MOULTRIE — Sanderson Farms Chairman and CEO Joe Sanderson said that the company will make a decision in 30 to 60 days on where to locate an integrated poultry complex.

Part of that complex is an $80 million processing plant, and Colquitt County appears to be a front runner in site selection, which could mean 1,400 new jobs created for that facet alone.

The management team has looked at Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, but Georgia appears to have the edge.

“We are very impressed with this area, this community. The business environment, we believe our operation integrates very well with the agriculture that is here,” Sanderson said.

Local farmer Louie Perry, who also serves on the local economic development board, told Sanderson that Sanderson Farms is the first company interested in the area that fits the community.

Colquitt County is a favorable choice because of the available labor pool. The company hopes to attract growers from five or six South Georgia counties with Cook County as a center point, he said.

“We want to be sure that we’re in an area that wants this economic development,” he said.

The Mississippi company’s potential expansion into Georgia would increase the company’s size by more than 20 percent. Sanderson Farms is considering the move to better supply markets in Florida and Atlanta.

The crowd was thinner than Monday’s 400, but Tuesday’s growers seemed to have come from farther out.

One Colquitt County pullet grower interested in contracting with the company thinks the venture would stabilize his other enterprises. Plus, its 15-year contract with an easy opt-out for growers is an attraction.

“Fifteen years is almost unheard of,” he said. “Bankers like it.”

University of Georgia poultry science researcher Dan Cunningham said the grower contracts Sanderson Farms are offering are the best he’s encountered in Georgia, the number one broiler producing state in the U.S.

Sanderson Farms plans to invest $181.7 million for the entire project, creating more than 1,700 jobs. Estimated annual payroll and contract payments to 130 growers could amount to $58.2 million.

The company has tripled in size in the last decade. Last fiscal year, the family-based public company reported record sales of $872.2 million, a 17.3 percent increase over fiscal year 2002.

The Sanderson Farms’ product is 100 percent natural, without any added salt, phosphates or broth. In addition to value-added, fresh packaged chicken, Sanderson Farms markets more than 100 prepared food items primarily in the Southeastern U.S.

The company will open an office March 29 on South Main Street across from the First Baptist Church to field questions and discuss contracts with growers.