Country View Family Farms, an affiliate of the Clemens Food Group, on Sept. 27 held the grand opening of its new feed mill in Columbia, Pa., to be served by North Shore Railroad Company’s Union County Industrial Railroad and Norfolk Southern (NS).
A partnership between the railroads and state and local economic development partners including Focus Central PA helped to provide the necessary rail infrastructure, according to NS, which reported that the facility expands market reach for the family-owned business and creates 50 new jobs in the area.
Country View Family Farms, based in Middletown, Pa., manages more than 100 family farms as a hog procurement and production company. The new $47 million feed mill spans 173 acres, featuring an 8,250-foot loop track to accommodate 105-car unit train deliveries by NS, according to the Class I railroad, which said it expects to move approximately 4,000 carloads annually for this operation. The facility will handle approximately 450,000 bushels of corn weekly, supplying feed for around 975,000 hogs in a 50-mile radius.
“This project was 20 years in the making,” said Aaron Ott, President of County View Family Farms, “and the efforts of the North Shore Railroad with site selection and [Norfolk Southern] were instrumental in making this possible, as rail access was critical to the success of the project.”
“I would like to thank Norfolk Southern for their assistance and cooperation in getting things in place to handle the traffic this mill will require, and for sending their beautiful Reading Railroad Heritage Unit,” said Todd Hunter, Chief Marketing Officer of Northumberland, Pa.-based NSRR, a short line holding company comprising Lycoming Valley Railroad, Juniata Valley Railroad, Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad, Shamokin Valley Railroad, Union County Industrial Railroad, and North Shore Railroad, Railway Age’s 2017 Short Line of the Year. “We look forward to working with NS to meet the needs of Country View Family Farms. Thanks to the entire team at Country View Family Farms. Note the word ‘family’ in their name. We feel we at North Shore are now also part of their family, and we are thrilled to have them here. And thanks to the North Shore Railroad employees who spent a massive amount of time working on the rail line and overseeing the construction of the rail loop.”
Because the feed mill location is situated directly off the former Reading Railroad, NSRR and NS brought to the grand opening event their LVRR 2016 locomotive (painted in a Reading, Bee Line Service scheme) and NS 1067 (a heritage unit honoring the Reading Railroad), respectively.
The NS heritage unit “acknowledges our shared history with the North Shore Railroad Company while symbolizing our joint commitment to serving Country View Family Farms for decades to come,” NS Director of Industrial Development Rob Jones said.
NS reported that it has worked local economic development partner Focus Central PA for many years to promote economic growth and business development in the state. “In recognition of Focus Central PA’s efforts to rehabilitate and revitalize the region and in anticipation of projects that generate jobs and investment like Country View Family Farms, we awarded Focus Central PA a 2024 Thriving Communities Grant of $25,000, building on a previous donation from 2023 of more than $32,000,” according to the Class I. “We look forward to the region’s continued success with rail-served projects.”
