Cargill Invests in New Letterkenny Feed Mill

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill announced today it will begin production at a new, high-capacity feed mill on May 1, 2011.  The new facility, known as the Feed Depot at Letterkenny, replaces Cargill's feed mill that was destroyed in a fire on Feb. 12, 2010.

"While we lost our mill in the fire, we never lost our commitment to the dairy and livestock producers in this region," said Rob Sheffer, regional general manager for Cargill Animal Nutrition. "That is why every design aspect of our new, world-class facility is aimed to help us deliver the best quality feed possible to our customers."

The new mill features state-of-the-art feed batching software to give Cargill Animal Nutrition experts maximum precision in customizing feed to match customer needs. The mill will have expanded mixing capacity and flexibility, which will allow for improved efficiencies, larger batches and faster delivery. Other upgraded features include a fully automated grinding and receiving system and grain-banking bins available to store customers' grains as needed. It will also feature one of the most advanced short-mixing systems in the industry, with a computerized bar-coding approach that tracks micro-ingredient levels in feed formulations.

With 20 percent increased production capacity, the mill will produce 120,000 tons of feed per year. It will primarily serve dairy farmers and livestock producers in Franklin, Cumberland and Adams counties in Pennsylvania and Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties in Maryland. Since the fire, Cargill has been serving customers from its other production facilities in Lebanon and Martinsburg, Penn.

"The Letterkenny team is excited to get back to serving our customers," said George Wagner, plant manager. "We are very grateful that, with the support of our customers, we have been able to rebuild our mill. With all the improvements that we've made, we will be able to serve them better than ever with safe, high quality feed." 

Construction on the new mill has been underway since September 2010. An open house of the facility is scheduled for early June.  

Editor's note: photos available upon request

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.  Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries.  Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business.  For more information, visit www.cargill.com

SOURCE Cargill