Farbest Foods to invest $70 million in new Knox County plant

HUNTINGBURG – Farbest Foods will soon break ground for a new turkey processing plant in the U.S. 41 Industrial Park in Vincennes. The company announced today it will partner with Vincennes and Knox County on the construction of the plant, projected for completion in 2014.

Once up and running, the new processing plant initially will employ some 300 people with the potential of employing as many as 700, according to the company. Farbest also plans to construct a new feed mill that will have the potential to employ up to 30.

A family-owned operation since 1982, Huntingburg-based Farbest Foods is one of the largest turkey companies in the United States. It supplies more than a million pounds of raw fresh and frozen turkey products per day to further processors who prepare and package their own brand-name foods.

The company says its current facilities for turkey processing, feeding and growing are nearly fully utilized after completing a second shift of operations that was started in 2007. The company has been investigating alternatives for its planned expansion for more than a year in an effort to meet growing global customer demand for its products.

“After many visits with Knox County officials, city officials, current employers and others, it was very evident our company was going to receive tremendous local support, county support, support from the Indiana Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Economic Development Corp.,” Farbest President Ted Seger said. “The positive feedback we’ve received there has been second to none.”

Construction of the turkey processing plant will entail an investment of $70 million, according to Farbest. The feed mill has a projected construction cost of $20 million.

Seger said that each year the new feed mill will purchase about 5 million bushels of locally grown corn, 50,000 tons of soybean meal and other ingredients used to produce pelleted turkey feed.

In addition, Farbest will create more opportunities for farm families in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky who want to diversify their operations with turkey growing facilities. At present, the company oversees the growth of more than 10 million turkeys per year through 170 contract growers throughout the tri-state.