CHS Inc., the leading American agribusiness cooperative, announced plans for a significant renovation and expansion project at its Myrtle Grove, La., grain export terminal. Completion is expected by summer 2023.

 The $73 million investment focuses on storage and handling upgrades, which will grow market access for farmer-owners and help move 30% more bushels of grain annually through the terminal to global customers.

“CHS is always looking for ways to expand market access for farmers’ crops,” says Chris Pothen, vice president, CHS Global Grain & Processing. “Improvements at Myrtle Grove will allow us to move more grain to world markets with greater speed and efficiency.”

The CHS Myrtle Grove terminal handles wheat, soybeans, corn, rice, DDGS (distillers dried grains with solubles) and specialty grains for export to customers in Asia Pacific and Latin American countries. Located 25 miles south of New Orleans, it is the first terminal on the Mississippi River.

“Construction is expected to begin in August, during low river conditions,” says Kevin Hall, vice president, supply chain and continuous improvement for CHS. “Given the terminal’s unique location, significant environmental, engineering and construction elements were built into every part of our plan.”

The terminal expansion project will add six shipping bins providing 580,000 bushels of storage, bringing total Myrtle Grove shipping bin storage capacity to 850,000 bushels. Other upgrades include a new bulk weighing and grading system, a new dock and barge unloading system and independent conveyance for vessel loading that will allow two commodities to be loaded at the same time.

“With this new capacity and increased capabilities at Myrtle Grove, CHS will be well positioned to meet global demand from Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America customers and execute with precision from a world-class asset strategically positioned on the center Gulf shipping channel,” adds Pothen.