Bell & Evans is seeking to relocate a previously approved feed mill project and construct a second hatchery on a 92-acre site along Interstate 78 in Bethel Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
Mike Bracrella, chief operations officer for Bell & Evans, and engineer Alex Kinzey of Steckbeck Engineering presented the proposal to the Bethel Township Planning Commission. The feed mill would move from its approved location on Legionaire Drive to 181 Market Drive, approximately a half-mile north, according to LebTown.com.
Bracrella cited stormwater complications and limited expansion capacity at the Legionaire Drive site as the primary reasons for the relocation.
"The land that we were working with on Legionaire Drive is just very, very tight for that feed mill. And it was just not going to support us for a long haul," Bracrella said.
The Market Drive site would use approximately 40% of the total acreage. The proposed feed mill would occupy about 22 acres, with a grain tower not to exceed 175 feet. The second hatchery would occupy approximately 12 acres and be designed to support production at a future Plant 4 harvest facility. Both facilities would be organically certified, per documents provided to LebTown.com.
The company anticipates approximately 100 trucks per day serving both operations. A traffic impact study is planned as part of the approval process.
The property is currently zoned rural residential. Bell & Evans intends to pursue an agricultural rezoning request concurrently with full land development plan submission, an approach Kinzey acknowledged carries risk.
"If we're denied, yeah, we'd be wasting all that time in one year in land development," Kinzey said. "But we'd like to get the timeline moving."
The rezoning request will go to the township supervisors rather than the planning commission, township engineer Matthew Mack confirmed. Bell & Evans is targeting construction to begin in spring or early summer 2026, pending approvals.
Planning commissioner Tim Showers, who owns the proposed site, has recused himself from the decision-making process. Township resident Wanda Day voiced opposition at the meeting, citing concerns about traffic, schools and impacts on established residential neighborhoods.
The planning commission has put on hold but not formally tabled four waiver requests related to the previously approved Legionaire Drive feed mill plan.
Bell & Evans, also known as Farmers Pride Inc., is the 21st largest poultry producer in the United States. According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, it produced 6 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis during the past year.
