Harrison Poultry Inc., a family owned, fully integrated poultry processing company, announced Dec. 4 that it is expanding operations with a $72 million chicken feed manufacturing facility and hatchery being constructed in Crawfordville, Ga.

“This new project is so much more than a simple feed mill,” said Harrison Poultry chief executive officer David Bleth. “The advances in technology will allow us to be more efficient, lower our cost and allow us to grow our business. As we grow, so does our ability to create jobs and provide contracts for new broiler growers. Together, this means economic development for a region primed to benefit from new opportunities.”

The company cited a study by The Center for Rural Prosperity & Innovation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College that shows the short- and long-term economic impact of the new facility, which promises to add more than 236 jobs to Taliaferro County, equaling more than one-third the most recently reported employment figures for the county. In the long-term, the Harrison Poultry expansion is projected to create 394 net new jobs in Georgia, the company said.

“As Harrison Poultry expands, they will invest more than $90 million in attracting the additional growers and broiler houses the new feed mill will support,” said state senator Lee Anderson. "That’s a huge gain for agribusiness right here in Taliaferro County.”

In a separate announcement, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said, “Founded here in Georgia, Harrison Poultry is a homegrown company that recognizes the benefits of operating in our competitive economic environment. Our network of resources, deep talent pool and strategic location in the Southeastern market will provide Harrison Poultry with a solid foundation for continued growth and success. We appreciate Harrison Poultry’s commitment to creating even more quality jobs across Georgia and look forward to strengthening this valuable partnership.”

Headquartered in Bethlehem, Harrison Poultry’s products are sold both in the U.S. and abroad. With this announcement, Harrison Poultry will also increase capacity at its feed mill and hatchery in Barrow County, creating additional jobs in Winder, Ga., the announcement from Deal's office said.

Harrison Poultry recently began construction on the state-of-the-art chicken feed manufacturing facility and hatchery in Crawfordville to support rising demand for poultry. In addition to current operations, the completed facility will enable the company to support up to a total of 165 new broiler houses and produce up to 18,000 tons of feed weekly, the announcement said.

Harrison Poultry is an important integrator and processor of broilers. In 1958, the late R. Harold Harrison, one of the U.S. poultry industry’s original leaders, founded the company in Bethlehem, Ga. Since its founding 60 years ago, Harrison Poultry has led the way for the development of today’s sophisticated structure that provides, safe, affordable, nutritious, convenient and tasty poultry.

On its website, the company said it specializes in golden-yellow chicken, resulting from all-natural marigold flower extract in the feed, and it primarily sells to Hispanic markets across the U.S. Harrison Poultry said its 180,000 sq. ft. facility processes up to 44 million chickens a year.