SONSTEGARD FOODS COMPANY

Who We Are About Us Eggsbeingcandledforquality
Impact, continued Wewillbepurchasingapproximatelyone
bushelofcornperlayerhen,peryear,
fromthelocalfarmingcommunity.We
willalsobebuyingasignificantamount
ofdistillersgrains,soybeanmealand
otherfeedingredientsfromfarmersin
thisregion.Morethan75%ofthecost
ofaneggisderivedfromfeed,andthis
ismoneythatwillstayinyour
community.

Ourlayersproduceanabundanceof
qualityfertilizer.Ourchickenlitteris
keptinenclosedmanurebarnsandis
considerablydrierthanmanyother
alternatives.Weplanonofferingour
chickenlitterforsaletolocalfarmers.

Inadditiontotheabovewewillbe
buyingmillionsofdollarsofutilities,
goodsandservicesfromtheregion.We
haveatrackrecordofsupportingthe
localcommunitythroughcharitable
contributionsandinvolvement.

Dr.PhilSonstegardsayshewas“allguts,no
brains,andnomoney”whenhestartedoutin
1972withthepurchaseofaneggdryingplant
inHowardLake,Minnesota.Dr.Phillivedina
small,unheatedapartmentabovethe
plant.Businesswastoughinthosedays,but
thecoldMinnesotanightsdidn’tchillDr.Phil’s
visionforwhatwouldbecometheSonstegard
Foodsoftoday.
Thecollectivegrewthroughouttheyearsand
nowincludesoperationsinsixstates,
deliveringqualityeggsandeggproductsinto
domesticandinternationalmarkets.Our
customersincludefoodproductdistributors
andmanufacturers,governmentalagencies
andretailers.
TheSonstegardFoodsgroupisa3rd
generationfamilyownedagricultureandegg
businessthatremainscommittedtohigh
standardsbyinvestingintechnology,
processesandpeople.
SONSTEGARD FOODS COMPANY Contact Us Phone:605.338.4642
Email:[email protected]
Web:www.sonstegard.com
SONSTEGARDFOODCOMPANY
1911W.57thStreetSte.102
SiouxFalls,SD57108
TheMostinEggsSince1972
Highlights of our project include: 
Concretetilt‐upbarnswithusefullives
exceeding50years.Eachbarnwillhouse
upto600,000layerhens.Weplanto
build5barnsinthefirst5yearsand5
moreinthefollowing5years.Projected
investment=$60million

Apulletsite(verysimilarappearanceto
alayerbarn)toraisebabychickstothe
layingstage(approximately4months).
Thepulletsitewillbebuiltatasecond
site,thebirdswillbemovedtothemain
complexwhentheyarereadytobegin
theirproductivestage.Projected
investment=$8million
SunriseFarms–Harris,IA
Planning to Grow WestartedbuildingSunriseFarmslocated
nearHarris,IAin1995.Wecurrentlyhouse
nearly6millionlayerhensandemploymore
than200teammembersatthisfacility.
AlthoughtheSunriseFarmscomplex
remainsworld‐classaswecontinuetobuild
outnewbarns,weareinterestedinstarting
anewsitetoaccommodatethefuture
growthoftheCompany.
Wearecommittedtofindingtheright
locationforournewchickenfarm.Oursite
selectioncriteriaincludestheavailabilityof
feed,water,electricity,naturalgas,good
roads,qualityworkforceandapro‐
agriculturalcommunity.
WefeelSouthDakotaisagoodfitforour
newchickenfarm.OurCorporateofficehas
beeninSiouxFallsfornearly30years.We
enjoythefavorablebusinessclimate,
Midwesternvaluesandworkethic,pro‐
agriculturalpoliticsandgreatcommunities
toraisefamilies.Weevenlovetheweather!

State‐of‐the‐artcentralplantfor
processingandstoringouregg
production.High‐techwashing,grading
andbreakingequipmentwillbeinstalled
topreparetheeggsforconsumption.
Projectedinvestment=$10million.

Full‐scalefeedmilltopreparecorn,
soybeanmeal,distillersgrainandother
feedingredientsforourflocks.Wewill
alsoconstructgrainbinstorageforcorn
whichistheprimaryfeedingredient.
Projectedinvestment=$7million.
TotalProjectedCapital
Investment=$85Million
Eggbreakingequipmentinaction
Economic Impact 
Startingwageswillrangefrom$10per
hourforentrylevelworkerstoskilled
salarypositionsinexcessof$100,000per
year.Allfull‐timepositionswillbe
eligibleforanattractivebenefitoffering
includinghealthinsurance,paidholidays
andvacation.Wewillincreasetotal
employeeheadcountasweexpandour
capacity,beginningwithapproximately
50employeesandaconservative150
whenfullyconstructed.Grosswageand
benefitcosttoourCompanywillaverage
$50,000perassociate.Thesewillbe
goodjobs.

