LACASSINE, La. (AP) - A parish-owned and farmer-operated grain exporter in southwest Louisiana is adding a rice mill.
Officials of the South Louisiana Rail Facility in Lacassine and Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the plans Thursday.
The mill will create seven jobs with salaries averaging $43,000, a news release said.
The South Louisiana Rail Facility is owned by the Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury and can handle up to 25,000 bushels (880 cubic meters) of rice per hour for storage and export.
It’s located at the Lacassine Industrial Park and was launched in 2010 to receive, preserve and distribute paddy rice to international markets. It can also handle other commodities inlcuding corn and soybeans.
It is operated by a corporation made up of more than 200 producers and investors.
Construction of the mill is scheduled to begin in September.
“Rice cultivation and distribution has been a bedrock agribusiness for our state since its earliest days, and today I join the South Louisiana Rail Facility in announcing a new chapter in its history,” Edwards said. “The South Louisiana Rail Facility’s new rice mill will reward the hard work of more than 200 Louisiana rice farmers with added value for their operations and diversified products for international markets.”
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