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Ionia County's Herbruck's Poultry Ranch plans $16.3 million expansion

pexels.com

On 1,100 acres in Ionia County, Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch raises millions of hens and, it’s about to raise even more with a multi-million dollar expansion.

Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch in Ionia County raises more than nine million egg laying hens and with an investment of more than $16 million it intends to raise another 2.5 million young hens constructing three cage-free pullet-rearing facilities which the ranch says will take about three years to complete.

Herbruck’s currently employs 850 workers at the family-owned farm and with the expansion will add another 33 employees.

Regional nonprofit economic development organization, The Right Place, the Ionia County Economic Alliance and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation assisted with the expansion plan.

The MEDC is providing a Michigan Development Block Grant of more than $523,000 used for road infrastructure upgrades that it says will “accommodate increased truck traffic.”

Herbruck’s expansion will continue stimulating the local economy. It’s estimated it could generate an additional $3 million annually in local feed contracts.

Patrick Center, WGVU News.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.