By Louie Graves
Leader staff
The construction of a $35 million feed mill in a rural area north of Nashville is only a small part of a large multi-state re-investment plan by Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.
The mill, which will be located on a large wooded tract between State Highway 26 and the nine-county Southwest Arkansas Solid Waste Region Landfill, is aimed at lowering feed costs, enhancing feed conversion and improving live poultry performance, according to an article in “Arkansas Business.” The site is located approximately two miles north of the intersection of State Highway 26 and Mt. Pleasant Drive.
The company currently operates a feed mill which dates back to 1955 in downtown Nashville. The mill has had several different owners and has been renovated or expanded many times.
In December 2015, an article in The Nashville Leader announced the project and quoted a company official as saying the new mill was expected to meet the company’s needs for the next 40 years.
Other planned Pilgrim’s projects are in West Virginia and Kentucky, and the total of all projects is about $190 million.
Construction on the Nashville project is expected to begin early this year.
On Dec. 22 a land transaction between Weyerhaeuser Company and Pilgrim’s was recorded in the Circuit Clerk’s office in the Howard County courthouse. Weyerhaeuser sold approximately 141 acres to Pilgrim’s for $1.1 million. In addition to having two highways nearby, the site also has access to rail facilities.
Approximately 275 contract growers are served by the current mill. Feed ingredients are brought in by truck and by rail. The mill produces about 8,000 tons of chicken feed each week.
Construction is expected to be complete in early 2018, according to the earlier Nashville Leader article.
