New South Louisiana Rail Facility Loads Rice for Mexico

By CnAgri2012-11-02 19:21:41 Print

The newly completed South Louisiana Rail Facility, located in the Lacassine Agri-Industrial Park, loaded their first shipment of Louisiana long grain rice bound for Mexico. The project was the brainchild of a group of area rice farmers who banded together to form an LLC and sold $5,000 memberships to other farmers and investors who saw both the need and the opportunity for such a high-speed grain loading facility.

"A complex series of partnerships was put together to make this project a reality," said SLRF Board Chairman Chris Krielow.

The Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury is the actual builder and owner of the facility and has leased the facility to the SLRF for management. Funds to build the project have come from the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal through the state's Capital Outlay Budget as well as grants from the USDA and the Community Development Block Grant Program. Technical and marketing assistance has come from Dwight Roberts of the US Rice Producers Association, who has helped the SLRF host potential customers from rice mills in Mexico.

"The U.S. Rice Producers Association has played an instrumental role in promoting this project, particularly in Mexico where we have an exclusive relationship with buyers and the Mexican Rice Council and have brought them to visit the facility," explained Roberts.

The state of the art facility is designed to load 40 rail cars in 10 hours and will provide USDA certified weights for customers. Construction of the South Louisiana Rail Facility began in February of this year.