Local officials discuss Prestage pork project

     A proposed multi-million dollar hog processing facility dominated discussion at two separate meetings in Hampton during the past week.
     Last Thursday, the Hampton City Council approved a letter of support encouraging the Franklin County Board of Supervisors to begin negotiations with Prestage Foods of Iowa. The company is seeking a new home for its proposed $240 million pork processing plant, which was shot down in Mason City last month when the council failed to pass a development agreement with Prestage.
     A company representative met with local officials in late May and toured potential sites for the plant near Latimer and Coulter. However, nothing further has been discussed, according to Franklin County Development Association (FCDA) Director Karen Mitchell.
     “We continue to gather more information and assess the project,” she said at Monday’s board of supervisors’ meeting. “We don’t know if they’re really interested [in Franklin County] or not. We’ve asked them directly.”
    Read the full article in the June 15 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.