Investment firm AGR Partners has invested Rembrandt Enterprises, according to the egg producer’s website.
The ownership of the producer came into question after Iowa-based news company Storm Lake Times Pilot reported that Rembrandt had not transferred possession in July 2023. However, the producer’s website states that AGR invested in Rembrandt in 2022.
According to the news outlet, Rembrandt’s recently closed egg facility near Rembrandt, Buena Vista County, Iowa, is still registered as owned by Rembrandt. It is unclear if Rembrandt will undergo a name change as of July 25th, 2023.
Storm Lake Times Pilot’s report added that the Buena Vista County Assessor’s website and the Iowa Secretary of State’s database both show no transfer for Rembrandt.
Transportation company RIDES carried Rembrandt workers for six months in 2021 but has not had contact with the company since its Buena Vista County facility was hit with avian influenza in March 2022, explained RIDES CEO Hugh Lively. The outbreak affected 5.3 million layers and forced the producer to lay off over 200 employees. The birds were not replaced after being depopulated.
Rembrandt has been downsizing for years
In 2019, the producer announced it was closing its liquid egg products plant located in Renville, Minnesota. At the time, it said it had no plans to close any other facilities.
In 2020, Rembrandt announced it was closing its egg processing plant located in Neosho, Missouri. In the announcement, the producer cited a competitive global egg market as a factor in making the decision to close the plant.
In 2021, Iowa Cage-Free, which is part of the Versova family of companies, revealed it had acquired the assets of Rembrandt Foods’ Thompson, Iowa, cage-free farm. At the time, Rembrandt did not reveal the reasoning for the sale.
In 2022, Forsman Farms announced it had purchased a Rembrandt farm in Renville, Minnesota, and would be investing millions into it to house 1.3 million layers.
