Oil Mill on the Texas Plains

The Plains Cooperative Oil Mill in Lubbock was organized in 1937 to process and market cottonseed oil on a cooperative basis. With annual sales in 1999 averaging 150 million dollars, the Plains mill is now a trendsetter in the cottonseed industry, processing on average 600,000 tons of cottonseed a year--approximately 15 percent of the cottonseed processed in the United States. Since its inception the Plains mill has returned millions of dollars to its patrons, removed the "Dallas differential," which in the early days penalized Plains producers at the marketplace, and actively encouraged the development of other cooperative activities in the area. Its influence, direct and indirect, on Plains agriculture has been incalculable.