Today Senator Dick Elliott announced that Severn Peanut Company is interested in locating a buying station in the Pleasant View area of Horry County. The proposed location is next door to the area fire station on Highway 917.

Severn advises that their interest is to provide the local farmers access to an ever growing peanut industry. The company demand for raw peanuts has been on a steady growth pattern for over ten years. We feel that this area has the correct growing and land types to produce the quality peanuts that Severn Peanut Company demands. This expansion will provide a positive impact on our local economy as well as provide a steady supply of peanuts to our processing plants for years to come.

Severn Peanut Company is going to be building a full service raw peanut buying facility. Severn Peanut Company will receive raw peanuts from area farmers to prepare them for the company to purchase. This facility will incorporate all the necessary equipment needed to assist the farmers in marketing their crop. This facility will have offices, weight scales, peanut samples, drying trailers, dumping pit and raw peanut storage. The buying station will be open during the peanut harvest season as needed and they will need a number of local employees on a seasonal basis to operate the facility.

Over the years, we expect and anticipate growing into a volume that would justify the investment of a peanut processing plant which would employ more full time employees. It is estimated that this buying station will help farmers generate around $15 million during the next several years from the peanut sales.

The tobacco crop is an ideal crop to rotate with peanuts. Severn looks forward to its entry into Horry County and this region of South Carolina and hopes to help the farmers get into a cash intense crop as the tobacco program continues to fade out stated Senator Elliott.