Second facility opening in 2027 will support family farmers, create new jobs and is a critical part of brand’s journey to achieve at least $1 billion in annual net revenue by 2027
Vital Farms (Nasdaq: VITL), a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide, today has announced plans to expand its resilient supply chain with a second world-class egg washing and packing facility located in Seymour, Indiana. The 72-acre future home of Egg Central Station (ECS) Seymour will build upon key successes from the brand’s first facility in Springfield, Missouri. The new facility will enable Vital Farms to continue growing its pasture-raised egg business, create 150+ jobs for the Seymour community in its first phase, and is expected to help generate over $350 million in additional revenue for the brand as we push to our 2027 target of $1 billion in company revenues.
Putting down roots in Seymour for Vital Farms’ second facility allows the brand to continue to expand its strong network of more than 300 family farms to support new farm development within a day’s drive of the new facility. Vital Farms expects this new facility, in its first phase, will support approximately 165 family farmers producing the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales.
“This is an exciting milestone for Vital Farms. We continue to invest in our robust and resilient supply chain to expand our network of family farmers and continue our mission to bring ethical food to the table,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, President and CEO, Vital Farms. “We are grateful for the outpouring of support we’ve received from the City of Seymour, Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation and Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and we look forward to deepening our relationship and building an even stronger connection to Southern Indiana and its surrounding communities in the years ahead.”
“Indiana boasts a rich tradition of agriculture – one that continues to grow and evolve thanks to the vision and commitment of companies like Vital Farms,” said Ann Lathrop, chief strategy officer at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). “This investment will not only result in increased economic activity – bolstering a statewide ecosystem that generates $4.6 billion in annual exports – but it will support Hoosier farmers, accelerate rural development and support continued quality of place enhancements in Seymour and the surrounding south central region for years to come.”
ECS Seymour will build upon the foundational key learnings and successes from Vital Farms’ award-winning egg washing and packing facility in Springfield, MO, Egg Central Station, which opened in 2017 and whose expansion achieved LEED® Gold Certification in 2024. The facility will feature similar environmental stewardship goals incorporated into the site plans, in addition to a flow-through design to improve safety and efficiency of the overall operation. Similar to its operation in Springfield, ECS Seymour will utilize industry-leading automation for processing equipment to improve overall production efficiency and quality, and will employ a world-class crew to lead the way in bringing this new facility to life.
ECS Seymour is expected to break ground mid-2025 and be fully operational at the beginning of 2027.
The anu™ patented growing technology to be integrated with ekō Solutions’ customized up-cycled shipping containers to maximize crop output on a small footprint.
Land Betterment, a Certified B Corp focused on innovative environmental solutions and anu™, an ag-tech innovator, are thrilled to jointly announce they have entered into a commercialization partnership to build and sell autonomous fresh produce growing systems in ekō Solutions’ customized up-cycled 20-foot shipping containers. ekō Solutions is a Land Betterment portfolio company.
ekō Solutions, with its expertise in modular construction through up-cycling shipping containers into innovative building solutions, is joining forces with anu™ to revolutionize sustainable agriculture. Led by President Peter Rodriguez, ekō Solutions is ramping up the production of Pure Produce® Container Farms. Meanwhile, anu™, under the leadership of co-founders Scott Massey CEO and Ivan Ball CTO, along with VP of Research Dr. Sven Nelson, leverages its advanced Rotary Aeroponics® technology. This system, which simplifies farming and requires no prior experience, is enhanced by nearly $2 million in grants from the National Science Foundation and other state and federal agencies.
The anu™ technology, developed over the past seven years and validated in various residential, educational, and humanitarian settings, features user-friendly and sustainable, compostable seed pods that offer a seamless, “Keurig-like” farming experience. Together, anu™ and ekō Solutions enable the autonomous growth of fresh produce in a controlled environment, using less energy and space, thereby empowering communities and institutions with sustainable agricultural solutions.
“We are very excited to bring this partnership to the marketplace and together, we can enable users to grow fresh produce near or at the point of consumption on a smaller footprint. Potential markets served include, food desserts, local and national grocery chains and educational programs,” said Kirk Taylor, Co-Founder and President of Land Betterment. “Our rigorous R&D revealed that anu™’s vertical aeroponic towers with rotary processes not only increase yields but also enhance power efficiencies. The anu™ near-autonomous operations minimize human involvement. Their comprehensive IP and manufacturing expertise made them the ideal partner,” concluded Kirk.
