Council hears presentation on proposed Prestage plant

Will mean over 900 good jobs

What Cerro Gordo county, and more specifically Mason City, passed on could become Wright County’s gain following a press conference last Tuesday afternoon and a presentation at last week’s Tuesday meeting of the Eagle Grove City Council. Even though Economic Development Director Bryce Davis admits that it’s not a done deal yet, as some details are yet to be finalized, if all goes according to plan the county will see a $240 million dollar Prestage Foods of Iowa LLC pork processing plant open five miles south of Eagle Grove along Highway 17 by the Fall of 2018. It is projected to create over $450 million in economic activity for the county, and will also benefit the economies of both Hamilton and Webster counties.

“In early May (following the Mason City city council’s decision), we reached out to them,” said Davis to open the presentation. Wright was one of 19 locations that wanted a chance to be the site of the plant, with Davis and the Board of Supervisors being very instrumental in bringing them here. “We have 50,000 people in the laborshed, and they are willing to drive up to 22 miles for work,” said Davis. He then turned the meeting over to Jere Null, COO of Prestage Foods of Iowa.

“We have a history of making things work, and we believe we can do that here as well,” said Null. He then shared some information about the company, which already operates 145 company-owned hog farms in Iowa with 28 contract growers. “We’re a privately-owned company that’s rock solid, and we believe in diversity across the board,” said Null. They operate in seven states, including Iowa, and have had a presence in the state since 2004. They produce 1.3 billion pounds of meat per year, with 427,000 tons of feed purchased locally and over half of the Wright County feed coming from Gold-Eagle Co-Op. Their company philosophies are: Employee commitment; Community responsibility; Environmental stewardship and Animal welfare.

They will be making a $240 million dollar investment in this plant, which will employ 922 in good-paying jobs with an estimated total payroll of $45 million annually. The plant will be located on the west side of Highway 17 at the intersection with County road C56 and in Section 21 of Troy Township. The 650,000 square foot building at the 150+ acre site will use the latest technology in the industry including robotics, which will reduce the need for manual labor and therefore require a more skilled workforce. It will use state-of- the-art systems to clean the air, along with reducing water and energy needs. The company has a zero-tolerance policy for any action that’s detrimental to the natural resources on and around our farms and facilities. It is projected that 40 percent of the hogs will be provided by local independent farmers, saving money on shipping costs with a processing facility so close to the area. This will in turn increase the value of the animals. “We look forward to being a market option for local farmers,” said Null.

Read the full article in next week's paper.