Building a Bigger Barn— And a Bigger Future
Kevin Steuck is moving into a 70 by 300 foot barn — a move that will double his operation overnight. Target date: late June 2026.
Kevin Steuck doesn't do anything halfway. The owner of North Star Quail Farm in Owatonna, Minnesota, is about to double his entire operation overnight — and step into the next chapter of a business already supplying everyone from local falconers to the Minnesota Zoo to Disney's Animal Kingdom.
By the Numbers
What 150,000 quail looks like
This isn't a small farm getting slightly bigger. It's an operation that's outgrowing its skin — and building a new one.
800 24-packs of quail eggs hit store shelves every single week. Three to five quail eggs a day isn't unusual for regulars.
“Get NorthStar Quail into every store near you.”
That's not a tagline. That's a plan.
Where the Quail Go
A surprising number of places
Kevin's Jumbo Coturnix quail end up in a surprising number of places. Falconers and breeders across the U.S. rely on NorthStar Quail for feeder birds — falcons can eat a quail a day, and demand scales nationally during breeding season. Zoos and wildlife rehab centers — big cats, raptors, alligators — Kevin supplies them all. Ethnic markets and cooperatives sell quail eggs as a staple in many cuisines, and the demand keeps growing.
And every single week, 800 24-packs of quail eggs hit store shelves. People put them on burgers, toss them in salads, preserve them in brine, and bake with them.
The Newest Venture
Quail-ity Pet Food
Launched in late 2025. Kevin and his contractor Wade Ihlenfeld are dehydrating and freeze-drying non-graded eggs into a supplement powder packed with B12 and other nutrients. The goal: a zero-waste facility where nothing gets thrown away.
“We were seeing a lot of waste from non-graded eggs. Now we're putting every bit of nutritional value to use.” — Kevin Steuck
Why the New Barn Matters
Doubling capacity is just the start
- →More consistent supply for the stores, falconers, and zoos that already depend on NorthStar Quail.
- →Room to grow the pet food line from wholesale-only into direct-to-consumer sales.
- →Better biosecurity — avian flu is a real and constant threat in poultry. More space means better disease management and faster recovery if something goes wrong.
- →The ability to say yesto opportunities that don't fit in the current setup.
What Makes It Different
A different kind of poultry farm
Most poultry farms pick a lane: eggs, meat, or breeding. Kevin does all of them, and he's built a business model where every part of the bird has a purpose.
The eggs feed people and pets. The birds feed raptors and reptiles. The non-graded eggs become supplement powder. The genetics are carefully managed to prevent aggression and maintain healthy flocks — Kevin sources from as far as Brazil to keep his lines strong. It's a zero-waste operation in an industry that's still figuring out what waste even means.
What's Next
Late June is the move-in date
From there, the full operational migration is expected to play out over the following year — settling into the new space, ramping up production, and continuing to build a brand that started as a small quail farm and is becoming something much bigger. Kevin Steuck isn't waiting for the future to come to him. He's building a 21,000-square-foot barn to meet it.
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