“Global food insecurity is on the rise and according to the United Nations, approximately 13% of the food produced for humans globally was lost between harvest and retail. Food loss is often a result of fresh crops spoilage that never makes it off the farm. Other issues might arise due to poor-quality crops, inefficient supply chains or harvest disruption which leaves fresh produce to spoil. This doesn’t even consider populations who are unable to consistently access fresh, nutritionally dense food at markets or stores,” said Ivan Ball, anu™ Co-Founder.
Pure Produce® Container Farms
Indoor farming is transforming environmental and societal sustainability with Pure Produce®, which offers superior nutrition, flavor, and food safety far beyond that of organic produce. Farming with anu™’s innovative technology slashes water usage by 90%, completely eliminates the need for pesticides and preservatives, and significantly cuts carbon emissions. By replacing traditional produce supply chains and centralized farming with modular, up-cycled shipping containers, anu™ reduces energy and construction-related scope 3 emissions, emissions that come from activities that an organization indirectly affects in its value chain but does not own or control. Moreover, anu™’s advanced compostable seed pods virtually eliminate potent greenhouse gasses like methane and nitrous oxide by preventing fertilizer runoff and reducing landfill waste.
Following significant funding-a $194,197 NSF TECP grant and a $200,000 Indiana Smart Manufacturing Grant, anu™ is scaling up automated seed pod production. The first Pure Produce® Container has been delivered to anu™ headquarters in Evansville, Indiana, with plans to donate surplus harvests to local food desert relief programs.
Scott Massey, recently named to Forbes 30 under 30 and leader of his team in the victorious AgriNovus 2024 HungerTech Challenge, emphasized the broader impacts of their work: “This venture not only represents a major commercial milestone but also a significant step towards addressing the nutritional deficiencies driving our nation’s $2 trillion healthcare expenditure, which doesn’t even account for lost worker productivity. Our technology enables communities, especially those affected in food deserts, to achieve self-sufficiency in production of locally grown nutrient rich fresh produce. A lack of nutrition is actually the major factor in many common health issues throughout the country. Pure Produce® gives new meaning to the idiom ‘Let healthy food be thy medicine.” He added, “Our partnership with Land Betterment will be instrumental in alleviating this global problem. We are excited to implement our aeroponic technology-aeroponics is a form of hydroponics developed by NASA for growing fresh produce in space that grows food three times faster and uses 90% less water than traditional methods-into Land Betterment’s ekō Solutions customized up-cycled shipping containers.”
Scott Massey and Ivan Ball, Co-Founders of anu™ and Purdue Polytechnic Institute graduates, have developed innovative produce growing technology which allows for nearly autonomous operations, eliminating potential contamination. Not only is there minimal human involvement but there are no risks from weather as all the growing takes place in a controlled environment. With the use of AI, the growing towers can be optimized to maximize increased output. Anu™ innovations address criticisms of high-power consumption leveled against the traditional controlled-environment agriculture industry. It reduces the total number of LEDs needed to illuminate the aeroponic tower expanding outer plant canopy which reduces energy consumption while improving yield.
ekō Solutions has been rapidly expanding its up-cycled shipping container product line and offers a range of sustainable and energy-efficient dwelling solutions, including mobile workstations, bathrooms, dog grooming units, containerized food stands, farms, hunting retreats, and homes. These sustainable and energy-efficient structures combine contemporary design with practicality.
Nichole Like, The Pantheon’s CEO, joined city and state officials and a crowd of 200+ people today for AgroRenew’s Groundbreaking Ceremony marking the start of construction on the world’s first purpose-built melon-to-plastic manufacturing plant. Alongside Pantheon co-workers, Like presented the “Be A First” award to AgroRenew Founders Brian and Katie Southern, who are also members of The Pantheon, where their idea took root and flourished with partner connections and local support in early 2023.
The Pantheon’s “Be A First” award celebrates startups that launch from The Pantheon and invest in the growth of our community. AgroRenew is the award’s inaugural recipient.
“AgroRenew is a perfect example of what’s possible at The Pantheon,” says Like. “We believe in people and their ability to dream up amazing ideas and execute a vision. We knew when Brian and Katie Southern wanted to help solve the crop waste problem plaguing our local ag community, The Pantheon was where they needed to be.”
“The Pantheon deserves 100% of the credit,” says Katie Southern, AgroRenew’s Chief Science Officer. “The many partnerships we’ve formed and collaborations made to ensure prosperous economic growth, we owe to The Pantheon. We’re hopeful that this award will set a precedent to Knox County entrepreneurs that no matter what stage of business you’re in, The Pantheon is the place where dreams come alive.”
