Jonesboro, AR, August 27, 2019– Delta Peanut held a ceremonial groundbreaking at its 71-acre site in the Craighead Technology Park in Jonesboro on August 27th. Delta Peanut leadership and investors celebrated the event with local business leaders and elected officials including Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin and U.S. Senator John Boozman.
Delta Peanut is the first peanut shelling operation in the State of Arkansas and represents a $70M project that will ultimately create 130 new jobs.
“This project couldn’t have happened without the support of the roughly 60 farmers/investors that put $26.5M into Delta Peanut. This facility will not only benefit farmers who grow peanuts. Dozens of high-paying, high-quality jobs will be created because of this project. We are excited to see construction underway,” said Tommy Jumper, CEO of Delta Peanut.
Approximately 30,000 acres of peanuts will be planted regionally this year. Until now, those peanuts required transport to shelling plants in West Texas or South Georgia. With the addition of Delta Peanut in Jonesboro and a separate buying point in Marianna, regional peanut growers will have the option to cut miles and costs and bring those peanuts to market closer to home. And with peanut butter makers Jif in Memphis, Skippy in Little Rock and Kraft-owned Planters Peanut in Fort Smith, having Delta Peanut in Jonesboro is a logical location.
“I am excited that Tommy Jumper and his developers are putting this facility in Jonesboro", said Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin, "It will not only create jobs for our people, but it is tied directly to agriculture, which is a big part of our economy.”
“Encouraging investment by companies like Delta Peanut fit perfectly in the Jonesboro Unlimited Strategic Plan. Agriculture is essential to the strength and continued growth of Jonesboro and our economy. The addition of Delta Peanut and the 130 direct, high-paying jobs it will bring to Jonesboro makes this a great day for Jonesboro.”
Construction has already begun at the 71-acre site. When the shelling operation is fully up and running it will shell over 180,000 tons of peanuts annually. Over 60,000 tons of those peanuts will be on-site in Jonesboro and stored in three warehouses and one “surge” warehouse. Additional buying points will store the balance in neighboring towns in Arkansas and surrounding states. The Jonesboro site will also have six drying buildings.
The Delta Peanut facility is scheduled to be completed by Spring of 2020.
