Agribusiness
Deeply Rooted in South Louisiana
Major food manufacturers choose South Louisiana – located in South Central Louisiana along the Gulf of Mexico – for its availability of raw agricultural and aquaculture products. The region’s major employers include a diverse mix of industry from healthcare to construction. Below are a few examples of major agribusiness investments:
Falcon Rice Mill
As the manufacturer of Cajun Country medium, long, whole grain brown, popcorn, and jasmine rice, the Falcon Rice mill has remained the only family run rice mill in the U.S. Falcon opened its doors in Crowley, Louisiana in 1942 as a seed rice business, and now produces over 900,000 CWT hundred weights a year around the country.
McIlhenny Co (Tobasco)
Avery Island, one of five “islands” rising in atypical and mystical fashion above Louisiana’s flat coastal marshes, has been home to McIlhenny’s TABASCO brand Original Red Sauce production facility for 150 years. Today, the sauce is labeled in 22 languages and dialects and sold in over 180 countries around the globe. About half of the company’s 200 employees actually live on the island where many of their parents and grandparents lived and worked as well.
Omega Protein
Operating for over 100 years in the U.S., Omega Protein exports proteins, specialty oils, and essential fatty acids to the food and supplement industry. Omega-3 rich fish oil, processed at its Abbeville, Louisiana Gulf fish plant, reaches consumers in more than 40 countries through farm-raised seafood and pork.
Supreme Rice
Supreme Rice is the premier exporter of US milled rice on the Gulf Coast, serving as Louisiana’s largest rice milling operation. By leveraging Acadiana’s convenient access to the ports of Lake Charles, Houston, and New Orleans, the company processes over 1 billion pounds of rice annually – shipping worldwide to over 50 countries.
Ventura Foods
A leading manufacturer of custom and branded dressings, sauces, mayos, oils, and more, Ventura Foods satisfies customers in the food service, retail, and ingredient industries in 60 international markets. Its Opelousas location serves as a manufacturing plant and refinery, strategically located for distribution around the world.
Check out the advantages businesses like these enjoy:
- Availability of raw agriculture and aquaculture products such as rice, sugarcane, and soybeans
- 4th lowest state for industrial electricity rates
- Louisiana’s expedited environmental permit-processing program
- Access to agriculture researchers like LSU Eunice and University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Availability of land for facility expansion
Ready to Learn More About South Louisiana’s Agribusiness Industry?
Few places can match South Louisiana’s combination of agricultural production, processing capacity, and global logistics access. For agribusiness companies looking to scale, this is where competitive advantage takes root.
Bold Incentives
South Louisiana values its agribusiness industry and aligns state and local resources to provide customized incentive packages for businesses looking to grow. A couple standard incentives are outlined below. You can find a full list of available incentives here.
High Impact Jobs Program
Louisiana’s High-Impact Jobs Program (HIP) offers qualifying companies up to five years of reimbursable grants for the creation of new jobs that pay above the parish (county) average wage, based on the parish where the project is located.
Industrial Tax Exemption Program
The Louisiana Industrial Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) offers an 80% property tax abatement for up to 10 years on a manufacturer’s new investment.