Miller Magazine Issue: 140 August 2021

44 MILLER / august 2021 NEWS CHS, a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States, has increased storage capacity by 35% and will nearly triple throughput at its dry edible bean processing plant in Othello, Wash. The added capability will allow CHS to better serve farmer-owners in the region by adding value to their edible bean crop. The expansion includes adding 50,000 square feet of warehouse space, a new bean cleaning line and a fully automated packaging line. “This investment substantially increases our manufac- turing capacity, which will lower our overall produc- tion costs and position our plant to better support the growing demand for packaged products,” says Chris Guess, general manager of the Othello plant. Life- style changes and the impact of the COVID-19 pan- demic have driven increased demand for dry edible beans across the United States and in other coun- tries, Guess says. The Othello processing plant adds value to crops grown by area farmers through processing, packag- ing and delivering 10 varieties of dry edible beans to domestic and international markets. Beans processed at the facility are marketed under the CHS brand (in- cluding the El Mejor Frijol brand), sold in bulk or pack- aged under private labels for other food brands. Since 2018, the Othello dry edible bean plant has returned $2.1 million in cash patronage and equity to the farmer-owners who deliver beans to the process- ing plant. This benefit of cooperative ownership helps strengthen and support the local community. The bean plant also supports a number of nonprofit orga- nizations, local 4-H clubs and FFA organizations. The annual CHS Harvest for Hunger campaign has raised more than $6.83 million since 2011 for local and re- gional food shelves and non-profits across the United States. CHS expands its dry bean plant in Othello to triple throughput Photo Credit: CHS