Chicken company plans $47M expansion in Louisiana, creating over 100 jobs

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A chicken producer is planning a $47 million expansion of its Louisiana operations, creating a new feed mill and upgrades to its hatchery and processing plant.

House of Raeford Farms CEO Bob Johnson announced the plans Tuesday in a news release from Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office.

The northwest Louisiana expansions are expected to create 118 new jobs.

The North Carolina-based company says it’ll spend $41 million to build a feed mill in Lincoln Parish, replacing and doubling the capacity of an older mill, and $6 million on improvements to Bienville Parish facilities.

The company distributes chicken products to grocery stores, schools and other businesses, packaged under its own label and other private labels. Louisiana is giving House of Raeford Farms $1.5 million for the projects, along with tax breaks.