Mississippi based Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. and Rose Acre Farms, Inc. based in Seymour, Indiana have entered into a joint venture called Red River Valley Egg Farm, LLC, to build and operate a shell egg production complex in Texas.
To be located near Bogata in Red River County, Texas, the new egg farm will feature patent-pending cage-free aviary designs and systems from Rose Acre Farms which has 17 processing operations in six states.
The farm will house close to 1.8 million laying hens. It is, however, designed to contain up to 2.9 million birds.
Commenting on the announcement, Cal-Maine Foods chairman, president and chief executive officer Dolph Baker said: "We are pleased to enter into this production joint venture with Rose Acre Farms to expand our production capabilities and respond to increased customer demand for cage-free and other specialty eggs.
"Considering the uncertain regulatory framework in our industry right now, it made sense to partner with Rose Acre Farms to share the costs and mitigate the risk of such a large-scale aviary style egg production facility.
"The additional capacity provided by Red River Valley Egg Farm will significantly increase the availability of cage-free and other specialty eggs and egg products. We look forward to working with Rose Acre Farms on this venture."
Construction has already commenced, with the facility expected to become operational by August. It will create approximately 80 to 100 new jobs in Red River County.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, grading, packing and sale of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic and nutritionally-enhanced eggs. It is said to be the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the US.
