Monsanto investing $140M to build cottonseed processing hub in Texas

Monsanto Company announced it is investing $140 million for the construction of a state-of-the-art cottonseed processing facility in Lubbock, Texas that will fulfill the role as the group’s foremost U.S. hub for all of its commercial cottonseed processing activity including treating, cleaning, and bagging.

Construction of the site, which is being built in cooperation with the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, and is expected to employ 40 full time employees, is scheduled to begin in March of 2016 and to be completed in the second half of 2017. Upon its completion, existing cottonseed processing facilities in Arizona, Mississippi, and Texas will be transformed into storage and warehousing sites, pre-commercial operations, and research facilities, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The decision to move forward with the facility in Lubbock is part of the company’s strategic plan announced in October 2015 to streamline its operations, create scale, and enhance the company’s efficiency after three years of declining commodity prices have resulted in farmers cutting back on inputs.

“Bringing people, processes and technology together at a new, state-of-the-art cotton facility in Lubbock will boost collaboration and efficiency within our manufacturing organization,” said Dave Penn, cotton manufacturing lead at Monsanto. “Furthermore, its geographic location in Lubbock, Texas, will allow for better alignment with the cotton industry and help us better serve customers across the Cotton Belt.”