The groundbreaking took place today at the future site of AgroRenew at 701 E. Elkhorn Rd. in the Knox Industrial Park. AgroRenew plans to invest $83 million by 2026 to build out the facility in 4 phases. Once all phases are completed, the 196,000 sq. ft. facility will span 20 acres and employ more than 300 people.
In early 2023, Brian K. Southern, a business advisor and successful entrepreneur, was introduced to local farmers and agricultural leaders by Nichole Like, CEO at The Pantheon business incubator and co-working space. From those conversations, he learned about Knox County’s illustrious reputation as one of the nation’s primary watermelon production hubs, and the substantial amounts of organic waste generated annually. AgroRenew’s innovative bioplastics manufacturing plant will harness this local resource, ingeniously transforming watermelon waste into biodegradable and sustainable bioplastics. This pioneering endeavor aligns seamlessly with AgroRenew’s mission to reduce the environmental impact of plastic production and create a circular economy model.
Governor Eric J. Holcomb lead an international economic development trip to Brazil and Mexico in April 2024 to cultivate innovation and growth of the agbioscience and agricultural economy. This marks the Governor’s second international economic development trip of 2024 and his first official visits to both Brazil and Mexico.
Join us for an engaging panel, drinks, and apps at High Alpha – and launch your Purdue in Indianapolis network.
Dates
June 24 | 3:00 – 5:00 PM June 25 | 3:00 – 5:00 PM July 11 | 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Registration
There is no fee for the program, but seating is limited and registration is required, HERE.
Overview
The first Purdue in Indianapolis student cohort will launch in just a few months. Join us now to learn how to engage your company with students early and establish your campus presence — while there’s still time to be among the first to make your mark on Purdue’s first comprehensive, urban campus.
Connect & network face-to-face with key Purdue faculty and staff.
Learn what Purdue University is doing in Indianapolis and explore opportunities for your organization to leverage Purdue innovation and student talent:
Co-ops | up-level your engineering recruiting game through Purdue’s nationally renowned and highly ranked co-op programs
Internships | build your workforce pipeline with exceptional Purdue students that already call Indianapolis home
EPICS | advance your nonprofit mission via student design, engineering, and other community-based project partnerships
The Data Mine | engage highly motivated students from diverse backgrounds in your organization’s work with the most valuable resource on Earth: data
Attendees
Our guests are typically business owners, executives, recruiters and hiring managers, internship/co-op coordinators, technical leads, and project and program managers with ongoing Purdue innovation and/or recruitment needs in the following fields:
biomedical, computer, electrical, mechanical, and motorsports engineering
data science
artificial intelligence
themed entertainment design
animation & visual effects
computer science, computer & information technology, and cybersecurity
For more information, contact Kate Caward, Assistant Director for Indianapolis, Office of Experiential Education, [email protected].
Early identification of diseases in animals is critical to the future of the food system, national security and our ability to care for our pets. One company is harnessing the power of biology to accelerate identification and joined us from the Agbioscience Podcast Corner at the Animal Health, Nutrition, Innovation and Technology Conference in Boston. Eve Hanks, founder and CEO of MI:RNA Diagnostics, joins us to talk their biomarker platform reliant on microRNA that has the potential to transform the future of animal health.
Eve gets into how the platform works and success her team has experienced since spinning out of Scotland’s Rural College. She also talks the importance of partnerships to drive innovation forward.
With diseases like Avian Flu and African Swine Fever threatening the global food system, how can a tool like MI:RNA help? Eve talks combatting disease in animals and how an increased awareness of microRNA is driving interest in her team’s work.
IHT Cooling Mats were voted the winner of National Hog Farmer’s 2024 New Product Tour during the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.
The patented mats have aluminum tread plates on top of aluminum pipes that circulate water. Sensors in the mats determine if the hog is too hot and circulate new water to keep the mat cool. There are different designs for boars and sows so the mats fit into their crates.
Tests were conducted under commercial farm conditions in the southeast United States (for boars) and Mexico (for sows). Schinckel and Stwalley have used the mats to conduct multiple research projects on heat stress and physiological response to heat stress, heat production, feed intake patterns, reproduction and more. Research results were published in previous issues of Livestock Science, Applied Animal Science, Applied Engineering in Agriculture, and Journal of Animal Science.
Envelix™ Prime First Product Using Next Generation Biological Platform Technology
DPH Biologicals, a leading developer and supplier of agricultural biologicals, has launched EnvelixTM Prime, a patented, biological nutrient enhancer designed to uniformly cover bulk dry fertilizer, delivering a robust biological consortium paired with fertilizer in a single application.
