Nearly two years after Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch announced its intent to build an egg-production facility in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, the company is patiently waiting to start construction.
Officials from the Michigan-based egg company were in Pennsylvania on April 18 to cut the ribbon on a new cold storage warehouse project in the Pennsylvania town of Chambersburg. While at the ceremony, according to a report from Public Opinion, officials from the company also addressed questions about its plans to build what it hopes to be a cage-free egg production facility with eight barns and 2.4 million hens.
“The next step is to build the farm,” said Greg Herbruck, president of the company. “It is important to our customer base and to us being a part of this community. As we are learning in today’s world, this is a very complex process – so many dominos to stand up before we can start tipping them over and have chickens arrive, produce eggs and distribute them to customers.”
Environmental permits, transportation route pending
The project remains contingent upon environmental permitting and a truck route.
A group known as Montgomery Township Friends of Family Farms has proposed challenges to the issuance of water quality and concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) permits by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. A hearing on that matter has been scheduled on May 7.
Concerning the truck route, Herbruck said the company has a route in mind, but it is still in the process of resolving the transportation plan with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is the 11th largest egg producer in the United States and the largest egg company in Michigan. In 2017, it had a flock of 8.4 million hens. The company’s headquarters are located in Saranac, Michigan.
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