By MARK POWELL

Perdue Farms officials said June 15 that verbal confirmation was received from the U.S. Justice Department approving the Salisbury, Md.-based company’s purchase of Cargill’s grain and soybean handling and storage facility at the Port of Norfolk, Va.
Perdue expects the deal to go through this week and soon thereafter the Norfolk processing facility will begin operating at close to capacity.
The Justice Department decision was greeted with relief by many farmers and their political leaders.
Delaware Gov.Thomas R. Carper and Delaware’s U.S. Sen. William Roth applauded the decision, saying that it safeguards Delaware’s top crop — soybeans.
Just over a week after urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman to intercede on behalf of Delaware’s soybean industry and speed up the decision, Carper was notified by his ag secretary, Jack Tarburton, of the Perdue-Cargill decision.
About 1,200 farmers in the First State grow more than 7 million bushels of soybeans annually.
Earlier this year, Delaware-based Townsends, Inc., sold its poultry processing plant in Millsboro, a transaction that also closed the company’s soybean processing facility — and meant losing an annual demand of 12 million bushels of soybeans.
Perdue’s plans to operate the Norfolk plant at full capacity with an annual demand of 25 million bushels of soybeans, would more than offset the demand lost by the shutdown at Millsboro.
“This is an overwhelming victory for Delaware’s soybean farmers who were facing an uncertain future,” said Carper. “This decision was crucial in sustaining the economic viability of the First State’s soybean industry and, more importantly, it enhances the future prosperity of Delaware’s farm families.”
“Relief” was the first reaction of Delores “Dee Dee” Darden, president of the Virginia Small Grains Association upon hearing of the Justice Department decision.
“I am very happy about this move and think it will be beneficial to all concerned,” she said.
“I think I speak for all farmers in Eastern Virginia when I say we are looking forward to a long and profitable relationship with Perdue. The knowledge that we will continue to have a place to ship our grain products certainly alleviates one of the worries facing farmers this growing season.”
Darden also commended the efforts of the many people who worked hard to make this happen, especially state Ag Commissioner Carlton Courter III and the Virginia Department of Agriculture.
The governors of Delaware and Virginia sent letters expressing their concern on this issue to federal officials.
They were joined by the secretaries of agriculture in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.
And, on June 8, the Deleware General Assembly passed a resolution urging a prompt action from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department had been examining Perdue’s acquistion of the Cargill facility to insure it would not violate federal anti-trust statutes.