The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

INVESTORS behind an Abaco-based soybean, corn and dairy cattle farming venture said that they were “on track” to break ground in early September, telling Tribune Business yesterday that the venture would create 20 to 25 jobs.

“We’re on target now for September, for the first part of next month to start and break some ground,” said Haziel McDonald, of Caribe Farms. The company recently signed a 21-year lease agreement with the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) for 2,000 acres of land in Spring City, Abaco.

Mr McDonald, who has partnered with long-time friend and Nebraska farmer, Jeff Larson of Larson & Larson Farms, said that the company was securing its equipment and intended to

break ground in “the first part of September”. Mr McDonald said that the company would need between $2-$3m to get started.

“We’ve got some of it (equipment) centralised in Florida and we’re working on getting some more there in the next couple of weeks. The goal is to have all of it come in by the first part of September and start to break some ground,” said Mr McDonald.

Mr McDonald, who spoke initially to Tribune Business on the venture in May, said that Caribe Farms would initially employ eight to ten people and would likely increase that number to 20 to 25.

“It will be a bit slow for the first couple of weeks but it will pick up pretty quick once we get started,” he said. “The project will be done in stages. I think in three years we will get to where we will be able to start producing beef for the country. We have to bring in everything and set up our own equipment to set up a slaughter house.

“It all has to be inspected by the Bahamian agricultural department and the USDA just

like all of the meat we bring in now is USDA approved, it will be all USDA approved.”

Regarding its crop production Mr McDonald said: “We were looking at planting 1,000 acres right off the top. A lot of that will be used to produce our own feed for the cattle. That’s the goal of it, so you grow it right here and it stays right here.”

“Our US partner has a large farming operation in the US. That’s a major operation with cattle, corn and that sort of thing. He was waiting until he got to the stage where he could free up some of his workers to get all of the equipment and stuff in here. It looks like we’re getting some headway with that now. We’ll do it steps at a time. It could take two to three years to get it where we want it,” said Mr McDonald.