An agreement between Webster County and CJ Bio America, Inc. to grant CJ Bio America funds was approved Tuesday morning.

“They created 10 jobs with this project and there was $51 million of capital investment,” said Kelly Halsted, economic development director for the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance. “They built new production buildings on their current site and they expanded their product portfolio with another amino acid.”

Thanks to the Webster County Regional Urban Renewal Area Plan, CJ Bio America submitted a proposal in the form of a development agreement which states CJ Bio America has constructed improvements and expansions to their facility, adding both jobs and expanding their production.

As an incentive for these improvements, the county agreed to make payments of Economic Development Grants to CJ Bio America funded through tax increments generated by the construction of the improvements.

“The project has to be completed and then they determine the additional tax value from the project, and that’s what is granted back to the company in equal payment,” said Halsted.

The cumulative total for all these payments cannot exceed the lesser of $1,250,000.

CJ Bio America, located in the ag industrial park west of Fort Dodge called Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation, makes amino acids to be added to feed for poultry and swine. It also makes a liquid soil amendment.

This agreement is in response to an expansion at CJ Bio America that began in 2019.