New facility has the capacity to produce 25,000 tons of poultry feed per week.
Located in Dale County near Ozark and Newton, the $55 million facility has the capacity to produce more than 25,000 tons of feed per week, said Elton Maddox, chairman and chief executive officer of Wayne Farms LLC.
“The South Alabama Feed Mill is an investment we’re confident will pay off for us and the region for years to come,” Maddox said. “It will serve the farmers and our company well. We couldn’t be more proud and we couldn’t be more grateful for the support we’ve received in completing this facility – from our own team, our CSX partners, local, regional and state agencies, the cooperation has been outstanding.”
The mill will employ 24 manufacturing workers, 55 feed haulers, and nine administrative staff employees for a total of 88 new positions.
The company said the facility features the latest technology and robotics equipment and will serve hundreds of regional poultry farms, as well as buy corn and other grain products from local farmers. Wayne Farms said it expects to purchase about 27.8 million bushels of corn annually, with more than 3 million bushels coming from local producers.
The mill can mix a variety of feed formulations, using corn, soybean meal and various minerals and vitamins to produce multiple dietary preparations, ranging from baby chick feed to broiler, pullet and hen formulas, the company said.
The mill sits on 165 acres, complete with a rail-based receiving area and three receiving systems and a 90-car rail grain loop and 80-car ladder track soft stack storage loop.
Separate storage for feed products and ingredients totals 6,000 square feet, respectively, and a dedicated scale house with a robotic sampling arm allows for precise measurement of incoming and outgoing ingredients and products.
Wayne Farms LLC is the sixth-largest vertically integrated poultry producer in the U.S. with annual sales exceeding $1.9 billion. A subsidiary of Continental Grain Co., Wayne Farms owns and operates 11 fresh and further-processed facilities throughout the Southeast, produces more than 2.6 billion pounds of poultry products each year, and employs more than 8,900 people.
