Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said that Costco Wholesale Corporation is interested in another poultry plant, and so is his administration.
Ricketts made his remarks while speaking at an agriculture conference in Kearney, as the state celebrates National Ag Week.
Construction of a new poultry plant in Fremont, Nebraska, is nearing completion. That plant will be operated by Lincoln Premium Poultry and will process chicken exclusively for Costco. That facility is expected to process about 2 million chickens per week, with 6 pounds, four ounces as the average size of birds to be processed.
But Ricketts said that more poultry plants could come to Nebraska. According to a Fox Nebraska report, he added that even if it is not a plant affiliated with Costco or LPP, the desire to have a new facility in the state is still there.
“We know that Costco is interested in building another one, we'd love to have it here in Nebraska. We want to get this business, but we want to get the next business that goes along with it. That's true not only with Costco but other operations as well. Hendrix Genetics has two facilities in our state. If they were looking to expand, we'd want to see more of that here in Nebraska as well,” Ricketts said.
In addition to making remarks at the conference, Ricketts also addressed the plant and other poultry industry activity in a column titled “Celebrate Nebraska Agriculture,” which appears on his website. In the column, Ricketts wrote the “Costco investment is helping 125 farm families put up poultry barns, creating opportunity for the next generation of farmers.”
In the column, Ricketts also acknowledged that egg company Michael Foods is investing $150 million in its layer operations in Bloomfield.
Ricketts, a Republican, became the governor of Nebraska in 2015. He spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Lincoln Premium Poultry plant, held in June 2017.
