вЂњYou can see where this takes a lot of creative thinking and planning and logistics, and itвЂ™s a multi-year process to get it to where your goal is. Then once you hatch those, you have to have somewhere to put them, so you need the grower houses, and from there you have to process them. вЂњObviously, the feed mill is first, and then you need to hatch and grow the chickens, so you need an improved hatchery capacity. вЂњIt all comes back to the feed mill,вЂќ Tanner relates. Tanner credits Bleth and his team for putting in the effort over the last two years to bring the plan to closure. The plan to modernize its operations has been in the works for close to a decade, but finding a location proved difficult until the option in Talliaferro County became available. The company caters to the Hispanic market and produces a yellow-skin bird that is favored by that consumer base. Harrison Poultry has a nationwide distribution and also exports internationally. вЂњWeвЂ™re trying to centralize our feed mill again and get back to being near our core group of farms.вЂќ Now, some of them are well over 100 miles round-trip to get to them and deliver feed,вЂќ he adds. вЂњWe have of all chicken companies some of the longest hauling distances to get to our farms. As that area has become less agricultural-oriented, the broiler houses have moved much further away from HarrisonвЂ™s existing feed mill. Its present feed mill in Winder was at one point the center of its broiler house universe, Bleth explains. Harrison PoultryвЂ™s desire to relocate its production base reflects the changes that have taken place in Georgia over the last few decades. However, as the Bethlehem facility expands its processing capacity with a second shift, there will be a net job increase in the county. Barrow County, the home of its current feed mill and hatchery, will see a slight decrease in employees as those jobs are transitioned to the new location. There would be at least 236 full-time employees hired with a cumulative annual payroll of more than $8 million.

With a larger supply of chickens, the companyвЂ™s Bethlehem facility in Barrow County will need to add a second shift and, eventually, a new production facility in a to-be-determined location.ДЄn economic impact study of the project concluded that the initial capital investment will be a minimum of $161.5 million and could easily approach $200 million, with the addition of land and infrastructure.

To accommodate the new, larger facilities, it will need to add 300 to 400 chicken houses. Once the feed mill is built, the company will build a hatchery.

This feed mill project will have a ripple effect on the entire region, as Harrison Poultry prepares for even further changes. вЂњThis company will provide much-needed job opportunities for us and for the region, as well.вЂќ вЂњWe are pleased to welcome Harrison Poultry to our community,вЂќ said Jackie Butts, executive director of the Taliaferro County Development Authority. The company has been told by county officials that the project will make Harrison Poultry the largest employer in the history of the county. The feed mill is located in Talliaferro County (pronounced вЂњToliverвЂќ), which is home to approximately 1,600 residents.

Harrison poultry farm