Blog

As we started 2021, we were curious about what the year held for us. We were looking to the future while also continuing to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as we are winding down to the end of the year, I could not be more fulfilled with what our teams have accomplished.

Versova has grown significantly in 2021 by acquiring two trusted, successful farms and expanding our company of families. The addition of these farms increases our reach beyond Iowa and Ohio, adds valuable new members to our Versova One Team, provides more opportunities for innovative technology and infrastructure, and overall shapes the future of our business.

In August, we acquired a farm in Thompson, IA, that has since been rebranded as Ovation Farms. This addition fits seamlessly into our current operations in Iowa and our strategic growth plan as we work to increase our overall cage-free production. In the past decade, Versova’s cage-free production has grown by more than six million hens, and we have plans to keep going. With Ovation Farms, as well as the cage-free expansion projects currently underway at Center Fresh in Sioux Center, Iowa, and Hawkeye Pride in Corwith, Iowa, we will be prepared to meet the future needs of our retail and foodservice customers.

More recently, Versova acquired Willamette Egg Farms, located in Moses Lake, WA, and Canby and Molalla, OR. This Pacific Northwest farm has been in business for more than eight decades and we could not be more excited to add them to our family. The farms add three million hens to our production, all of which will eventually be living in cage-free housing, two feed mills, and an egg products plant. Further processing egg products is a new venture for Versova, and we’re excited to enter this space in the egg industry.

With both acquisitions, Versova now will have more than ten million hens in cage-free production after we complete the planned construction projects. Our growth this year has been both intentional and strategic as we prepare for changing state laws and evolving customer and consumer demands. By investing in our cage-free operations, we are living up to our guiding principles of continuous improvement, execution, and quality and compliance. At Versova, we are always determined to provide our flocks with the utmost care, our employees with stability and opportunity, and our customers with the highest quality eggs, and we believe this year we’ve taken the right steps to do all of this and more.

In addition to these acquisitions, this year our company has expanded its leadership team with the creation of the Director of Compliance role, as well as built a new Innovation Center that houses our marketing, hen nutrition, veterinary and lab testing teams. As Versova continues to expand its farming operations, we recognize and understand the importance of deliberately improving and innovating within all divisions of our business.

2021 has been an exciting and impactful year. The leadership team shares these recent successes with all Versova employees, as we all work together towards a rewarding future. We plan to keep our momentum going as we enter 2022, focusing on innovation and evolution within the egg industry.