By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

SALEM, Ohio — After more than 20 years in Ohio, ConAgra Foods will move the second of its two popcorn manufacturing facilities out of the state by June. It's a move that's beneficial to ConAgra.

“We have multiple plants with similar capabilities,” said Monique Farmer, a spokesperson for the Omaha, Neb.-based company. “This transition will allow us to resharpen our efforts and focus on our popcorn business, and we’re confident that this is the right strategy for the business.”

The two plants employed 170 and were known for the packaging of Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn. The departure of the second popcorn facility will mean a financial loss for farmers who had contracts with ConAgra Foods, not to mention the acreage of that crop that will vanish.

According to the latest statistics from the Popcorn Board, the industry’s national commodity checkoff program, 18,484 acres of popcorn were planted in Ohio in 2013. The state is ranked third in the nation in popcorn production behind Nebraska and Indiana.

For the past two years Geauga County farmer Kevin O’Reilly was under contract with ConAgra and has turned an often overlooked crop into a healthy profit – but all that is about to change.

“It was something that was a little different and we always look for those kinds of opportunities,” he said. “It’s unfortunate because it was good for us.”

ConAgra closed its Marion, Ohio, plant in October 2014. Its Morral facility is set to close in June. Popcorn manufacturing was part of Marion history since the 1940s, when Wyandot Popcorn moved its operations to the city.

Over the next decade, Wyandot became the largest exporter of popcorn in the world, leading to the creation of the Wyandot Popcorn Museum and the creation of the Marion Popcorn Festival in 1981.

ConAgra took over Wyandot’s raw popcorn processing operation in 1989 and the facility was leased and renovated in 1992. ConAgra’s facility in the nearby Marion County village of Morral opened in 1991. Farmer declined to say how many contracts the company has with Ohio growers, or how many acres of production will be affected by the move.

O’Reilly, owner of Little Ireland Farms, said popcorn can bring a higher profit margin than bulk commodities such as field corn. He will be planting food-grade soybeans this year on the 100 acres that was dedicated to popcorn.

Most of Ohio’s popcorn growers are located in the western half of the state. ConAgra’s facilities were located in the northern and northeastern portions of the state.