ARCADIA, La. — House of Raeford Farms has announced that construction will begin this summer on a new feed mill for the Arcadia, La., complex. The facility, to be located in Simsboro, La., and Lincoln Parish, will be built at a cost of $40 million and be capable of producing 12,500 tons of feed weekly, double the capacity of the current mill, the company noted.
The company will also make building modifications and add new equipment totaling more than $7 million to the hatchery in Gibsland, La., and the processing plant in Arcadia, La.
As a result, the complex will add more than 100 new jobs, and live production will contract for 86 new poultry houses during the next two years with a new construction impact to the northwest Louisiana community of $28 million, the company added.
“House of Raeford is committed to our operations in Louisiana as evidenced by these major capital expenditures and planned employment increases,” said Bob Johnson, House of Raeford CEO. “In keeping with the growth objectives of our company, our Louisiana complex is also the first of our locations to offer No Antibiotics Ever chicken products to our customers.”
Construction of the feed mill will take 18 months to two years to complete, but improvements to the hatchery and processing plant will be finished earlier. In addition to these capital upgrades, House of Raeford’s totally rebuilt Wallace, N.C., processing facility re-opened last year while the Greenville and Hemingway, S.C., locations have recently undergone major equipment and facility improvements.
House of Raeford Farms is one of the nation’s top 10 largest chicken producers, providing ready-to-cook and further processed chicken products to the foodservice, retail, and export markets. The company is family-owned and operated, and based out of Rose Hill, N.C., with additional facilities in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina.
More information can be obtained at www.houseofraeford.com.
