New jobs amount to more than 'peanuts' in Dunklin County

A new peanut processing plant in Kennett, Missouri, will bring a multimillion dollar investment — and nearly 50 jobs — to Dunklin County.

Delta Peanut broke ground last week on a peanut processing plant and will represent an investment of more than $50 million.

A farmer-owned company, Delta Peanut serves peanut growers in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. The peanut shelling facility in Kennett will be the company's second peanut processing plant and the first located in Missouri.

According to the company, the average annual wage at the facility will be $38,250, well above average in Dunklin County.

"This new facility will not only support Missouri agriculture, our state's number one industry, but also provide new, good-paying jobs for Missourians," Gov. Mike Parson said of the new processing plant.

Delta Peanut will be applying tax credits from the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority to help establish the plan. The tax credit program encourages investments in entities that process Missouri agricultural commodities and products by issuing tax credits directly to producer members.

The project also received financial support through the Delta Regional Authority.

Missouri is one of 13 states where peanuts are grown. Nearly half of the nation's production comes from Georgia, followed by Florida (11%), Alabama (about 10%), Texas (approximately 9%) and North and South Carolina (about 8% and 4%, respectively). The rest of the peanut producing states -- Mississippi, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Missouri -- produce the remaining 8%.

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