DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials have approved nearly $15 million in state incentives for a proposed pork processing plant in Mason City.
The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board agreed Tuesday to provide Prestage Foods of Iowa about $11.5 million in tax incentives and an additional $3.3 million in job training assistance.
Members of the family-owned Prestage Farms announced plans earlier this month to build the $240 million plant. The company plans to hire about 2,000 workers in two phases over the next several years.
Construction is expected to begin this summer, and the company's website says the plant should be operational by mid-2018.
The North Carolina-based company is the nation's fifth largest pork and turkey producer.