Des Moines, Iowa
March 7,  2001

Agricultural Finance Corporation (IAFC) announces the investment of $3 million by its tecTERRA(c) Food Capital Fund in StaufferSeeds, Inc. and its ValuePlus(c) line of identity preserved seed corn to produce recombinant proteins. 

According to Cybus Capital, the investment manager for the tecTERRA Fund, proceeds of this investment, cash from StaufferSeeds' operations and other private capital will be pooled and invested in Prodigene, Inc., a Texas-based plant transformation company. Prodigene is the only company to have commercialized proteins from transgenic plants for biopharmaceutical and industrial markets. 

The StaufferSeeds transaction is a tecTERRA Fund investment in the emerging field of molecular farming - converting newly identified genes into useful products for a variety of markets. 

"We have successfully collaborated with Prodigene to produce unique proteins in corn," said Anthony Laos, president and CEO of StaufferSeeds, "and this technology will transform agriculture." Laos also serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Prodigene, coordinating operations of both companies. 

The ability to transform corn into a production system for proteins for use in the production of vaccines, pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes increases the value commodity agriculture. Recombinant proteins have traditionally been expensive to produce by other means. By breeding Prodigene's protein products into StaufferSeeds' ValuePlus hybrid corn, protein production costs are dramatically reduced and new values are assigned to corn production.. 

"Prodigene already markets several recombinant proteins," Laos notes. "The economies of scale for protein production using corn are truly impressive." 

Duane Acker, Chairman of the IAFC, noted that this first biotechnology investment by the tecTERRA Fund demonstrated Iowa's ongoing commitment to be an agent of change in agriculture. "Iowa continues as a leader in agricultural research and development, not just production. We're excited about the Stauffer-Prodigene transaction and welcome other biotechnology companies to grow here in Iowa." 

The IAFC is a farmer-owned investor in Iowa-based value-added agricultural businesses, especially ventures involving agricultural producers in ownership or other benefits of growth. IAFC was started with a $25 million loan from the state of Iowa and created the tecTERRA Food Capital Fund to invest in value-added processing and biotechnology businesses. 

The tecTERRA Food Capital Fund is a unique blend of public and private capital providing growth capital for value-added agricultural processors and biotechnology. Its current portfolio consists of Rudi's Bakery (Boulder, CO), now building the first commercial, organic bakery in North Liberty, IA and Sioux-Preme Packing Co. (Sioux Center, IA), a specialty pork processor. tecTERRA is dedicated to investing in high-growth, consumer driven, food processing and biotechnology businesses for the benefit of both agricultural producers and equity stakeholders. 

Cybus Capital, a leading Midwest merchant-banking firm with a focus on the food chain, value-added agriculture and allied industries, is the general manager of the tecTERRA Food Capital Fund. Headquartered in Des Moines, Cybus maintains offices in Denver, CO and Sacramento, CA. 

Company news release
N3365