Wayne Farms, a poultry processing firm based in Danville, Arkansas, are planning to acquire the Pilgrim’s Pride feed plant located in Atkins, Arkansas, with help from a $600,000 Economic Infrastructure Grant granted to them by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Acquiring the Pilgrim’s Pride feed manufacturing plant will enable Wayne Farms to carry on to shipping their grain by rail. Wayne Farms mentioned the high price of transporting grain by lorry in their purchase decision. The firm at this point in time receives approximately 2,500 rail cars of maize together with soy each year.
The Little Rock Western Railway travels from Little Rock down to the Wayne Farms’ site in Danville. The section from Little Rock to Perry is held by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., and the section from Perry to Danville is held by Continental Grain Company, which is in turn held by Wayne Farms.
The contract calls for Genesee & Wyoming to keep the rail the full distance. The contract was up for renewal this spring, and Genesee made up one's mind to end the contract and give up rail service from Perry to Danville.
Wayne Farms has around 870 employees and has an additional 125 contract growers. The yearly payroll of the company is approximately $32 million USD.
