By ANN ALLEN
Indiana Correspondent

CLAYPOOL, Ind. — Louis Dreyfus Commodities opened its new $150 million Claypool soybean processing and biofuel plant to the public last week in a celebration that drew guests from around the world.

In spite of the party-like atmosphere created by tents, a vendors’ alley, singers, visiting dignitaries and free food, there was a sense of shared pride as 10,000 guests toured the buildings and grounds of the world’s largest biodiesel plant. For many, it was their first visit to the site since groundbreaking ceremonies in April of 2006, and it probably will be their last visit since the site reverted to a construction area the next day and will be unavailable for future tours.

“My heart is full today knowing what we have accomplished here,” said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. “We are behind this plant 100 percent. It will take us to the forefront in biofuel production and give the area an opportunity to retain its young people.

“We didn’t embrace this plant just because we love small towns. We embraced it because we believe Indiana’s future growth will come from agriculture. Today is a statement day for Indiana. There’s not a place in the world more dedicated to agriculture than right here. Indiana, already No. 4 in soybean production and No. 5 in corn production, has begun to win.”

Serge Schoen, LD’s CEO, said the company wants to see all links of the supply chain be successful from the farmer to the processing plant to the traders to the exporters and more.

“With the Claypool plant, our company has become new again,” he said.

According to Dave Selig, extraction superintendent for LD Claypool, the plant will begin taking in beans in mid-September. Sellers can go to www.ldclay pool.com for daily grain prices.

What does it mean to be the world’s largest integrated soybean-based production facility? Here are the statistics:
•One person could drive 3.5 billion miles - around the
world 140,000 times - with the amount of fuel produced at the Claypool plant.
•The plant can crush more than 50 million bushels of soybeans - more than 17 percent of Indiana’s annual crop.
•A semi load of soybeans can unload in four minutes and 45 seconds.
•It will produce 1 million tons of soybean meal to be used in livestock feed.
•The plant can produce more than 88 million gallons of soybean-based biodiesel, which, to date, is the only alternative fuel to have successfully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act.

To handle the plant’s traffic, Indiana SR 15 has been widened and separate turn lanes installed at the LD site, and an additional three miles of railroad track, enough to hold 225 rail cars, added.

Biofuel is a term used to describe non-petroleum-based alternative fuels from domestic, renewable sources such as corn, soy, animal waste by-products, hemp, switchgrass and others.

Considered an important means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing national energy security, biofuels provide an alternative to fossil fuels.
Company background

Louis Dreyfus Commodities, a leading merchandiser and trader in agricultural commodities since 1851, has offices in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Delhi, Geneva, Memphis, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Wilton, giving it a major agricultural presence in more than 50 countries around the world.

Commenting from Paris, LD chair Robert Louis-Dreyfus said, “Claypool is a strategic centerpiece for our company’s future. This plant affirms our century-old practice as a market innovator. We are grateful to be a partner with the State of Indiana and the local community in this new venture.”

According to LD officials, the terms “integrated” and “unintegrated” are not comparable. “Integrated,” they said, “means that biodiesel production is integrated with the soybean processing in one location. LD Commodities buys locally produced soybeans for processing into two primary products - soybean meal and soybean oil that is further converted to biodiesel.

“The synergy achieved with this integration allows us to add more value to the soybean itself, control product quality in a unique way and provide flexibility unmatched in the industry,” they added.

Typically, an unintegrated biodiesel facility can do only the second part of the process. It purchases oil from elsewhere and converts it directly to biodiesel. This process requires less capital investment and is not dependent on a local supply chain.

Dreyfus officials believe the advantages of integration are significant.

“We are buying $450 million worth of local crops, which has an enormous benefit to the regional economy. By processing multiple products from the soybean, we are creating value in every step of the production process,” they explained.

By choosing to build an integrated plant, Louis Dreyfus Commodities’ officials feel the company is making a more substantial commitment, both in terms of capital investment and in forging long-term local partnerships.

This farm news was published in the Aug. 29, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.