Duane Spaulding was about as surprised as anyone when he got a call from a Pennsylvania “feed “outfit” asking about the old IL Richer feed mill in Central Bridge.
“They wanted to know if it’s still idle,” Mr. Spaulding told supervisors’ Agriculture Committee Tuesday.
The answer is yes.
The mill—IL Richer until it was purchased by Blue Seal Feeds in 2008, and then Hoober Feeds in 2017—has been closed for the last few years.
Mr. Spaulding, who was a sales rep for Hoober when it ran the mill, said the Pennsylvania business contacted him on the behalf of a Canadian commodity group that’s looking for somewhere to make feed for them.
Mr. Spaulding didn’t name either group, but said “They have an interest in the mill in Central Bridge.
“It’s a good little mill. It will do anything you want,” he told supervisors.
They’d buy local corn and soybeans for organic, conventional and non-GMO feeds, he said, probably both bagged and bulk.
Any talks are still very preliminary, Mr. Spaulding said—the call came out of the blue and is just the first step—and he asked for help on where to go next; supervisors suggested Assemblyman Chris Tague, SEEC, and the IDA.
Schoharie County still hasn’t hired an agriculture specialist, but is interviewing two good candidates for the position Friday, said Korsah Ahumfi, assistant to Administrator Steve Wilson
That’s someone else who could take the lead on this if it moves ahead.
Mr. Spaulding said he isn’t sure of the timetable and pointed out that it’s something that could be complicated by the fact that the commodities company is from Canada.
The mill employed about 10 people under both IL Richer and Hoober, he said.
“Even if we could create three of four jobs, bring the mill back, and support agriculture, it would be a start,” he added.