WARSAW, Ind. – A major northern Indiana egg producer is among 17 farms and food processors in the state awarded $6.7 million in government funds aimed at increasing the shelf life of their products and sales by strengthening the middle of supply chains.

The grants resulted from a partnership between USDA and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA).

The objective is getting specialty crops and more of them to market quicker to extend the amount of time the products can remain on store shelves and be consumed before spoilage.

“We’ll get it cooled quicker and we’ll get it to market faster. There won’t be nearly as much food waste,” said Regan Herr, ISDA communications director.

Crystal Lake, LLC, in Kosciusko County, is going to use its funding to offset the cost of new equipment to allow co-packaging of their peeled hard-boiled eggs to be performed in-house, said Mindy Truex, president of the firm and its sister company, Creighton Brothers.

Creighton Brothers is a provider of liquid egg products.

Both operations process their products and supply their own eggs from about 3 million hens raised on feed grown on about 10,000 acres.

Truex said the move will increase shelf life by saving the time it takes to transport product to other companies for co-packaging before being shipped to food service providers like restaurants.

Truex said the equipment would have been purchased anyway without the grant following a few years of study and preparing for the move, but the funding makes a difference.

She didn’t know the exact cost of the equipment due to price fluctuations but estimated the price at easily above $1 million.

“It isn’t cheap,” she said.

Some of the new equipment will allow Crystal Lake to offer more than just their standard bulk-sized packages of 18 peeled boiled eggs for restaurants and events such as parties.

Truex said smaller packages of roughly eight or less would allow for first-time entry into a market of smaller-sized customers, possibly in retail stores, looking for something other than bulk sized packaging.

“We feel like that’s an area we could really grow,” she said.

Since 1968, Crystal Lake near Warsaw has been a provider of egg products to the food service and food manufacturing industries.

Its product offerings range from pre-cooked eggs, whole eggs, egg whites and egg yolks to frozen and dried egg products.

Among the other recipients sharing in the grant funding is Clay Bottom Farm in Elkhart County.

According to ISDA, the farm will purchase a delivery vehicle to distribute 10,000 pounds of vegetables annually from four regional farms to three wholesale outlets.

Clay Bottom Farm will also work with local growers to become suppliers and introduce new produce to the market, increase demand for locally sourced food and fill unmet market demand.

Other farmers and processors awarded funding will use the money in areas like cold storage of product and installing additional vegetable washers to perform the task for more farmers for quicker delivery to consumers.

Slaughter Orchard and Cidery in Monroe County plans on using its grant on special equipment to stack bushels of apples in cold storage space.

According to ISDA, this will triple its storage capacity to expand its sales season of local apples and cider by at least five additional months.

The same producer will also buy equipment to create more value-added products like carbonated sweet, ice and hard ciders for additional distribution to about a dozen Indiana cideries and wineries currently purchasing bulk juice from out of state cider mills.

“This funding will ensure food grown in local communities stays in local communities and this will allow our Hoosiers farmers to increase their capacity and continue to build their businesses,” said Don Lamb, ISDA director.

Herr also said getting more product into the hands of consumers before it spoils means less waste and more sales for farmers.

“We’re going to get more of that product to market so it’s not going rot in a field,” she said.

Crystal Lake produces top-quality egg products for the food service and food manufacturing industries. We provide frozen, liquid and hard-cooked eggs, as well as offering dried products and specialty pre-cooked items. Our product line includes whole eggs, egg whites, egg yolks, egg mixes and blends, as well as hard-cooked and pre-cooked eggs. All of this comes ready to use with no mess.