Dateline: May 1, 2003

Peanut processing to be done locally at new $500k facility

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A new peanut processing plant being planned for Clarendon is expected to reduce operating costs and cut overall harvest times for local farmers while boosting the local economy.

The Clint Williams Company, a division of Texoma Peanut Company, this week announced its decision to build a new, full-scale buying point here. The $500,000 facility will employ 10 to 15 people during the harvest season and will be managed from the company’s facility in Quail.

“Everybody I’ve talked to is excited,” said Tony Maxwell, who manages the Quail plant. “It will give local producers a close place to do business.”

The savings should be significant for farmers in Donley County, who currently have no option but to haul their peanuts to either Quail or Memphis.

“It’s going to cut the travel time to processing,” said peanut producer Mike Newhouse. “Last season it cost $200 per truck load to go to Quail. In one day last year, we hauled 17 semi-truck loads from one field.”

The Clint Williams Company is in the final stages of purchasing 45 acres on the north end of Ayers Street just outside the city limits. The facility will only require 20 acres but will have room to expand. Construction is expected to start very soon and should be completed in time for this fall’s harvest.

The modern facility will be used to dry, handle, and grade peanuts on large semi-trailers using high capacity loading and unloading systems for maximum efficiency. Maxwell said the plant will produce some dust, mostly from traffic, but the company plans to gravel the yard to reduce the dust as much as possible.

Newhouse estimates there are about 20 farmers growing peanuts in Donley County and said there is a lot of excitement among his fellow producers.

“When we get into production season, it will speed up harvest because there will be more places to go with the peanuts,” he said.

The Quail facility processed over 6,000 tons of Donley County peanuts last year, Maxwell said, and the Clint Williams Company hopes to get a larger market share while encouraging more producers to switch to peanuts.

“This move is an effort to continue our strategic expansion plans to the newer, more efficient peanut growing areas in the southwest,” company president Alan Ortloff said. “The Texas Panhandle region has been a key growing area for our company for a number of years, and we continue to believe in its potential for growth.”

Maxwell says profits from producing peanuts have been better than producing cotton on a per acre basis recently.

“This probably won’t impact the number of producers locally very much because it’s just so expensive to switch crops,” Newhouse said, “but it might encourage some farmers north of here to switch. Of course, anything that comes into town like this helps the economy.”

The Clint Williams Company is based in Madill, Okla., and has been in operation since 1968. In addition to the Quail plant, which opened in 1989, the company currently operates eight other buying points.

“We’re proud to be coming to Clarendon, and the local people seem to be excited also,” Maxwell said. “It’s nice to be coming to a place where the people want you to be there.”