LS Tractor, which announced in April 2009 that it would open a distribution and manufacturing facility in Nash County, has terminated its incentives grant with the state.

N.C. Commerce Department official approved the termination during a meeting this afternoon.

The company's incentives deal with the state called for it to create 134 new jobs over five years and invest nearly $14 million. It was eligible to receive as much as $995,000 if it met hiring and investment goals.

But the company has informed the state that it doesn't expect to meet those goals. LS Tractor currently has 23 employees and has received $14,511 from the state.

It will get to keep that money as it partially met the requirement of the first year of its grant by creating 20 out of a required 22 jobs.

LS Tractor USA is a subsidiary of LS Mtron LTd., a South Korean heavy equipment manufacturer.  

The Nash County facility, which is the company's U.S. headquarters, makes high-end compact tractors and accessories for the machines.

Sanderson Farms said today that it is delaying construction of a second poultry-processing plant in North Carolina due in part to rising feed costs.

The Mississippi company has been scouting sites in Nash County and elsewhere since last year.

The $106 million plant was expected to employ up to 1,500 people. It would be capable of processing 1.2 million chickens served by restaurants and other food service companies.

"While the company's balance sheet is strong and it remains committed to a second North Carolina complex, the company believes it is prudent to be conservative with its working capital and balance sheet at this time," the company said this morning during its announcement of first quarter earnings.

Sanderson posted a larger than expected loss of $33.6 million, or $1.52 a share, in the three months that ended Jan. 31.

Lower poultry prices, weak demand from the food service industry and significant increase in feed costs led to the loss, Sanderson CEO Joe F. Sanderson, Jr. said in a release.

"While retail demand for chicken has remained steady, we have continued to see weak food service demand, and we expect this trend will remain until the national unemployment rate improves," he said.

"Consumers are simply not dining out as frequently and restaurant traffic has remained under pressure. We also experienced a significant increase in feed costs during the quarter, compared with a year ago, and this affected our profitability."

Sanderson's proposed second plant has divided Nash County.
 

Supporters of a proposed chicken plant in Nash County are creating their own nonprofit to advocate for the project.

At an event in Rocky Mount this morning, local business leaders announced a new non-profit and previewed an advertising campaign that was created to help bring Sanderson Farms to Nash County.

The group says Sanderson's plant will create a $5.5 billion economic impact in the region and create more than 2,000 jobs.

Opponents of the Sanderson project earlier created their own group, Nash County Landowners Association, which hired a Raleigh PR firm to to do polling and messaging.

The city of Wilson is contributing $1 million to fight the project.

NOTE: THIS BLOG POST HAS BEEN UPDATED (4:11 p.m.)

Bill Daughtridge, a member of the UNC system's Board of Governors, is now working as senior policy advisor for House Speaker Thom Tillis.

It's an unusual arrangement, since members of the UNC board aren't supposed to work for the legislature, which oversees its budget.

But in this case, Daughtridge is not drawing a salary, said Jordan Shaw, a Tillis spokesman.

"He is helping us out on a volunteer basis and we're very appreciative," Shaw said. "No cost to the taxpayers."

Still, the UNC system's lawyer isn't yet totally comfortable with the arrangement. General Counsel Laura Luger said she's waiting for a written opinion she's expecting soon from an attorney with the General Assembly.

"One of the things wer're guided by is not simply a conflict but the perception of a conflict," she said. "I'm conservative about potential conflicts."

The UNC system code says no member of the General Assembly "or officer or employee of the state or of any constituent institution" may serve on the UNC board.

The code does not distinguish between paying and non-paying jobs.

Daughtridge is a former state legislator himself, having served three terms in the N.C. House representing Nash County.

Before becoming senior policy advisor, Daughtridge briefly served as interim chief of staff while Tillis transitioned into the post.

Daughtridge is a 1975 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
 

Sanderson Farms search for a site for its next poultry-processing plant continues even as local opposition to the project goes to court to try to stop it.

The Mississippi company has not purchased any property and is still in discussions with the state Department of Commerce, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and local officials in Nash and Wayne counties, said Mike Cockrell, Sanderson's chief financial officer.

"We are still doing our due diligence," he said this week. "We haven't purchased any property yet."

The Nash County Board of Commissioners recently rezoned a site in southern Nash County that it hopes Sanderson will select.

Sanderson needs about 1,000 acres where it can build a processing plant and a spray field for the plant's treated wastewater.

The city of Wilson and more than 30 nearby property owners have filed a lawsuit against Nash County alleging that the rezoning violated state laws. 

Sanderson had originally focused its search on Wayne County but later expanded it farther north into Nash County.