$10 million rice mill planned for Morehouse Parish

Louisiana economic development officials say a $10 million rice mill will be built in Morehouse Parish, creating 22 jobs at the facility. The Kennedy Rice Mill, a subsidiary of Kennedy Rice Dryers, will be the only rice mill located between the Arkansas border and Interstate 10. Officials say only a handful of rice mills have been built in the region over the past 25 years. Gov. Bobby Jindal says the deal was reached during the state’s search to replace jobs lost by the 2008 closure of an International Paper mill that had been the parish’s largest employer, with 550 jobs. Jindal says plans call for the mill to run on two shifts, with the possibility of a third shift that would boost employment to 30. The Mer Rouge mill will be built by the end of the year, and Kennedy Rice Mill says that will create 50 construction jobs.