VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 2, 2024 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:CUB), a leading agricultural technology company, today announced that its ruminant livestock feed subsidiary company, HydroGreen Inc. (“HydroGreen“), has signed its inaugural Feed as a Service (“FaaS”) partnership with Plainview Beef Company of Jenks, Oklahoma. This represents an exclusive offtake relationship with Plainview Beef Company and marks the introduction of multiple feed centres dedicated to supporting the national rollout of Plainview’s Grass Fed beef brand in the United States.
Under this exclusive agreement, HydroGreen will construct, own, and manage multiple commercial-scale feed centres, including the immediate installation of 2 DGS-66 production systems in Wray, Colorado to facilitate an initial feed trial to allow Plainview’s nutritional team to determine the optimal feed weight for their beef cattle in the 120 days of their finishing cycle.
Upon completion of the nutritional trial, HydroGreen will begin construction of a commercial-scale feed centre consisting of 20 GLS-808 machines in Wray, Colorado, producing 124,000 pounds a day of fresh sprouted barley or wheat grass. Construction is expected to begin in Q3 2024 to align with the rollout of the first phase of Plainview Beef’s national grass-fed beef brand in late 2024; followed by a second grass-fed beef facility in Southwest Kansas in 2025; with a third commercial-scale grass-fed feed operation in Northern Oklahoma in 2026.
“For years, we’ve sought a scalable and reliable solution for daily fresh feedstock, and HydroGreen’s cutting-edge technology will provide fresh sprouted grass rich in digestible protein. Our plan is to feed our beef cattle 60–70lbs of HydroGreen fresh feed daily during the last 120 days of their finishing cycle, enhancing the quality of our premium grass-fed beef. This collaboration gives us a competitive edge, ensuring our beef excels in taste and nutrition. Our strategic vision is to build a nationwide, vertically integrated grass-fed beef brand that caters to the growing consumer demand for health-conscious dietary choices and humane animal husbandry practices. We believe our collaboration with HydroGreen has created a distinct advantage for us by delivering exceptional quality of feed for our cattle, helping our beef to stand out in both taste and nutritional content, giving the benefits we and consumers expect from a premium grass-fed beef brand. HydroGreen is integral to this vision, serving as our exclusive feed supplier across all planned facilities, aligning with our Farm-to-Table initiative, and fueling the fastest growth segment in the beef industry for the next decade,” said Gabe Orr, CEO of Plainview Beef Company.
“Collaborating with Plainview Beef Company is a major landmark in my 45-year career dedicated to animal nutrition and welfare. Together with my wife Kathy, we’ve lived the ranching life, understanding the critical role of quality feed. This partnership with Plainview is more than a business endeavor; it’s a fulfillment of a shared vision to bring nutritious, superior quality beef to consumers, enhancing the industry standard globally. I’m thrilled to contribute to establishing Plainview’s distinguished brand in the beef market, leveraging our expertise in delivering consistent, quality feed solutions,” said John Jarchow, HydroGreen’s Chief Ruminant Nutritional Officer.
“This partnership with Plainview Beef Company is a game-changer for HydroGreen and a testament to our innovation in FaaS. Our collaboration is set to redefine the standards of the grass-fed beef market, marking a significant leap forward for sustainable agriculture and value creation for our shareholders,” said Michael Kyne, HydroGreen’s CFO.
“Seeing John Jarchow and the Orr family come together to explore how sprouted barley or wheat grass can boost the health of grass-fed animals has been incredibly inspiring. Their combined experience is driving real innovation in the grass-fed beef market, which is just amazing to see. Alongside our work on dairy feed centers in California, it’s clear that HydroGreen’s feed solutions are making a big difference. At our innovation hub in Sioux Falls, we’re leading the charge in improving feed quality and making a positive impact on food systems everywhere. This partnership with Plainview Beef isn’t just business, it’s about our shared dedication to top-notch and sustainable animal nutrition,” said John de Jonge, President of HydroGreen.
“This partnership marks a pivotal shift for HydroGreen as we transition from equipment sales to directly supplying feed, emphasizing our collaborative approach. Partnering with Plainview Beef, an emerging leader in the national grass-fed beef market, signifies a major milestone. Their commitment to using our fresh sprouted barley or wheat grass in large quantities not only cements our role as their primary feed supplier, but also underscores the proven value of our product. This move aligns with our strategic expansion in California, where we’re set to supply 200 tons of feed daily to dairy operations in Visalia and Riverdale. The future of HydroGreen is clear: we are evolving into a premier owner and operator of feed centres, steering away from our traditional equipment manufacturing roots,” stated Daniel Burns, Chairman of CubicFarms.
Contact info@cubicfarms.com for media or investors@cubicfarms.com for investor inquiries. Contact HGInfo@hydrogreenglobal.com to reach HydroGreen’s Producer Education Team.
Forward looking and other cautionary statements
Certain statements in this release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to: the estimated harvesting capabilities of the machines, nutritional benefits of feed produced by the machines and quality of the feed in general. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict”, and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results “may”, “can”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or “will” be taken, occur, or be achieved.
These statements reflect the Company’s current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company’s expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.
About HydroGreen
HydroGreen produces Automated Vertical Pastures™, a type of smart farming equipment that uses a unique process to sprout grains such as wheat and barley, in a controlled growing environment to efficiently produce a high-performance feed ingredient for livestock 365 days a year. HydroGreen’s equipment is simple and easy to operate and performs all growing functions automatically, including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding, which allows livestock businesses to feed consistent nutrition every day with minimal labour. When balanced correctly in the ration, HydroGreen sprouted grain modifies animal digestion which enhances productivity and reduces the amount of enteric methane emitted in ruminant livestock. The result also enables environmental benefits to the farm while helping to meet increasing demand for valuable farm-based inset and offset carbon credits. For more information, please visit www.hydrogreenglobal.com.
About CubicFarms
CubicFarms is a leading local chain agricultural technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary ag-tech solutions enable growers to produce high quality, predictable produce and fresh livestock feed with HydroGreen Nutrition Technology, a subsidiary of CubicFarm Systems Corp. The CubicFarms™ system contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops on-site, indoors, all year round. CubicFarms provides an efficient, localized food supply solution that benefits our people, planet, and economy. For more information, please visit www.cubicfarms.com.
About Plainview Beef Company
Plainview Beef Company is a Jenks, Oklahoma-based 4th generation family run beef ranching business. Plainview Beef is emerging as a leader in the grass-fed beef business backed by 100+ years in the cattle ranching business in the American beef Industry heartland. Plainview takes pride in their long tradition in beef ranching and history of innovation, as they move forward, they are determined to embrace consumer change and respond by raising the healthiest beef cattle possible. Their long history of Industry expertise coupled with their beef industry partners places Plainview Beef at the forefront of the grass-fed beef market which they see as a corner stone of their future and a $500 Million annual business for Plainview Beef Company. For more information, please visit www.plainviewbeef.com or email Team@Plainviewbeef.com