Rose Acre Farms, the builder and owner of the Lone Cactus Egg Farm south of Bouse, has begun work on its second farm. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Desert Valley Egg Farm took place on his Friday, May 5th.
Skip Becker of Becker Development and Consulting LLC said Rose Acre Farms will begin construction in the fall of 2023. He said the farm is his $100 million investment that he needs to complete by 2026. With an estimated 150 new jobs, La Paz County’s Rose Acres employs more than 300 people.
Becker is president-elect of the Arizona Economic Development Association. As director of the La Paz Economic Development Corporation, Becker was instrumental in setting up Acre Farms in the county.
“We started this project in August 2013 and today we are excited to reach this milestone,” said Becker in a press release. “We are grateful to our partners such as the Arizona Department of Commerce, the Arizona & California Railroad, and APS for helping Rose Acre Farms grow its responsible economic development projects in La Paz County. After gaining the support of , we knew we could start building local support to share the economic impact of this farm on the region as part of La Paz County and play an important role in Arizona’s agribusiness. I am excited.”
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Rose Acres officials, Arizona Department of Commerce representatives, state legislators, county elected officials, and community leaders.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Becker thanked Arizona Public Service, the original partner in the development of Rose Acre Farms. He added that he couldn’t thank APS’s economic development team enough, and that expansion couldn’t have started without APS putting in place the infrastructure.
Becker also thanked Arizona & California Railroad, owned by Genesee & Wyoming Co., another early partner. He pointed out that Rose Acres’ large grain terminal is named after the late Tania Cecil, former A&C director.
“We couldn’t have had a better partner,” says Becker.
Becker thanked other partners on the project, including the Arizona Department of Commerce.
Becker also thanked the Rust Family of Seymour, Indiana, owners of Rose Acres. He made particular reference to Lois Last, whom he called the “patriarch”. He said he did what his family always did when they entered the community.
“The Rust Family and Rose Acre Farms have become part of the fabric of the community they belong to,” he said.
Regarding the future, Becker said the key is workforce development and automation.
Marcus Rust, CEO of Rose Acres, also spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony. He said the company is as good as the people who work there.
“There are great people here,” he said. “The people who run this farm are much more part of this community than I am.”
State 30th Senator Sonny Borrelli spoke on behalf of himself and State Legislators Leo Biasiucci and John Gillette. He said an important part of projects like Rose Acre Farms is teamwork. Community members must work together to get things done.
“It feels great to know they’re feeding people,” he said of Rose Acres.
Borelli said he, Biagiucci and Gillette are always fighting for rural Arizona, but it’s not always easy.
“This takes passion,” he said.
Jamie Carr, vice president of rural economic development at the Arizona Department of Commerce, reminded everyone that this is a $100 million investment. He said Rose Acres changed the community in La Paz County. They are part of the community structure and part of western Arizona agriculture.
The new Desert Valley Egg Farm location is on the other side of California Route 72, off McVay Road from the original farm.
Rose Acre Farms is based in Seymour, Indiana. In the 1930s he started with over 1,000 hens. They are now the second largest egg producer in the United States, with 15 facilities across seven dates. La Paz County makes donations, including eggs, to many community organizations, including schools and Parker’s Easter He Eggstravaganza.
their website is goodegg.com
