DETROIT – As farm after farm is lost in Maine, state officials have repeatedly warned that the infrastructure which supports those left will slowly disappear.

That could soon be the case in Detroit, a small town in Somerset County, where Cavendish Agri Services will close its doors next week. But central Maine farmers may be fortunate because a neighboring agricultural services company, Feed Commodities International Inc., is considering expanding to fill the void.

For decades, the feed mill and fertilizer plant on North Road have served area farmers under various owners.

Once part of a larger Agway complex, the fertilizer section of the business was sold four years ago to Cavendish, which is based in Dieppe, New Brunswick, and is part of the JD Irving Ltd. family of businesses.

Cavendish spokeswoman Mary Keith said Monday that the structure of the fertilizer plant is such that repairing it or building a new one is not financially viable.

Keith said the company’s facilities in Houlton, Caribou and Presque Isle will remain open.

“The closing affects 10 employees,” including one seasonal and nine full-time workers, she said. Outside counselors have been brought to Detroit to assist workers with relocation and at least two workers will be moved to other Cavendish facilities, Keith added.

A major addition to the original Agway fertilizer plant was installed several years ago. Keith said the problems with the structure are on the older section of the building, not the addition.

The feed and seed portion of the former Agway business is still being run by Feed Commodities, which is weighing whether to buy the Cavendish property.

“We certainly should know something by Sept. 1,” Feed Commodities manager Ellis Additon said Monday.

Feed Commodities is based in Vergennes, Vt., and focuses on the dairy industry, providing technical advice, feeds, pellets, minerals and bulk ingredients. All of the feed for the Detroit facility comes in by rail, Additon said, and the fertilizer sold at Feed Commodities is purchased in Canada.

Feed Commodities boasts $48 million in sales and 80 employees at its five New England mills at Vergennes, Middlebury and Newport, Vt.; Detroit, Maine; and Bernardston, Mass.