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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Delta Peanut Constructs Kennett, Missouri, Peanut Processing Plant

05/24/2021
Delta Peanut, a farmer owned company that serves peanut farmers throughout the south, started construction on its new $50 million peanut processing plant in Kennett, Missouri. The company plans to create roughly 50 new jobs in the surrounding area.

Delta Peanut currently operates out of a state-of-the-art shelling facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, shelling over 180,000 tons of peanuts annually when running at maximum capacity.

“Delta Peanut is extremely excited to expand its operations into Kennett, Missouri. Our investments in Kennett will complement our existing capacities to shell and sell edible peanuts while also expanding our footprint for production and capabilities to service new segments and additional markets,” Delta Peanut CEO Tommy Jumper said.

The Delta Regional Authority provided a $350,000 grant to the City of Kennett through the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program, which provides direct investment into community-based and regional projects that address the DRA’s congressionally mandated funding categories: basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, workforce development, and business development. This award, along with $450,000 in CDBG Industrial Infrastructure grant funds will enable the city to develop a new road to the facility that is capable of handling truck traffic. Delta Peanut also used the Missouri Works program, an incentive tool to help companies expand and retain workers by providing access to capital through withholdings or tax credits for job creation.

“We’re excited to welcome Delta Peanut to Missouri,” Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon said. “These jobs will make a real impact for Missourians in the southeast region of our state, and we look forward to working with Delta Peanut to build their legacy here.”

As a farmer owned company, Delta Peanut will be using the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority’s New Generation Cooperative Tax Credit. The program encourages investment in entities that process Missouri agricultural commodities and products by issuing tax credits directly to producer members. To qualify, entities must provide substantial benefits to Missouri’s agricultural producers and create jobs for Missourians.

“We are thrilled to see peanuts return to Missouri,” said Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn. “Our team was just in southeast Missouri to capture the progress our farmers made this planting season. It’s exciting to see our farmers’ dreams of a peanut shelling facility come true just a year after Missouri was deemed a primary peanut producing state by USDA.”

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