April 21, 2011

Cargill to invest US$25 million at Hales Point grain facility

Cargill AgHorizons plans to invest US$25 million at its Hales Point grain elevator near Halls in a modernisation project that will increase its storage capacity and improve the speed to unload grain.

Farmers can save time and reduce their transportation expenses, said Lauderdale County Mayor Rod Schuh, adding that "Agriculture is our county's most prominent business and therefore the expansion of the granary is great news for Lauderdale County."

Commissioner Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development said, "The modernisation project at Hales Point will give our farmers a competitive edge and better position the region for future growth and job creation."

"Cargill's goal is to be the most efficient grain elevator for area farmers, and the additional storage space as well as the increased unloading capabilities, will help us achieve that," said Kevin Mount, Cargill AgHorizons sales manager. Work on expanding the storage capacity should be completed by December.

Cargill buys mainly corn, soy and soft red winter wheat at Hales Point.

The modernisation project will allow Cargill to load a barge much faster than before. Most of the agricultural products at Hales Point are sent by barge to Cargill's export elevators in Westwego and Reserve, La. From there, they are shipped around the world.

"Hales Point is directly connected to the world's growing demand for food and feedstuffs," said Barry Brandstetter, general manager for the Cargill AgHorizons Mid-South Farm Service Group.

In November 2010, Cargill installed a high-capacity grain dryer at Hales Point to increase the ability to unload grains during wet harvests. The Hales Point elevator was built in 1964. Cargill took ownership in 1999 through the acquisition of Continental Grain.

In Tennessee, agricultural production generates more than US$2.8 billion annually in farm cash receipts. Agriculture accounts for US$51.4 billion or 10.5% of the state's economy and close to 347,000 in employment. Soy ranked as the state's top agricultural commodity in 2009 at US$565 million in the value of farm receipts. Tennessee farmers produce more than 156 million bushels of corn, soy and wheat on 2.6 million acres of cropland annually.