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Nebraska chicken plant continues grower sign-up

Construction continues on Costco’s 300-million dollar chicken processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska, as does the process of recruiting growers. Willow Holoubek with Lincoln Premium Poultry is in charge of grower signup.

“This is quite an opportunity for farmers within 60 miles of the Fremont site where we’re going to be processing chickens to not only bring in some extra income through diversity, but also as a market for their row crops,” Holoubek says.

The project includes a feed mill, which will provide feed for the chickens. Holoubek says they will be using 360-thousand bushels of corn each week.

“So we’re going to be giving our (chicken) growers an incentive—or preferential treatment—to market their corn through us,” she says, “and we very much hope to change the basis in this area.”

Holoubek says they need 125 growers to build 500 poultry houses. She says they hope to reach that goal by the end of March.

The plant is scheduled begin operations in mid-2019.

AUDIO: Willow Holoubek