“These are the things you remember. Folks coming together and rising to the occasion. Not because they have to, but because they genuinely want to.”

Ellerd Niemeyer, operations manager at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center—or, as the Land O’Lakes team refers to it, the Farm— thinks about Friday, March 14, 2025, as a day that will go down in company history. It’s the day an F2 tornado went through the center of the Farm as it traveled across the Gray Summit, Missouri, community and beyond.

“We’re all farmers, this is our Farm. There was no question that we were all going to drop what we were doing, no matter the hour, to care for the animals and each other.”

The tornado decimated multiple buildings in both the equine and dairy units and caused severe structural damage to numerous others in its wake. The 1,200-acre, industry-leading working farm is home to thousands of animals and, by early the following morning, each one was accounted for and had their basic needs addressed. Without normal power for nearly four days, the immediate recovery efforts required immense teamwork, alignment and collaboration.

“People just kept showing up to help,” says Mike Burr, director of Innovation Deployment. “When you build a team, this is what you hope for. But you only see true character in situations like these. Everybody went above and beyond.”

Working down on the Farm

The team at the Farm breeds, raises and cares for many species including horses, pigs, cows (dairy and beef) and a range of companion animals in order to develop the innovative feeds, supplements and services that Purina Animal Nutrition offers. With no human injuries and a successful accounting of the animals onsite following the storm, the team focused its efforts on the work required to get its current nutrition research back online. 

“A situation like this could cause a lot of panic and chaos, but that wasn’t the case here,” says Glenda Gehl, VP, Ag Business R&D and Innovation. “We saw focus, determination and teamwork in service of the work — they set a new bar.” 

The immediate to do list in the aftermath of the storm was lengthy. Regardless of job title and typical responsibilities, the team came together to tackle extensive cleanup across the facility’s expansive footprint, led animals long distances to safe conditions and structures, temporarily provided triage and routine animal care without modern amenities, sourced generators beyond what was already on hand, and maintained a security perimeter to ensure the safety of those visiting and working on the Farm. Getting nutrition research trials back up and running also required creative pivots. 

“We had several team members raise their hands to run palatability trials on their own animals at home,” Glenda continues. “This is a committed team that understands the importance of the work they lead.” 

Working around the clock

Long-term recovery will be just that: long-term. 

“It will take a good year plus to get us rebuilt,” notes Troy Wistuba, VP Feed & Additive Technical Innovation. “That’s something that can get lost following severe weather events. Recovery isn’t a quick process.” 

Rebuild is underway on the equine facilities, which were severely damaged by the storm—and at the start of foaling season to boot. 

“In the midst of all this, we were back to old-fashioned foal watch because there was no power, limited cell service and our birth alarms weren't working under the conditions we were in,” explains Mary Beth Gordon, senior director, Equine Technical Innovation. “Even after we regained power, the mares were still sensitive to their environment. We had moved them to a safer barn, but they knew it was not their usual home. We were seeing some mares deliver 2 to 3 weeks late, and others suddenly foal during the day unexpectedly.” 

The crew at the Farm rotated overnight shifts to watch for impending foals and be ready should a mare have needed assistance, doing everything they could to make them feel comfortable and let them know they were safe. All ten expected foals have since been delivered and are happy and healthy on the ground at the Farm. 

The Purina team has long held animal industry events at the Farm, inviting customers, veterinary professionals and animal owners to the facility for immersive educational experiences. 

“When the first bus rolls up for our first Professional Horseman's conference after the storm, it will be a great moment,” shares Mary Beth. “This is our difference. We really strive to form genuine relationships.” 

Working toward the future

Purina Animal Nutrition is recognized as an industry leader and is dedicated to advancing it even further. While many of the historic structures at the Farm are gone, the team has found a sliver of positivity in redesigning facilities to better support the opportunity for growth. 

“In prioritization and drawing up plans to rebuild, we’re thinking toward the future and making our facilities even better than before,” says Troy. “The history of the Farm is meaningful and we’re mourning that loss. On the same coin, we have a chance to modernize and design for growth. We’re seizing that opportunity.” 

This forward-thinking mentality extends through the team. 

Says Mike, “We’ve been here for 99 years. We’re focusing on the next 99 and doing all we can to honor where we came from.”