Facility facts
* Project broke ground August 2005
* Size of new commodities facility is 45,000 square feet
* Will employee nearly 40 people
* Scheduled to open at the end of Apri

lFacts about The Scoular Company
* Company was founded in 1892 in Superior, Neb.
* Employs 450 people nationwide
* Annual sales are $2 billion
* Markets over 100 products
* Is the 155th-largest privately held company in the U.S.

JEROME -- A state-of-the-art commodities storage facility under construction in Jerome should mean big savings for the dairy and beef industry in the Magic Valley.

The 45,000-square-foot, $3.5 million structure is a joint venture with The Scoular Company (a century-old Nebraska agricultural marketing company) and Magic Valley's Northside Development Group. The structure will consolidate five Scoular locations in the Magic Valley into one building, which translates into less time and money spent shipping and receiving agricultural goods.

"We needed to streamline our business and have all rail cars and paperwork at one location to better service our customers," said Todd Strayer, business unit manager in The Scoular Company's Idaho Dairy Services Group. "This will save the railroad money, will save us money, and will save the dairy and beef industry money."

According to Strayer, 16,000 feet of track had to be laid to connect the storage facility to the main rail line that runs through Jerome. He said the storage facility will be able to load and unload up to 75 car units of distiller grains per day, instead of the single 100 car units per month that Scoular typically ships and receives in the Magic Valley. Strayer said the facility also will be able to store up to 10,000 tons of feed such as canola and soybean meal for dairy and beef cattle.

Marlin Eldridge, economic director for Jerome County, said the commodities storage facility will have a huge impact in Jerome and the surrounding counties.

"The Magic Valley has always been heavily entrenched in the agriculture industry," Eldridge said. "This facility helps cement agriculture as a viable part of the Magic Valley economy, by providing feed and support to our area on a timely basis."

Scott Jackson, co-owner of Jackson Trucking in Jerome and one of the principal investors with the Northside Development Group, said the convenience of the Jerome site will be key to its success.

"We chose this location because we believe in Jerome," Jackson said. "We think the site is easily accessible to both the freeway and the railroad. I believe we can provide a service that no other facility in the valley can match.

The storage facility broke ground in August. It was scheduled to be complete in January, but harsh winter weather caused delays developing the infrastructure and pouring the building's concrete slab. The grand opening is tentatively scheduled for the end of April.

According to Jackson, the commodities facility will employ nearly 40 people. He said the 190-acre site eventually will be home to an industrial park, which will be developed later this year as he receives more inquiries about availability.

Times-News writer Bob Kirkpatrick can be reached at 735-3376 or by email at bkirkpatrick@magicvalley.com