Sanger's Pitman Family Farms expanding to Kings County

Source: The Business Journal
Written by John Lindt

Pitman Family Farms of Sanger has made two significant property purchases in recent weeks in the Hanford Industrial Park, setting the stage for what is expected to be a major expansion of operations into Kings County. The latest transaction as of Oct. 14 was the purchase by Bel’s Poultry, the Pitman family’s limited liability corporation, of 110 acres owned by the city’s redevelopment successor agency. The purchase price was $2.75 million, or $25,000 an acre, with escrow set to close in 30 days. The acreage is clustered on the western side of 10th Avenue east of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks at Iona Avenue. The 110 acres includes three different parcels of land. The purchase complements Pitman Family Farms' August purchase of Cargill's Hanford feed manufacturing facility. The sale included about 16 acres of land, buildings and machinery, said Cargill in a news release. Terms of the agreement were not made public. With its recent Hanford acquisition, Pitman has more than 126 acres near the rail ine. Just what is planned on the large site is unclear, but a good source says “it will be big.” Pitman Family Farms has its current packing/slaughterhouse in Sanger and its ranches scattered in the Central Valley. The family owned company produces free-range, organic and non-organic chickens, turkeys and ducks for the US market. The company is also growing its ranches this month with building permits for seven new chicken barns near Traver. The company has also expanded its Sanger processing facilities to the tune about about $2 million, including new buildings and solar panels. Pitman Farms, which employs around 600 people in the Central Valley, was in the running to buy bankrupt Zacky Farms but lost that bid to members of the Zacky family earlier this year.

URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/manufacturing-and-distribution/9341-sanger-s-pitman-family-farms-expanding-to-kings-county

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