North Carolina’s number one industry is agriculture and agribusiness. Golden LEAF focuses on agriculture as an economic development engine. One of the outcomes Golden LEAF measures in its agriculture priority is value-added agricultural enterprises.
In December 2019, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded the Town of Mocksville $450,000 in Economic Catalyst funding for upgraded water service to support a larger water and sewer project for the expansion of a value-added chicken finishing plant operated by Brakebush Brothers, Inc. Brakebush Brothers, a family-owned company, also considered Wisconsin, Texas, and Georgia to expand their operations.
“The House of Raeford was operating a chicken processing plant in Mocksville, and in December 2017, it was destroyed by fire,” said Davie County Economic Development Commission President Terry Bralley. “We immediately started looking for other businesses for the facility, and Brakebush Brothers decided to locate in the Mocksville plant; although they knew they needed to expand their operation in order to make it cost effective for them to stay in North Carolina.”
Golden LEAF funding provided improved water service to increase the water available to the plant to help with fire flow and provide backup water service. The water infrastructure is also available to serve other homes and businesses in the area.
Multiple funding partners helped in the recruitment of Brakebush Brothers to Mocksville. A $2 million Community Development Block Grant Economic Development Program (CDBG ED) funded sewer infrastructure. The Department of Transportation also provided $700,000 for access road improvements.
To date, the Brakebush Brothers chicken processing facility has created 389 jobs, paying more than the county average wages. The company has also invested more than $103 million in privately owned property, plant, and equipment.
“Not only did the Golden LEAF funding help kick start this project with the needed additional water supply, but it also helped us to leverage additional monies for sewer infrastructure,” said Mocksville Town Manager Lee Rollins.
Water and sewer infrastructure availability is a huge asset for economic growth, explained Bralley.
“This project was a win-win-win for Davie County,” said Bralley. “The funding for the project helped create new jobs at Brakebush Brothers; the county gained new water/sewer infrastructure capacity; and the existing sewer service in Mocksville kept capacity for future business and industry expansion.”
Bralley said that gaining an agribusiness industry is always good for the county.
“Golden LEAF has really helped us sustain and grow jobs in Davie County,” said Bralley. “The recruiting of this agribusiness industry is providing great jobs in our county. Additionally, the company is opening a healthcare clinic in the factory, and the Brakebush family’s trucking company, Brakebush Transportation, is also currently in the process of locating in Mocksville.”
The previous funding for this project will support the ancillary jobs through the trucking center and healthcare clinic, added Bralley.
“Sometimes we undersell the ability to have one initiative create impetus for another,” said Rollins. “Davie County gained jobs and future growth capability. This project only required 141 additional jobs but produced almost 400. That is a wonderful return on investment.”