Weareembarkingononeofthemost
capitalintensiveprojectsthisregionhas
everhad.Thepropertytaxcontribution
whichbasedontheassessorsgrowing
valuationoftheprojectwillhavea
significantandpositiveimpactonthe
schoolsandtownshipsinyour
community.
How big of a chicken plant is Sonstegard Foods looking at building? How many chickens will your
facility hold? Where exactly will this be?
Our plans call for a state-of-the-art egg production operation that will grow over time to provide
housing for a maximum of 6 million layer hens. We will use the highest quality construction materials,
methods, technology and environmental design to build the complex. While these things certainly
increase our capital investment in the project, we feel it is of utmost important to do it right for the sake
of our birds, our employees and the community we operate in. We are providing a preliminary aerial
photo of the proposed location and layout.
Why did you chose Turner County?
Our site selection criteria includes the availability of feed, water, electricity, natural gas, access to good
roads, quality workforce and a pro-agricultural community. We’ve been looking in a number of States
for quite a while now. Throughout this process we’ve maintained an attraction to South Dakota
because, frankly, it’s been our home base for decades and for good reason.
Many parts of South Dakota are just not suitable for a project like this. For example, we need to be
relatively close to Interstate Highways to transport our product to markets across the county; that puts
us near I-90 or I-29. We need to be where we can economically procure feed for our birds; that puts us
towards the Eastern part of the State. We must have the availability of good employees; that puts us
closer to where the people live.
Turner County has always been a supporter of the South Dakota’s agricultural industry, and is without a
doubt a pro-farming community. The area is served by some very good utility systems and has
essentially met our every criteria. We chose this particular location in Turner County because we feel it
is the best option to expand our operations.
Who will manage this plant and where will they live? How many employees will you have?
We plan on hiring as soon as we gain the necessary permits. Management and supervisors are expected
to live close to our facility. We are optimistic that we will find a strong and interested base of
candidates already living in the Turner County area, both in management and labor positions.
We are looking to hire somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 employees in the first year and
growing to approximately 150 after 10 years. We are focused on a slightly more technical/computerized
setup than traditional chicken farms. All will be good jobs with competitive pay and benefits.
We think we will be successful in attracting folks traveling to Sioux Falls from the Turner County area to
stay at home and become part of our team. We will be stimulating economic development and job
growth in Turner County.
What about people's concerns for smells and traffic? Can you address this issue?
We are an agricultural company and anyone that lives around or works in this industry understands the
potential for occasional odor. What we can say is that we’ve gone to great lengths to design the facility
and minimize/control odor causes. For instance, we are building enclosed manure barns to limit
exposure to the elements, which leads to drier manure and less odor and contact with winds. We’ll also
set numerous baited traps throughout the complex to mitigate the fly population. Our plans call for a
significant amount of trees to be planted as shelter belts around the complex, this helps contain the fly
population along with adding to the aesthetic value to the facility.
A concern that has been brought to us is our impact on the roads. The reality is that we do recognize
that some access improvement will be needed to accommodate the traffic in and out of our facility. We
are working closely with the SD Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Office of Economic
Development to come up with a plan. We do not intend for any financial burden for road improvements
to be absorbed by the County or Townships.
We’d also like to note that substantially all of the truck traffic that will be accessing our facility are
already on the roads in Turner County. We want to buy local corn and feed, those trucks are simply
going to have the option of stopping at our facility versus the ethanol plant, the elevator, and the like.
The crop farmers in the area have always had manure fertilizer delivered to their fields, it may not be
coming from the same place as it was in the past but really unlikely to have a significant contribution to
extra trucks on the road. So, the reality is that additional trucks on the road as a consequence of our
operation are the eggs and egg products coming out of our facility. These are relatively “light” loads and
we’re probably looking at about 10 trucks per day at some point down the road.
What would you like to say to the people, who after knowing more about this may still be opposed to
the plant?
Again, we’re a 3rd generation South Dakota family owned and operated egg business with locations in 5
states. We have found little negative feedback from the other five communities that our operations are
located in, and we encourage anyone questioning our operations to visit with the residents in those
communities. We’re going to be bringing a state-of-the-art facility into the community, as well as
plentiful jobs. Turner County has a long history of supporting family ag-related businesses, and that’s
what we’re about as well. We’re doing everything we can to cut down on the disruption of the way of
life in the community, and ultimately, we hope to improve upon that way of life.