Construction work underway
The agriculture co-op Co-Alliance is continuing to grow its Henry County presence with a multi-million dollar investment in Liberty Township.
“It’s going to be an $18 million feed mill where we will be able to produce 300,000 tons of feed a year,” Co-Alliance CEO Kevin Still said.
The Co-Alliance Millville project includes a feed mill, warehouse and office that at capacity, will produce 300,000 tons of feed annually; 200,000 tons will be pelleted.
According to Co-Alliance, the new feed mill will need to source six million bushels of corn each year from local farmers to meet demand. Before deciding to expand on the existing Millville grain elevator, Co-Alliance also considered its Hagerstown location for the investment. Over the winter, the Henry County Council voted to offer the cooperative a seven-year, $1.6 million tax abatement to build here.
Council supports business expansion in Liberty Township
New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President and CEO Corey Murphy explained to the county officials in January that the proposed mill would take in corn from local growers and mill it into feed for swine operations in East Central Indiana and Ohio.
The second phase of the expansion would be for an office that will allow for accurate and timely bookkeeping for the mill. Phase three of the project would begin in 2026 to expand the grain storage to take in increased volumes of corn from local growers.
The new Co-Alliance Millville project is expected to create 30 new jobs by 2024. As Murphy explained in January, those jobs would include 18 positions averaging $23 per hour and 12 positions averaging an $80,000 annual salary.
Amy Kinsler, Co-Alliance vice president of sales and marketing, said Millville was selected because the site will help bring together Co-Alliance services, including Contract Hog Production, with its Legacy Feed team members. The new mill will also give the co-op the ability to bring a new market for grain for its agronomy customers.
“We also leaned towards this site because we were able to secure rural acreage in Henry County, which allows us to build resources in rural areas where our farmer-owners live,” Kinsler said. “The Ag community in Henry County is a strong one and is one we look forward to growing with.”
In addition to the Millville site, Co-Alliance has also invested in the Mt. Summit location north of New Castle.
Co-Alliance continues investing in Henry County
Co-Alliance built a state-of-the-art liquid product building to help service its farmer-owners in the Henry County area. The company is also nearing completion on a new Fertilizer Hub, which will service farmers in a 45-60 mile radius of New Castle.
“These investments allow us to add agriculture-based jobs to our rural neighbors and keeps us close to those we serve,” Kinsler said. “When these three projects are completed, we will have added 30 new ag-based jobs to our workforce in Henry County.
Kinsler said Co-Alliance is committed to supporting the communities in which its members work and live. She said the cooperative has donated more than $30,000 in the last two years to Henry County to support ag education and leadership, food security and farm safety programs.
“We are excited to deepen our resources in Henry County and look forward to a successful future together,” she said.
– Story by Travis Weik (Editor@TheCourierTimes.com) of The Courier-Times. Read more local stories at TheCourierTimes.com.