07/18/07 Idaho canola processing plant, part 2

When Diversified Fuels said it was going to build a canola oilseed crushing plant near Buhl a lot of people took notice says company president Stace Campbell. CAMPBELL "Its mind boggling to me the amount of money that's come our way. We're going to pick the best deal which will actually help us expand. So that increases the size of our footprint from where we were initially at." Campbell says he's going to need a lot of canola and he hopes that five years from now growers in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and northern Utah will provide it on 232 thousand acres of land. Diversified Fuels will produce canola meal for Magic Valley dairymen who now have it shipped in from out of state. CAMPBELL "If they can get 52 percent of it from here that gives them the leverage to their other sources outside of this area and say 'I'm not going to pay your 60 dollars a ton shipping price to get it here.' Diversified will break ground next month at the site of the old Coors barley elevator which continues to operate this summer. CAMPBELL "We're going to be testing using our facility and if it does not pass we're going to receive it and give them the best price we can give right there at that facility. So we're going to be handling barley this year." In addition to the canola. Diversified hopes to use the Buhl plant as its showroom, so to speak, as a model it can offer to ag producers in other states. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott