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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
NEWS COLUMN
A Christmas greeting and chicken scratchings
Notes From the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
Greetings to you and your family during this festive and holy week of Christmas.
The House Agriculture and Veterans’ Affairs Committee met in St. Cloud Dec. 14 and toured the facilities of Gold’n Plump, a major producer of chicken for markets in the Upper Midwest and throughout the nation. With facilities in the St. Cloud and Cold Spring area, in addition to Pipestone, Minn., and Arcadia, Wis., Gold’n Plump is a significant employer in the areas where it’s located.
Founded in 1926 as the Jack Frost Hatchery in downtown St. Cloud, the company has grown into an integrated producer of chicken with annual sales of $300 million. The company employs around 1,500, in addition to having agreements with approximately 300 nearby farmers who have barns on their property and grow the birds used in the food-making process. The impact of Gold’n Plump on the area’s ag economy is immense. Eighty-seven million birds are processed annually, and more than 8 million bushels of corn are used to feed the birds, in addition to 80,000 tons of soybean meal.
Baby chicks are hatched on a four-day schedule at the Gold’n Plump facility located near Highway 10 on the east side of St. Cloud. About 1 million chicks hatch every week and are shipped out to area barns within hours after hatching. The birds reach their desired size of about 5.5 pounds in approximately 45 days and are then shipped to the company’s processing plant in Cold Spring. There, about 600 employees working in two shifts process nearly 900,000 birds a week, making more than 150 different products. The plant itself was purchased from Armour in 1983 and, following a major fire, a $20 million expansion was completed in 1999.
The company recently has been the recipient of two major awards. Gold’n Plump was named the “2009 Minnesota Legacy Family Business of the Year” by the magazine MINNESOTA BUSINESS. In addition, chairman of the board, Don Helgeson, was honored by the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council for his contributions to Minnesota’s food and agriculture industries with the “2009 Distinguished Service Award.”
The Reichmann Land and Cattle Company of Villard hosted a bus tour of their facilities Dec.12. Nearly 300 folks turned out on a beautiful winter afternoon for a look at their cattle feeding enterprises, which include cows, dairy heifers, and backgrounding calves. Interestingly, much of the feed for their animals comes from other industries, and is a byproduct from activities such as ethanol or sweet corn production. The Reichmanns and their crop consultant utilize a technique known as “precision farming,” which makes use of satellite maps and computers to match seed, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions.
It’s my wish, from the Anderson family to yours, that you have a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy the season, and may you keep the real meaning of Christmas in mind.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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