Officials met Monday to give Missouri farmers and Mexico residents something to clap about: The groundbreaking for Missouri's first biodiesel plant. Now farmers like Barbara Wilson can save money.

"It should reduce our cost as we blend 2% biodiesel right now on the farm, and hopefully we can bring that percentage up, and with the reduced cost of biodiesel it should reduce our fuel cost," Wilson said.

The new plant is expected to help reduce the nation's dependency on foreign fuel by using soybeans as the basic ingredient for biodiesel.

"Biodiesel is a renewable diesel fuel. It's made from many feedstocks such as soybean oil. Here in the United States our primary feedstock will be soybean oil," explained consultant Alan Weber.  "There will be a ready market for their soybeans in this area, and the fuel from that will go into their fuel tanks, and will be that much less that we have to buy from overseas."

"Not only will the new biodiesel plant be an economic benefit to farmers by reducing fuel prices, it will also be a great benefit to the mexico community by increasing jobs and population," explained Centralia farmer Gary Riedel.

Work will start to build the plant next month.

Biodiesel advocates say the fuel is extremely safe and will reduce toxins in the air.