Economic Benefit Cheered as Costco Breaks Ground on 1st Poultry Processing Facility

On June 19th, Lincoln Premium Poultry’s groundbreaking in Fremont for Costco’s first-ever poultry processing plant, hatchery and feed mill facility took place.

Projected to open in April 2019, the $300-million project is expected to generate an overall economic impact of $1.2 billion annually, create approximately 800 new jobs and connect Costco to a dedicated network of producers in eastern Nebraska. The Lincoln Premium Poultry facility will utilize the latest technology to process an expected 2 million chickens a week for sale in Costco stores.

Lincoln Premium Poultry joins a critical mass of agricultural-based companies that call Nebraska and the Greater Omaha region home. Statewide, one-in-four jobs is related to agriculture. Throughout the region, livestock and food processing industries employ nearly 20,000. Complementing the region’s existing industries, the farmer network needed for a facility of this scale brings an opportunity for farmers to diversify their portfolios and expand existing operations.

Over the past year, the retail giant has worked with a multitude of partners to land the facility in the Fremont area. Those partners include the Greater Fremont Development Council, City of Fremont, Greater Omaha Chamber Economic Development Partnership, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska.