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Meherrin Agricultural and Chemical Company is building a grain-buying facility on Route 671, across the road from Crowder & White Contracting in Franklin.

R.P. Watson, one of the owners of Meherrin AG and vice president of operations, said that once operational, the new facility will store and handle approximately 350,000 bushels of grain.

“This development will give greater flexibility on marketing, improved service and freight cost reduction to the local farmers and corn growers in the surrounding areas of Southampton, Isle of Wight counties, as well as Northampton County, North Carolina,” he said.

He noted that building the new facility was something the company had been planning to do for some time.

The facility’s street address is 31040 General Thomas Highway in Franklin. Watson indicated that construction on the new complex began there in October 2023 and is expected to be completed in July.

“Construction is going well, and we look forward to servicing customers for the corn-buying season this fall,” he said.

As noted on the company’s website, Meherrin AG was founded in 1958 and is a family-run business operating across eight states. It supports farmers in producing millions of acres of high-quality, high-yield corn, peanuts, soybeans and wheat.