Work Completed On Hay-Cubing Plant In Pasco

A Japanese company has celebrated the completion of a hay-cubing plant that will ship hay produced in the Columbia Basin to Japanese farmers.

About 20 officials from Zen-Noh Hay Inc.’s Tokyo headquarters joined 200 area farmers and others Tuesday to mark the completion of the $3.1 million plant.

The plant is expected to process about 40,000 tons of hay into cubes the first year. Most of the hay will be purchased from Columbia Basin farmers.

The green cubes will be loaded into ocean freight containers at the ZenNoh plant and then transported by barge on the Columbia River to Portland. From there they will be shipped to Japan.

Zen-Noh has signed a 10-year lease for its 14-acre site at the Big Pasco Industrial Center.