CREAL SPRINGS, Ill. (WJPF) – A $6.8 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant will help fund the construction of a meat processing plant in Williamson County.

Saline River Farms had already announced plans to build the plant in Creal Springs at the site of the former Four Star Arena.

The plant is expected to employ about 400 people. Construction is scheduled to start in the spring of 2023 and could take up to 18 months to complete.

Saline River Farms is owned in part by Jeff Diederich, the soon-to-be sheriff of Williamson County.