Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded a $300,000 infrastructure grant to aid Mar-Jac Poultry in building a new feed mill and hatchery in Franklin County, Ala.

The $35 million feed mill will supply the growing poultry industry in northwestern Alabama and increase job opportunities in the region for suppliers and other related agricultural jobs. In addition to the 55,000 sq. ft. mill, Mar-Jac also plans to build a $23 million hatchery nearby.

“Agriculture feeds America, and that is especially true in rural Alabama, where the poultry industry is a major employer,” Ivey said. “This project will put food on the tables for numerous families in Franklin County and northwest Alabama and will have a large economic impact on the area, well beyond the 30 people employed at the mill.”

The state grant will help provide improvements at a railroad crossing at the main road leading to the plant that will include installing safety signals. An estimated 80-100 trucks -- many from local farms delivering grain to the plant -- will use the road.

Mar-Jac, based in Gainesville, Ga., supplies poultry products throughout the U.S. and numerous foreign countries.

The Alabama Department of Economic & Community Affairs (ADECA) is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.

“Job creation is a priority for Gov. Ivey, and this partnership between local leaders, Gov. Ivey and ADECA will lay the foundation for 30-plus new jobs in northwest Alabama” ADECA director Kenneth Boswell said. “I join Gov. Ivey in welcoming the Mar-Jac Poultry mill and hatchery to Franklin County and congratulate the local officials who worked with the company to make this project happen.”

Ivey notified Barry Moore, chairman of the Franklin County Commission, that the grant had been approved. Local funds of $60,000 have also been pledged for the project.