December 4, 2013

Farbest Foods opens US$75-million turkey plant in Knox County

Farbest Foods opened its state-of-the-art turkey processing facility located in the US 41 Industrial Park, Knox County, which will begin processing on December 9.

After Farbest president Ted Seger thanked Knox County for its commitment to his company, small groups took tours of the US$75-million, 227,000-square-foot building, offering rare, uninhibited glimpses into the operation that very soon will be processing some 50 turkeys every minute.

The local plant will have about 25% fewer employees than its counterpart in Huntingburg, thanks to its near fully-automated system. Once the first shift reaches full production, it will employ about 300 people. That number will rise if a second shift is added, which, Seger said, will depend on the market demand.

JFS Milling, Farbest Food's new, US$20-million turkey feed mill in Bruceville, began making pelted feed in October and employs an additional 30 people.

Gary Gentry, executive director of the Knox County Development Corp. (KCDC), was elated to see the turkey processing plant finally finished. Two years ago KCDC sold the land to Farbest and has fronted the cost for nearly US$4 million in drinking water and sanitary sewage upgrades needed to bring it on line.

Gentry credited Farbest's success to its own commitment and to "unwavering support and cooperation" from Knox County's officials.

Once the local plant reaches full first-shift production, it and the plant in Huntingburg will process an estimated 12.7 million turkeys each year. That number is expected to rise consistently through 2016, Farbest officials said.

Seger said Farbest chose the Vincennes site based on the availability of locally-grown grains, the potential for contracting new turkey growing farms and the support it received from local officials.

A family-owned operation since 1982, Huntingburg-based Farbest Foods is one of the largest turkey companies in the US.