Old lumber mill getting new life as feed plant

It wasn't clear what the dump truck was hauling off the site as it rolled by, but it was a sign of progress. It had taken nearly three months to reach this point, but Jim and Billy Wolfe knew there was a lot more work ahead.

Since they started back in January, they've been creating a new industry in Mountain Home that could make the community a competitor on a national level.

Day by day, they've been transforming a former lumber mill on the city's west side into a processing plant that will turn locally grown alfalfa into high-protein animal feed. Known as Wolfe Pac Pellets, it's a venture that was six years in the making.

When the city's lumber mill complex went into foreclosure after the previous owners went bankrupt, the brothers knew it was an opportunity to create this new industry.

"It all just clicked in place," Jim said.

Due to open in June, the plant is expected to directly benefit Mountain Home and surrounding communities, according to Paula Riggs, who heads the city's economic development office.

Opening this processing plant in Mountain Home would have a tremendous impact on this community by creating needed jobs, she said. In addition, this type of industrial growth could spur additional industries in this part of town.

"They would be a really good business for our community and one we would love to have here," Riggs said.

The pellets the brothers plan to make here are created using just one ingredient -- alfalfa hay grown on farms south of Mountain Home. This hay yields supreme and premium forms of animal feed based on the type of alfalfa used.

The process is fairly straightforward, according to Jim. The unrefined hay is run through a processor, where it's ground up into a powdery form.

This powder is then pressed through a die that forms the actual pellets. During this process, steam is used to seal the pellets to hold their shape.

"In other words, we're going to cook the hay and make it into pellets," Jim said.

Holding up a sample of their refined product, Billy said the processing plant has the capability of creating pellets of various sizes. For now, they expect they'll stick with one standard type but were reluctant to go into details.

In addition to making it easier for people to feed their animals, these pellets also take up a lot less space, according to Jim. Two pounds of their pellets will equal that same amount of food that people would get from three pounds of unrefined hay.

That space savings is vital when it comes to shipping the product to companies on the east coast, he added.

"You can't get a hundred tons of hay into a rail car unless you turn it into pellets," Jim said. "We can ship 100 tons of pellets back to the east coast for a third of the freight."

Loading the refined product into railcars is also a lot simpler than unrefined hay.

"It flows just like grain, corn or wheat," Billy said.

They expect to keep the plant running around the clock, seven days a week. In addition to serving local businesses, they plan to market their product to retailers on the east coast.

According to Riggs, the company will provide a product to areas in the east coast where demand for this form of animal feed is highest. Often, these places can't grow this type of high-quality alfalfa.

Right now, the brothers expect to hire six workers to keep the plant running. However, that doesn't include the number of truck drivers they will hire to haul the unrefined alfalfa hay to the site and deliver the finished product to the railyard in Glenns Ferry.

In time, the brothers hope to rebuild a rail siding currently located on the site so they can ship their product directly from here.

The pellets will travel by train to mills on the east coast where it'll be ground up and fortified with other ingredients to create products geared for livestock as well as small animals and family pets.

If their dreams come to fruition, the plant's workforce could increase to 20, according to Billy. However, a lot of that is based on the markets and companies in the eastern United States that will buy this type of animal feed.

Getting the plant fired up by the June deadline involved a number of hurdles, the brothers said. Their first challenge involved removing tons of debris and waste that was left behind when the plant's previous owners closed their doors here two years ago. Workers already removed 15 loads of scrap metal off the site with plans to clear even more as the plant takes shape.

Nothing is going to waste. A boiler system was bound for one company out of state while another had agreed to haul away a small mountain of sawdust that was left behind.

Even the landscaping was getting a needed makeover. Pointing to their property line, Billy showed where tall weeds had overgrown one area while small trees were encroaching their fenceline. All of this was due to be removed in coming weeks.

"We want to clean this area up and make it look nice," Billy said.

The rest of the equipment they need to start production is due to arrive in May. Ironically, though, the plant already came with one key component -- the machine that makes the actual pellets.

"They were making wood pellets with this new equipment," Jim said regarding the company that used to own the facility. "Actually, it was designed for alfalfa; not wood pellets."

Even with most of the needed pieces already in place, the brothers have invested a considerable amount of time to keep things on schedule.

"We have been working on this thing since the first of the year, five days a week, eight to 10 hours a day," Billy said.

Both brothers expressed their desire to bring a needed industry to Mountain Home.

"We would like to see Mountain Home be successful (and) we want to be good members of this community," Jim said.