Egg production is coming back to Renville, Minnesota, U.S. On January 21, 2022, Forsman Farms announced its plans for a multi-million dollar expansion in the city’s industrial park. According to the West Central Tribune, the new cage-free facility will house 1.3 million layers and create approximately 40 jobs for the area.
While a completion date has not been determined, the company plans to start removing the former Rembrandt Foods buildings and constructing new barns this year. The redevelopment includes four layer barns, a pullet barn and other buildings needed to support production, explained Nate Taylor, Forsman Farms Director of Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs.
According to the company, the new cage-free facility will be off-line. Eggs will be transported to Forsman’s Howard Lake, Minnesota, facility for grading and packing, or breaking and further processing.
Taylor indicated that the company was looking forward to working with Renville citizens and was moving towards increasing its cage-free production while creating long-term relationships in the area. “It (Renville) is a good location with access to feed ingredients while still close enough to our processing plant,” stated Taylor.
In November 2019, Rembrandt Foods announced the closure of its Renville egg production facility due to an oversupply brought on by the restocking of flocks after the 2015 avian influenza outbreak. The farm employed 52 people and processed liquid egg products from conventional housing. In addition to the egg oversupply, the closure was justified by the company due to the increase of company commitments and state laws requiring cage-free egg production.
Forsman Farms is known for producing the Mae Eggs brand and supporting McDonald’s cage free egg production with new facilities and mobile technology to manage lighting and temperature in its barns. In 2019, Peter Forsman, owner of Forsman Farms, stated, “After we committed to converting our production, we saw the positive impact to our business. Currently, 100 percent of the eggs from our farm that go into McDonald’s supply chain are cage free and many of our other customers will be making the change, as well.”
