Prairie Farms Seeks Second Tax Break From Battle Creek In Two Years

About a year and a half after they were granted a tax abatement by the City of Battle Creek, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. is looking for another as they continue their expansion.

According to the Battle Creek City Commission's Agenda for their meeting on July 2, a public meeting will be held on giving Prairie Farms the Industrial Facilities Exemption; later on in the meeting, a resolution will be voted on on that very issue. Prairie Farms is constructing a 32,200 square foot cooler at their facility in the Fort Custer Industrial Park on Hill Brady Road, to support the production of their new "Ultra Pasteurization" production line.

The investment of this project is estimated at $2,200,000, and the company is looking for a 12 year tax break to help them do the work; over that time, the City will miss out on around $417,000 in revenue. The cooler would begin construction this July, and would take around a year to finish.

This requested tax exemption comes around a year and a half after Prairie Farms requested a larger one for work towards this same goal; in January 2018, the City Commission approved an $829,000 tax break over 12 years, to go towards the company constructing a 14,000 square foot facility for their "Ultra Pasteurization" line.