This grant extended public sewer infrastructure necessary to serve a new Sanderson Farms hatchery and research and development facility located outside of the City of Lumberton. The hatchery and R&D facility were associated with Sanderson Farms’ new chicken processing plant being built in St. Pauls. Sanderson Farms was expected to create 1,000 new jobs in connection with its new facilities, including 75 jobs at the hatchery and R&D center. The new jobs were expected to pay an overall average annual wage of $27,924, plus benefits, including 50% of the cost of employee-only health insurance. The unemployment rate in Robeson County was 8.2% in March 2015 compared to the state average of 5.4%. The total cost of the sewer improvements for this project was $499,000.
