Poultry producer delays decision on Nash plant

Rocky Mount, N.C. — A Mississippi-based poultry producer has decided to hold off on choosing a site for a new processing facility, a company spokesman said Monday.

Sanderson Farms has expressed interest in building a plant on 150 acres of land near the intersection of N.C. Highway 97 and Interstate 195 in Nash County that would bring an estimated 1,000 jobs to the struggling area.

Bill Billingsley, director of development for Sanderson Farms, says the company wants to wait about a year before it decides so that it can evaluate the prices of chicken feed and market activity as a result of the rising costs of feed and the tight supply of corn.

The proposal to build in Nash County, however, has drawn concerns from residents in Nash and Wilson counties, as well as the city of Wilson, about how the plant would affect property values and the environment.

NEW NC Jobs, a job advocacy group for Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties, says the plan would help, not hurt the region. In addition to jobs, about $100 million would be invested in the region, the group says.

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We in Nash Co. don't want to gamble with our water (supply and cleanliness) for the sake of 1,100 jobs, many of which jobs - in the end - will be filled by imported workers because the locals won't tolerate and last in the working conditions.

TRUST me its clear when you ride thru Rocky Mount that NASH CO is not willing to risk ANYTHING to get MORE JOBS and better the city. You dont have to even say some things.

RM24
March 4, 2011 12:14 p.m.

We in Nash Co. don't want to gamble with our water (supply and cleanliness) for the sake of 1,100 jobs, many of which jobs - in the end - will be filled by imported workers because the locals won't tolerate and last in the working conditions.

Sanderson Farms has a history of waste water pollution in the other states where their processing plants are located. All animal slaughter and processing plants use ALOT of water and spew out ALOT of waste/pollution, even if they have on-site treatment plants - which is exactly where so many of Sandersons' violations have occurred.

The proposed plant site is close to the water supplies of Wilson and Rocky Mt., with Rocky Mt. being directly downstream. Imagine how YOU would be affected if one day you could not drink water from your own spigot - either because the aquifer was dry or the tap water was contaminated.

If the shoe fits....
February 28, 2011 5:35 p.m.

this area needs any lobs they can get. please come and build. there is over 13,000 people unemployed in that area. please come and build your plant. don't listen to the NIMBY crowd.

tommy eats rose
February 28, 2011 4:46 p.m.

We don't need this kind of employment in Nash County anyway!

silencedogood
February 28, 2011 4:07 p.m.

Go back to Mississippi. The integrated poultry industry is nothing more than a mafia type business, painting a picture to farmers who have to mortage their house in order to build chicken houses, invest hundreds of thousands to millions in houses that quickly become "out dated" and in order to keep farmers quiet, they are forced to spend hundreds of thousands for upgrades. You either spend the money or they will drop your contract leaving you with a debt that you can't pay without a contract, then you loose your land, house, etc.

There needs to be a national moratorian placed on chicken houses. Why the banks allow these companies to drop growers who can't pay their mortagage without chickens/turkeys then turn around and lend money to a different farmer is a mystery.

sillywabbitthepatriot
February 28, 2011 2:52 p.m.