Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $17,350 grant to a group of farmers to study the feasibility of locating in the area a plant to break soybeans down into meal, oil and other marketable products.

The grant to Agricultural Commodities Economic Development Inc., a group of farmers from both sides of the Mississippi River, will be used to commission a Louisiana State University feasibility study.

That study, which will take about a year to finish, isn’t free. It also involved a match of more than $17,000 from legislative funds &045;&045; thanks in large part to state Rep. Bryant Hammett, D-Ferriday &045;&045; and local producer funds.

But the study, according to the group’s current chairman, Cecil Brooking, is about a $100,000 value.

And while the feasibility of the project remains to be seen, we believe it could reap big benefits in the future.

Soybeans are relatively low-maintenance and require less up-front money to grow than many other crops.

Such a facility in this area could help farmers get substantially more for their products, an economic help in times when crop prices remain low, and could reduce their transportation costs.

Also, having alternative products to sell could be a big help to farmers when weather affects crop quality.

We applaud these area farmers for getting creative in finding a solution to the problems that farmers currently face.

We encourage them to keep this project alive and encourage others in agriculture and economic development to assist the project if the study finds it’s viable.