U.S. Star of the West Invests $79 Million to Convert Food-Grade Corn Mill

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Star of the West Milling Company has transformed a facility located at the intersection of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio into a corn processing plant, aiming to provide more marketing opportunities for corn growers.

Karina Spencer, Executive Vice President of the Flour Milling Division, told Brownfield that the $79 million project has breathed new life into a 160-year-old mill in Quincy. She explained that the site boasts extensive grain storage and handling equipment, and the company is interested in repurposing the existing infrastructure for corn processing. The mill was decommissioned at the end of last year, prior to which Star of the West had more than tripled the capacity of its northern Indiana flour mill.

Spencer noted that the opportunity to convert crops, which currently undergo little processing beyond gathering and transportation, into food ingredients is exciting—and that is exactly what Star of the West has excelled at in the past and continues to do. In its first year, the plant will process over 5 million bushels of food-grade corn, and by the fifth year, annual processing volume will approach over 7 million bushels.

The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development approved $450,000 in project funding on Wednesday through the Food and Agriculture Investment Program. Currently, Star of the West operates four mills, more than 30 grain elevators, and five bean processing facilities across six states.