Australian company Nufarm to open $20M Mississippi plant

GREENVILLE, Miss. (AP) — An Australian farm chemical and seed company will open a distribution facility in Mississippi, investing $20 million and hiring 68 people.

Nufarm Ltd. said Tuesday that it was buying a building from the city of Greenville for the site, with plans to begin operations in summer 2019. Mississippi Development Authority spokeswoman Tammy Craft says Nufarm will repackage and ship products sent to Greenville from other facilities.

Local and state officials will grant the company a projected $6 million-plus in tax breaks and incentives.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Nufarm sells herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and seeds. The company said it needs to expand because "robust" growth in its U.S. operations means it's running out of capacity elsewhere. The company said the Greenville location will focus on herbicides and cotton, allowing it to distribute more products in Southern states.

The company is projected to complete hiring by 2022, paying workers an average of $44,314 per year.

Nufarm is projected to qualify for more than $4 million in property tax breaks over 10 years, as well as $1.2 million in rebates from worker income taxes as part of program subsidizing higher-paying jobs. The state is giving $350,000 to complete a rail spur to the Columbus and Greenville Railway, while local officials are giving $200,000.

Because Nufarm is locating in a county classified as economically depressed, it will also be exempted from state income and franchise taxes for up to 10 years, as well as sales taxes on initial equipment. The state didn't release a projected value of those incentives.