New rice facility will be built in Lacassine Industrial Park; project to result in 35 new direct, indirect jobs
BATON ROUGE — Gov. John Bel Edwards and the South Louisiana Rail Facility announced Thursday South Louisiana Rail Facility (SLRF) will develop an $11.6 million rice mill in Jefferson Davis Parish. Located at the Lacassine Industrial Park, SLRF is owned by the Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury and can handle up to 25,000 bushels of rice per hour for storage and export. The new project will create seven new direct jobs, with an average annual salary of $43,103, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in 28 new indirect jobs, for a total of 35 new jobs in Louisiana’s Southwest Region.
SLRF will invest $10 million to equip the new facility, with construction slated to begin in September 2020, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office. SLRF was launched in 2010 to receive, preserve and distribute paddy rice to international markets. SLRF is partnering with the India-based Agreeta Farmer Network to optimize the facility’s logistics and to prepare local farm products for international markets. The SLRF rice mill will have an expected life span of several decades and will serve hundreds of rice farmers and investors in Southwest Louisiana.