Columbia Farms has chosen to locate its new chicken hatchery near Monetta, South Carolina, in Aiken County. Columbia Farms, an affiliate of House of Raeford Farms, in October 2014 announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art hatchery, but at the time had not named a site for the facility.
The property on which the hatchery will be built adjoins House of Raeford’s feed mill near Monetta. The company’s current target date for completion is the spring of 2016.
“It is the right time to make a significant upgrade to our live production operations, and all of that starts with the early life of the birds”, said Jim Mabe, West Columbia/Leesville complex manager. “The result of this investment will be to provide growers with a chick that is very consistent in size and quality.”
The cost of the new hatchery is expected to be around $14 million.
“We want to welcome Columbia Farms of Georgia to Aiken County and we greatly appreciate their investment,” said Ronnie Young, chairman of Aiken County Council. “Agriculture has been very important to Aiken County throughout its history and we look forward to working with Columbia Farms in the years to come.”
The complex is one of five operated by House of Raeford, currently works with 87 contract growers producing over 40 million chickens annually.
