Hatching a Plan for Sustainable Eggs in Hawaii 

Egg producer Villa Rose launched Waialua Egg Farm in 2021, building a state-of-the-art facility that runs on renewable energy to put fresh eggs in grocery stores across Hawaii. Until now, locally raised eggs were not easy to find on the island.  

“With eggs in Hawaii, 85% of our consumption has been shipped in from the mainland,” said Don Lawson, Villa Rose’s Chief Financial Officer. “We were some of the ones shipping eggs in from the mainland…that was part of why we looked at it and said there’s no reason why we can’t be part of an expansion in Hawaii.” 

Powering an egg production facility in an area plagued by high energy costs required ingenuity. Villa Rose looked to the sky for a solution, installing thousands of solar cells and a microgrid that keeps the farm off the power grid. 

“We really wanted to not create any more of a footprint that was negative in any way,” he said. 

Automation in Egg Farming 

Villa Rose’s sustainability efforts go beyond its massive solar array. The Waialua facility boasts the most advanced egg-processing and packaging machine in the world, the first of its kind in the United States.  

The machine automates the process of identifying problem eggs before they make their way into cartons, ensuring only the highest quality eggs reach grocery store shelves. 

The level of automation also uses fewer resources than a traditional, more labor-intensive process. This technology and efficiency led to one of the world’s most sustainable egg production facilities. 

Investing in a Sustainable Future 

Building and running a large egg operation in Hawaii has posed its own set of challenges. Don notes the important role the team at American AgCredit has played in launching Waialua Egg Farm and bringing locally raised eggs to customers. 

“There’s a lot of money invested in here, and without the support and without working with the quality people at American AgCredit, we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off,” Don said. 

This article was originally published by American AgCredit.