“Envelix Prime enables both retailers and growers to seamlessly unlock the value of biologicals on a broader scale,” said Mick Messman, DPH Bio President & CEO. “Just one pound of Envelix Prime evenly covers a ton of dry fertilizer, giving retailers a way to differentiate their fertilizer blends with biology while giving growers a single-purchase, single application route to enhanced performance and an increased return on their fertilizer investment.”
Envelix Prime contains naturally occurring beneficial bacterial and fungal microorganisms designed to accelerate and maximize fertility release using a patented carrier to adhere microorganisms to the fertilizer prill. In a tissue sample taken from a 2023 corn trial at the V3 leaf stage, Envelix Prime increased nutrient uptake of several macro and micronutrients when applied to MESZ fertilizer, including:
An 18% increase in phosphorus.
A 10% increase in sulfur.
A 9% increase in boron.
An 8% increase in copper.
Envelix Prime is DPH Bio’s first product to be powered by Prime™, a one-of-a-kind, patented spore priming technology that germinates beneficial bacteria faster, and in harsher conditions, enabling more consistent biological performance. In a recent corn trial, Prime enabled more than 70% of spores to germinate at temperatures as high as 98.6 degrees, while those without Prime germinated less than 10%. Additionally, nearly all spores with Prime germinated in high salt environments, while those that were not treated with Prime did not germinate.
Envelix Prime mixes seamlessly with MAP, DAP & Urea, offering improved flowability and less bridging at application.
“We are excited to get Envelix Prime out on the broad acre this fall enabling many growers the opportunity to experience the benefits of biologicals for the first time. This integrated approach requires no change in practice for the grower and, with the addition of Prime, we are confident that growers will consistently see the benefits this dynamic product unlocks both in the field and to their bottom line,” said Messman.
Envelix Prime is available now to retail partners and fertilizer blending facilities. For more information about DPH Bio’s technology platforms – RegenAphex™ and Prime, as well as DPH Bio’s expanded product portfolio, visit www.dphbio.com.
Innovation in the agbiosciences is foundational to life – and it’s only accelerating. From biotech to production, food is transforming; and today’s guest is leading the charge on a new way of producing protein. Daniel Russek, CEO of Atarraya, joins us to talk the idea of sustainability, what it actually is and thinking long-term to achieve meaningful outcomes in this space.
From greenwashing to social media allowing people to be “kind of informed” about the state of the planet, Daniel says sustainability has to coexist with strong economics. He dives into how he sees the future of food and Atarraya tackling the fastest-growing source of protein: shrimp.
Atarraya’s innovation in aquaculture has been evolving for over a decade at this point and Daniel talks about the best resource for developing their technology: conversations with people. And it’s paid off. TIME Magazine named Atarraya one of the top 200 inventions of the year. The team also was a gold recipient of The Edison Award; with all this momentum, where do they go next?
Daniel talks expanding production, the importance of partnerships and bringing food production back into its natural cycle.
Prime Improves Consistency, Durability and Potency of Biologicals
DPH Biologicals, a leading developer and supplier of agricultural biologicals, announced its new Prime platform that uses a patented production process for Bacillus spp., a leading plant growth rhizobacterium, to accelerate the germination of bacteria spores, supporting overall plant development while providing crops with more consistent resilience against heat, drought, and alkaline and saline soil conditions.
“Historically biologicals have been dinged for inconsistent performance when used in a variety of environmental conditions. By utilizing a unique manufacturing process, we’ve enabled Bacillus spores to germinate faster resulting in more consistent performance especially in stressful conditions. Ultimately, Prime gives channel partners and growers more confidence in biologicals and allows them to differentiate from the plethora of microbial-based products on the market,” said Mick Messman, DPH Bio President and CEO.
Kept in a dry, dormant state to germinate quicker, Prime spores colonize the root zone faster, capturing nitrogen while solubilizing potassium and phosphorus for more effective nutrient uptake. In a lab trial, Prime enabled more than 70% of Bacillus spores to germinate at temperatures as high as 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, while those without Prime germinated less than 10% after 50 minutes. Additionally, nearly all spores with Prime germinated in high salt environments, while those that were not treated with Prime did not germinate.
With exclusive rights, DPH Bio is the first to offer Prime-based products and has recently integrated Prime into several existing biofertilizers in its TerraTrove™ product line, including Envelix Prime available this fall and Essential™ Prime PAK available for the 2025 crop season.
“We are excited to see results coming through our science-based approach to support our channel partners and growers. Powered by Prime, the next generation of biologicals delivers higher quality sustainable options that consistently work,” said Messman.
For more information about DPH Bio’s technology platforms – RegenAphex™ and Prime, as well as DPH Bio’s expanded product portfolio, visit www.dphbio.com.
