chladek said he would help the group find funding sources if the LEDA couldnÕt specifically help. The LEDA already has almost $40,000 into the project in the form of a conditional loan.
Kolsrud said, "We've come a long way since December when we thought we might have to abandon the project."
Soy sells
Kolsrud and Winter both said they don't expect the market for soy products to go away any time soon - even if the new process doesn't come to Luverne for three years.
Winter said, "It's certainly the direction our health-conscious people are going in."
Kolsrud said menus on the east and west coasts even have soy food products on their menus.
The new cold-extraction process doesn't create steam that requires stacks that spread the odor outdoors.
The technology to do this at no greater than 90 degrees is still in development and that's why the local cooperatives want to get in on it. It could be stages ahead of any other processors.
Winter said, "If even half the numbers are true, its potential for income is even more significant than the ethanol plant."